The Music Man

Seventy-six trombones caught the morning sun

With a hundred and ten cornets right behind
There were more than a thousand reeds
Springing up like weeds
There were horns of ev'ry shape and kind.

Um, can I just start by saying I am like the laziest blogger ever?!
k, thanks.

Alrighty, my loves. I cannot believe I haven't spoken of this before, but the second weekend of Music Man performances are starting up tonight!!
I am excited. Oh yes, I am excited.

(And that was a total play off of one of Eulalie Mackney Shinn's lines. You really shouldn't try to make jokes out of obscure parts of the musicals that you're in, cause nobody gets them. Just a little advice.)

I have the pleasure of playing Zaneeta Shinn, the "Eeeee gads!" girl, and boy is it fun! I get to squeak and be all ditzy. Oh, and wear tall white lace up granny boots.

SO MUCH FUN TO DANCE IN. Get ya some. Yooou need them. They will make your life better.

See these folks? They're in the show too, and they are FABULOUS. Kate (middle left) and Will (far right) are River City Citizens, and Karis (middle right) is Amaryllis, the little girl who takes piano lessons from Marian.

Silly cast members. I heart 'em. (And that is NOT a real cigarette. Just btw.)

My mommy took some videos of our pick-up rehearsal last night, and I'm going to try to load them. SOON.

Much love, reader dears!! :)

"That's what friends are for!"

Will (my 11 year old little brother) was Mowgli in our community theater's production of Jungle Book and Kate ( my 5 year old little sister) was a jungle flower. Ashley, one of my awesome friends, was a jungle tree! They were all fabulous!

Mowgli (Will) - he was great!! The perfect Mowgli, for sure.

Jungle Flower (Kate) - she was on stage the entire time and didn't miss a note! Isn't she cute?

Kate with me and my other sister, Karis, after the performance.

A large group of face-painted fans stormed the theater on Saturday Night. We all sat in the front row (well, all of us that could fit) and cheered as loudly as possible. It was so. much. fun

After the performance, we all went to McDonalds for a little snack.

After I got home, I was once again reminded of God's faithful provision. He has blessed me with an amazing group of friends. Not only do we have a blast together, but we support and encourage each other in our faith.

I'm so proud of them!

I got called a little Audrey Hepburn last night

Guess what I've been doing?

Ok, I'll just tell you. Right after Seussical finished, I popped on over to the other theater company in our town and jumped in, as a chorus member, to Li'l Abner. Oh, and there was two and a half weeks till the first performance.

Why is this, you ask? Well, the auditions for this play were RIGHT in the middle of Seussical. Plus, to me anyway, the play didn't sound very appealing.
They hardly had anyone turn up for auditions (Only one girl auditioned) They were a bit lacking on parts. So, they called in the recruits. (Most of the cast didn't audition, but was "drafted")

By the way, if you have no idea what Li'l Abner is...it's an old, old comic strip:
"Li'l Abner was the unlikely son of tiny Mammy (Pansy) and Pappy (Lucifer) Yokum. Mammy was the industrious "sassiety leader" of backward Dogpatch who instilled honesty and All-American ideals in Li'l Abner. Pappy, in contrast, was an illiterate and hopeless parasite. From the inception of the strip, Abner was vigorously pursued by Daisy Mae, a beautiful Dogpatch damsel hopelessly in love with the bumbling, unappreciative and seldom amorous bachelor. Abner spent nearly two decades outracing Daisy in the annual Sadie Hawkins Day race but the couple finally married."

(Here we are! I'm in the front row, bottom right corner)

Final Dress Rehearsal is tonight! The show runs for two weekends (Fri. Sat. Sun. one week, and Sat. and Sun. the next) It's been fine...if I could go back and do it again, I probably wouldn't have done it. Oh well! The Director is wonderful though!

Seussical Pictures..coming sometime!

