Passing on Traditions…

My family always had music playing.

My dad went to great lengths to install a stereo system with speakers placed randomly throughout the house. What we listened to was totally dependent on who turned the music on (I'm one of 6 kids, so you can imagine the range of music that played in our house!).

But without a doubt, on Saturdays and Sundays, when my dad was home during the day, he was in charge of the stereo. And we'd be listening to a soundtrack from a musical, mostly Man of La Mancha, Guys & Dolls, or Hello, Dolly. These were his favorites.

There were a lot of Saturday mornings when I would be woken up at 7am to the sounds of The Impossible Dream blaring through the house! It was not my favorite way to wake up.

But to this day, I still find myself singing those songs, randomly. I'll find myself humming them while I'm vacuuming, or putting clothes in the wash.

When I was a teenager, my parents took me to see Guys & Dolls and Hello, Dolly. And being a teenager, I dreaded going. I wanted to be with my friends, not spending time with my parents.

The minute we walked into the theater, that all changed.

I was in awe, just being there. When the actors came on the stage, that awe just grew. The costumes and the makeup were just amazing. And when they delivered their lines, I got goose bumps.

But awe and amazement turned to absolute shock when I realized I knew every single word to every single song. The show became so much more personal to me at that point. It was so exciting to feel a connection to what was going on up there on stage!

Recently, as I was tucking my 3 year old in one night, she decided she wanted to sing a song together. Without thinking, I started singing A Bushel and a Peck for her. She thought it was great, and I was so happy to be sharing something with her that my parents had given to me all those years ago. We pull that one out a lot when we're in the mood for a sing along.

This is one of the reasons I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of StageMagazineOnline.com. This Online Theater Community will make it so simple to find a theater production that I can take my kids to, so that they can experience first-hand the excitement you get just from sitting in the audience during a wonderful play or musical.

This is definitely one family tradition that I will not let slip through the cracks.
Until next time… Kate