A few random ramblings this week…
First, thanks to all who came to see “Chicago” at the Opera House and of course to all who were involved. It was the 25th play I’ve directed at the theater, and my favorite so far. Plays--for directors--are kind of like children. You love them all. This “child,” however, caused me less stress than all that came before. The kid that was “High School Musical” a couple of years ago, on the other hand, nearly had me considering alcoholism as a life choice.
Much of the responsibility for staving off hypertension this summer was due to the extraordinary talent of the cast, top to bottom. The fact that we had a remarkable orchestra making those jazzy 1920s songs come alive was a bonus.
The remainder of the responsibility for my low stress level can be directly traced to a handful of people who pitched in and helped in a number of areas: Greg and Carol Mensen, Curt Madsen, Lynn Carpenter, Kathy Johnson and Stacey Voit. They participated in a lot of the heavy lifting involved in the weeks leading up to Opening Night. I can't possibly thank them enough…
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Kathy, Lindsay and I, along with some good friends, took a Southwest Tours bus to the Twin Cities on Saturday to the Orpheum Theater. We were able to see a remarkable traveling Broadway production of “Wicked,” a show that is billed as a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz.” It is the story that tells of Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West before the tornado. I’ve always loved the soundtrack and now I finally was able to see the play. It was amazing in both performance and special effects. It was a production that could not even be spoiled by the 700 steps I climbed to get to my seat and the seven inches of legroom in front of my seat.
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We are awfully worried about our favorite kitty in the Wilmes house. The life of my cat, Joe, has been well-documented in newspaper column and blog over the past few years. He has struggled his entire life with an auto-immune issue that causes the pads on his front paws to swell. This has required us to mix prednisone in his food over the past many months…nasty tasting stuff.
Apparently that isn’t enough hardship in his life.
In recent days, Kathy and I noticed his breathing had started to become labored. Just relaxing, he would breath in short rapid gasps. After a 2-1/2 hour trip to the vet on Wednesday, we still aren’t sure of the cause. X-rays revealed that his lungs are collapsing and his chest is filled with fluid. So filled, in fact, that the fluid cloaked his heart from the x-rays. I now am charged with giving him twice daily shots to try to clear up the fluid enough to be able to see his heart. A blood test revealed elevated enzyme levels in his kidneys, but we aren’t sure if that is due to the fluid issue or the other way around.
It is amazing how a silly pet can become such a part of your lives. I worry about him nearly as much as any human member of my family and I can hardly push my worry over his health far from my thoughts these days. Hang in there, Joe…
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After more than a six-year absence, I am returning to the stage this fall. I opted out of directing the fall play so I could get a short break and actually spend some time at home. So what did I do? I hired a director who proceeded to talk me into actually being in the play. Yeah, I’m not all that smart.
So…opening on September 30th at the Opera House will be “Forever Plaid.” I’ll be playing the part of Jinx. On the bright side, I’ll be able to prove my theory that after 50 years old, you can’t memorize anything longer than a phone number. Yikes.
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