Newspaper Review of Seussical

This is the newspaper review in it's entirety...I've highlighted the parts about me/sister/good friends :) They gave us a very nice review, despite their atrocious spelling (I'm Kaylee and Karis is Karin, and they managed to misspell about the half the cast's names, as well as the title! *end rant*)


Talented Cast Excels From Suessical Jr. Musical Show

Review by Kay Anthony

Continuing with the eighth production of the Evans Children's Academy of Performing Arts productions, director Nick Sweet has again brought another show stopper (woo hoo!) to the Poncan Theater Stage.

"Suessical Jr." with music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, based on the works of Dr. Seuss, is indeed a fine example of the talent the area young people have and are willing to share. Opening tonight at 7:30 with performances on Friday and Saturday as well as Sunday afternoon, this production is sure to please.¬

As usual, a tremendous amount of background work was done in advance to make everything come together and this was most evident in the musical and dance portions of the show. Musical director Katie Schelp, who was assisted by Matt Graves and choreographer Lori May, assisted by dance captain Emily May, spent countless¬ hours preparing the young stars "in the making." Without the help of stage manager, Kelli Graves, stage entries and exits with the massive cast of 70 or so would never have gone smoothly. Sound by Wade Childers and Breana Green added greatly to the enjoyment of the show and lights by Greg McElroy and spots by Mark Graves and Dennis Cummings were right on.

To say Peggy Ritter as costumer had an awesome job would be an understatement. The costumes were just outstanding. Not many sets were on the stage due to the large cast I am sure but what were there, including a large stage for the "Whosville" residents, were most effective. Evidence of Christina Rich-Splawns talents were also enjoyed in book cover designs which set the mood at the side of the stage.

Now to the real stars of the show who brought Dr. Suess stories to life on stage. It must be said at the beginning that there is no way everyone can be properly recognized, and a reminder to all, that attending one of the performances is the only way for you, the readers of this review, to give them the credit they deserve. Those mentioned by name merely are some of those highlighting the cast in special roles.

Starting off with one of the littlest, Jo-Jo, the Mayor's son, was portrayed by Dawson May, who is truly a "chip off the old block." Dawson is proof that great things often come in small packages. Amazing, adorable and animated are adjectives that first came to mind and lasted through the entire show. He charmed the audience from the beginning to the end and I think we will all look back on his early performances in Ponca City and be proud to say we knew him when. Both his acting and his singing exhibited a pleasing and sweet child's voice. It will be fun to see where his talent takes him in life.¬

Next, the Cat in the Hat, portrayed by Nic Winterrowd,¬ was a favorite character from the moment he leapt on stage and donned the famed red and white striped hat. He literally took command of the stage when he was in a scene, and I can't say enough about his natural ability to move with such fluidity. His face was covered with white make-up, but his facial expressions were priceless. At the opening of the second act he brought out a director's stand, assumed the stance of a director with his baton in hand and masterfully directed the taped soundtrack. If acting doesn't work out as a future career I am quite sure he could have a very successful career in music. His singing always was on pitch and pleasing to hear. Ditto the above paragraph about little Dawson. I think Nic can go as far as he wants to in performing.

¬ Ryan Brown as Horton was also a standout. Starting slow as a shy elephant, his character grew stronger as the musical progressed and in the end he was one of the favorites. Becoming a father late in life after faithfully guarding an egg left in his care for 51 days¬ (you had to be there to understand this), he not only showed acting ability but also sang very well. I especially liked his singing "A Person is a Person," which was one of the best songs in the musical. His newly hatched "daughter," the elephant bird, was the cute Gracie Daine, who stole our hearts.

Kaylee Branstetter as Gertrude was also very effective in a role that grew steadily throughout the show. Starting off as a really pathetic love sick shy bird, she developed her character into a most loveable bird who won the heart of the elephant when she was willing to assume the mother role of his "child." Her singing was strong and enjoyable to listen to and we are sure to see much more of her talents on the stage.

Autumn Circle, a statuesque dark haired beauty, played the "love to hate" role of Mayzie with a lot of zeal. Her shocking pink costume and outlandish jewelry were just perfect for her torch songs, which she belted out with near perfection. Her stage presence was always commanding and I am sure she has a bright future performing in whatever area she chooses to go. We will see more of her too.

Also, right on her coattails was another vixen type character, Sour Kangaroo, played wonderfully well by Karoline Radko. A good solid voice she also had¬ an abundance of¬ natural dancing and¬ acting¬ talent. She was backed up, as were many of the lead roles, by a dynamic group called the Bird Girls. They not only danced and sang with enthusiasm, but were there to tie the story together and were a most enjoyable and effective part of the musical. Cerena Chaney (always in character on stage and a standout), Bethany Bookout, Hannah Denny, Katy McNew, Quindessa Monts and Hannah Smith made up this performing group.

Also supporting the lead roles and playing an important part in the story line were the energetic and expressive Wickershams, played by Josiah Colle, Ian Cummings, Quinn Herron, Emily May, Chance Mayhall and Benjamin Pauls. Their orange jumpsuits had a strange connection to Ponca City and may never be used in this way again.

A truly unexpected couple of youngsters, Karin Branstetter and Brady Bookout played the roles of Mr. and Mrs. Mayor with an amazing maturity. They just looked and sounded like miniature adults and were very well cast in their roles. Both of them sang their hearts out and just couldn't have been better had they tried. I was more than impressed with their acting and their singing. (That's my sister!! :D)

Also, in the realm of the younger ones in the cast, but ones who captivated my heart, were the Whos. This group of children received tremendous applause each time they came on stage and were the "gems" of the show. They included Gracie Daine, Joshua Chrisman, Braden Floyd, Shelby Floyd, Paytan Hodgson, Emalee Kelly and Anna Montcalm. I wanted to take these cuties home with me. They sang and danced beautifully.

Space does not permit mentioning everyone on the program, but other colorful characters of note were Vlad Vladikoff, played by Blake Brown; the Grinch, by Brad Newcomb; and Yertle the Turtle, by Taylor Varner. A myriad of circus entertainers, a fun and animated group of jungle animals and colorful fish, along with some scary hungers, rounded out the cast.

I am always amazed at the talent we have in this area and am so pleased Pat Evans has made it possible for them to perform in¬ the Children's Academy of Performing Art. What a wonderful privilege it is for the budding thespians to be showcased in this way. Take your children and go enjoy this very entertaining and refreshing show.

Opening Night = Sucess!

Sorry for the lack of updates! Everything is going GREAT! Every performance is so so much fun with this play, and last night was amazing! Matt, Amy, Abby, Luke, My Aunt and Uncle, Grandma, and little sibs came last night...it was so wonderful to have them in the audience. A huge thanks to them for coming - it really means a lot to me!!!

I shall post pictures, and videos, and the newspaper review very soon...if you happen to think about me today, just give a quick pray that everything will go smoothly, we'll perform our best, and God would be glorified in our actions! :)

"There once was a girl-bird named Gertrude McFuzz..."

Ooh my.

I am very behind.

Shall we start back at last Monday?

First, I got my permit...


At 6:00, I auditioned for Seussical!

We auditioned by age group...we sang, and then danced. Almost right afterwards, they announced those who were called back to read and sing "Biggest Blame Fool"...me and four other girls from my age group, and three boys.

We went upstairs and quickly learned the song, then went back downstairs to the stage and sang. After that, we were given page numbers for different characters to read. I thought everything went well! Everybody was SO good, though. It was a blast. I adooore Seussical...it's just so much FUN and family friendly!

We got home around 10:30...auditions were also on Tuesday. So, we went back the next night. If you had been called back on Monday, you were still called back on Tuesday. We didn't have to sing or dance again if we had already tried out, but we did read again. He told us which parts to read ( I read Mayzie and Gertrude) and after we finished, we left. The list was going to be put up the next morning.

We got home, and "went to bed."

Hehehe.

If you're a theatre person, you can imagine how much sleep I got ;)

Wednesday morning, we drove up to the theatre to look at the list, and, I was listed beside Gertrude McFuzz! For those of you who don't know what her character is, here's a short description:

GERTRUDE McFUZZ is very self-conscious and aware that her one-feather tail isn’t perfect. Gertrude changes during the show from a neurotic, nervous and shy bird into one with the power to protect and care for a baby elephant bird and commit herself to Horton. In other words, she stops worrying about her looks and grows up.


We started practices on that evening. We only have 3 and half weeks of practice, believe or not. It's CRAZY. I'm always amazed these shows come together, but they always do. This show is a little trickier because it's almost entirely song and dance...hardly any of it is dialogue (a least, the junior version is)...which is a lot of work. Other than the cut dialogue, it's got all the same songs at the original Seussical.

Practices are going really well! (We practice every Monday-Thursday, 6-8:15ish) We've learned about half the songs/dances...everyone is really well cast, and the director, costumer, producer, and choreographer are all great!

On Friday, we (the girls at church) had a surprise children's book baby shower for our pastor's wife, Mrs. Grant! It was so much fun!

Mrs. Grant opening her gift...

We played a game where we had to guess who's baby pictures were who's...

Me, Amy and Hannah!

On Saturday, I took the ACT with Amy and Luke...it went pretty well, I think. I was really happy with the English and Math sections (I actually knew a lot of it this time! Yay for studying hard.) The reading didn't go quite as well as last time, but it's still was pretty easy. The science..was just the science. I did the writing part this time. It was fine - I thought I could have done better, but oh well! It's over.

Another week of practices, music, school, Chemistry Lab, and all that jazz. It's been rainy these past few days..not my favorite.

I'll try to be better about posting updates on practices!

Off to go to church...we're having a cookout tonight!

Just got back from checking the cast list...

and found out that I am.......

GERTRUDE MCFUZZ!!! :) :) :) :) :) :)

I'm SO excited!!

Karis, my little sister, got Mrs. Mayor!!! She did great.

I promise to write more about auditions and such...but now, off to school :)

"No one mourns....the WICKED!"

Wow.

Just.

Wow.

WICKED was the single most incredible musical I have ever watched.

WOW.

I basically had chills the entire time :)

AHHHHH!

I want to watch it again.

And again.

And again.

*sings*

It was so worth missing the first basketball game. Sorry team. Wicked phoweeps.

We left...around 7:30, and drove to Wichita. Not quite as easy as it sounds.
My mom is not the most confident driver. *cough* understatement *cough*
But, we made it there safely AND without taking any scenic detours.

Kate and Karis :) They so cute.

We left them at Grammy's house. Karis was convinced she was going to be dead when we got back. Morbid child :)

Then, Mom and I went shopping! It was fun...but,
in the three whole hours, we only bought SOCKS. Exciting, right?
Oh, and we ate at this yummy healthy resturant, and got serenaded by an old guy playing jazz on an electric piano :) It was pretty awesome.

And, then, we got the theater! It was huge, and round.

YAYAYAYAY!

We made it up the three flights stairs, only to discover we had come up the wrong side. So down we went, and back up three more flights of stairs. We were in the middle of balcony...*grin* It was actually a pretty good view. And binoculars were helpful too. Here's the stage at the beginning, it's kind of fuzzy..(And, yes, that is a bald guy's head in the corner)

And...it was incredibly amazing and awesome and moving and all that jazz.
I LOVED IT.
And I thought the actors/actresses did a great job not forming to the typical mold of the songs from the original broadway showing. Popular was faaabulous, and it was different, and almost better, I thought, than Kristen Chenoweth's.
And the sets were crazy cool.
So was the rain on stage.
And they all had beautiful voices.
And it was altogether sweet.

Here's my t-shirt :)

And it was a little creepy...I saw Mr. Dalton (The Director of Wizard of Oz from '08) at the show afterwards. How weird.

But it was an incredible experience.

It was WICKED. (Yes. This is overused. Yes. I am going to use it, again. :D)

Fiddler is my LIFE at the moment...

Oh my goodness. I'm SO tired and excited!! Tomorrow is the first show!! AHHHH! Are we ready? Even though we got a new Yente yesterday....despite that come are just remembering the words to their songs...yes, I think we're ready.

Hopefully Fyetdka (or however you spell it) won't forget his book....haha, that was pretty funny. "You can borrow it....sometime." And maybe I won't punch Gilbert in the arm again offstage. (Ok...so, my friend Malory is a guy, and we always punch each other in the arm when we go past, right? So, I see a guys arm right where Malory had just been standing. Hehe. Turned out to be Gilbert. Whoopsie) And the Russians really need to be sure to not act too drunk (LOL. We have it on video..it's pretty much the most hilarious thing ever)

But actually, I thinks its going pretty well. The director seemed really pleased last night...and his notes weren't written in Hebrew! Woo hoo!

Be praying for us tomorrow night!

"You might say everyone of us is a fiddler on the roof"

"A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask 'Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?' Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!" - Tevye

So, it's over :) After two nerve wracking auditions, a call back, and, at last, the final moment of looking at the cast list, it's all done! And I'm about ready to fall asleep and *stay* asleep for a few days :) But first, I HAVE to record some stuff about the auditions..I'm bound to forget everything if I don't.

Let me give you a little peep into the auditions: You are given a number when you first came. Everyone is seating in a group in fold-out chairs. You're shivering; not only from the cold, but from excitement - and nervousness :S When it's your turn to stand before the table of directors, you walk up, say your name and song, and begin to sing. This is it. You're first - and most important - chance to impress the director. When you're done, you feel like a bird set free! You're done!! Hurrah!! Only a few more days to go :)

Mostly, the auditions consisted of singing, dancing (fun, extremely easy stuff...just what I like) and reading from the script (my VERY favorite part). The first night of auditions was just singing, then a little bit of reading. The second night was longer and more intense. We read, danced, and stood in a line in front of the director (Mr. Rodger Moon, by the way. He's really nice, which is awesome) and what him look from one person to the other. You're just *willing* him to catch your eye. Sometimes he does...and other times, he doesn't :) Everyone did so well! It was SO fun to watch :)

For the call backs, the director called up different groups to sing for different parts. The girls sang part of "Now I have Everything" with a guy...it was a really pretty song, but I'd never heard it before. Sightreading. Nooooooo! After sitting for an hour, we got called up to read different parts. Then, we were told we could leave.

When I got home, I ate a piece of pizza, cake, AND chocolate :) :) I hadn't really been hungry before, but I definitely was now!! I wasn't all that nervous. I knew God had everything planned out, and my worring wouldn't help at all.

Then, came Thursday. The day of the cast list. Supposedly, it was going be posted at 10. We got there right on the dot, and no cast list. We drove around a little, and came back. Still no cast list. If you've ever been in a play before, you know this is one of the most suspenseful parts. So, I was sitting in the car, about to die...weell, maybe not quite :) So, finally, 20 minutes AFTER 10, we say the stage manager, a sweet old lady by the name of Ginger, walk out with two sheet of paper. Ahhh, rapture. We walked up. I was almost afraid to look.


TEVYE....................................................................................... VANCE BLACK
GOLDE................................................................................... ANNETTE HUNT
TZEITEL (DAUGHTER 1).......................................................... LARA LIGNITZ
HODEL (DAUGHTER 2).............................................. MADISON BOOKOUT
CHAVA (DAUGHTER 3)............................................. KALEY BRANSTETTER
SHPRINTZE (DAUGHTER 4)...................................... BETHANY BOOKOUT
BIELKE (DAUGHTER 5)...................................................... AMY BALLINGER
YENTE, THE MATCHMAKER..................................... FAVONA SUSSMANN
MOTEL, THE TAILOR............................................................. CHRIS SCHELP
PERCHIK, THE STUDENT....................................................... ALEC CARSON
LAZAR WOLF, THE BUTCHER.............................................. JOHN DALTON
MORDCHA, THE INNKEEPER............................................. STEPHEN LONG
RABBI........................................................................................ BRENT COLLE
MENDEL, RABBI’S SON...................................................... CALEB STINSON
AVRAM, THE BOOKSELLER .......................................... JOHN KUHLMANN
NACHUM, THE BEGGAR............................................................. RON DAVIS
GRANDMA TZEITEL.............................................................. SUZI LENHART
FRUMA-SARAH.......................................................................... FRAN COLLE
CONSTABLE / CHORUS........................................................... DAREN LOVE
FYEDKA, RUSSIAN........................................................... SEAN RETHMEIER
SHAINDEL, MODEL’S MOTHER........................................ KITTY FUESHKO
THE FIDDLER.................................................................. TRISHA VINEYARD
VILLAGERS ................................. HALEY BARTELL, LAUREN BLAKEBURN,
........... BRADY BOOKOUT, KATHERINE CAUGHLIN, ISAAC CERVANTES,
......... VICKI GRAVES, ASHLEY HODGES, DAWN JACKSON, MYLOAN LE,
..................................... BEN PAULS, SANDRA PERKINS, MALORY SCOTT,
................................... SARAH SCRUGGS, EMILY SMITH, BEN SOUTHARD
RUSSIANS............. JACOB COLLE, JOSIAH COLLE, GILBERT SANTILLAN,
................................................................................................. MATT TINSLEY

Alright, you probably didn't want to see ALL that :) Sorry :)

So, it's going to be amazing. I'm SO excited. Sisters with a bf and friends with my amazing villager and russian buddies, playing a fun part, it can't get much better!! Woo hoo!!!!

Only down falls:
1) Some really amazing people didn't get in. I know how hard that must be, and I wish so badly that they could have gotten in too.
2) The actress playing Hodel is...less than pleasant. I don't mean to be harsh, but she is full of her self, flirty and bossy. She and and the girl playing Tzeitel are not the best of friends. Hopefully that'll be ok...I'm just going to stay close to my two younger sisters and my villager peoples.
3) The guy playing Fyedka is an awful singer (at least he doesn't have to sing) kinda of not so bright, and rather ugly. In fact, very ugly.
I don't mean to complain too much. It'll be AWESOME. I'm so glad to have gotten in. But there will be some harships :)

First rehearsal is on Monday! I can't wait!!

Isn't God Amazing?

Kaley Grace, Chava

The Joy of Auditioning

"I am always incredibly anxious. The audition and the wait is definitely the hardest part for me." Joe Lando (By the way, I have NO idea who this dude is...)

So, today is it! It's finally the day of auditions for "Fiddler on the Roof." I'm SO excited!!! And SO nervous.

Acting is amazing. It's one of my favorite things to do in the whole world. You get to *live* so many different peoples lives. And the feeling you get after performing your final show is something you can't get anywhere else. *sigh* I love it :)

Despite how nerve-wracking auditions are, they're actually one of my favorite parts about doing shows. Singing your audition song over and over and over in the shower...agonizing over what shoes to wear...watching the songs from the play one more time...hoping, praying you'll get a part :)

The best part is this feeling you get when you're waiting and thinking about the audition. I just get this bubbly, nervous, excited feeling that makes me want to jump up and twirl around the room while singing at the top of my lungs (of course, I normally get this feeling late at night, which doesn't work out to well)

I hope I get in. I'm so ready to do another show! After the Wizard of Oz, I was pretty tired. I didn't feel like doing anymore theatre for a while. But now I've had my break, and I'm ready to hop back in again! So, if you think about me around...oh, 7:00 tonight, give a quick prayer that I'm not going insane :)

SO many of my friends are trying out!! I'm amazingly excited! I just hope that all of us get in...wouldn't that be fun!!

I'M ABOUT TO BURST WITH EXCITEMENT!!!! WOO HOO!

Isn't God Amazing?

Kaley Grace, soon-to-be auditioner