The stagehands in New York maybe striking, keeping some of the stages dark but it is Theatre Season at our house! A couple weeks ago we saw our oldest son in The Music Man. He played one of the salesmen in that famous opening number on the train. He was reading a paper and not seeming to pay any attention to what was going on around him. Then, out of the blue, he'd pipe up with some smarty-pants rejoinder. It was a part made for him...except for the mutton chops. Now, it's our daughter's turn. Samantha tried out for her school's play. They are doing Footloose! I know that was a big movie hit but I never saw it. I think the only movie I saw that year was Ghostbusters. Anyway, I know it has to do with dancing and I know Kevin Bacon is in it. Of course, you could say "and I know Kevin Bacon is in it" about almost every movie made since talkies came in.

Well, Samantha, a Freshman, tried out and got in the chorus. That was pretty exciting for her. She is one of those people that needs to stay busy. With volleyball season over, she really wanted something to do for the next several months and the musical is it. Even when she was little, Samantha needed projects. In grade school, when there was a break, she'd still write stories and essays...do research...create experiments. Her big brothers thought she was nuts. A break from school meant you never got out of your pajamas...ate Cheetohs for breakfast...watched too much TV and played video games. When Samantha is not busy, all her energy starts to bubble over. It is one of those cases of using her powers for good rather than evil...well, evil is a little strong...let's say using her powers for good versus naughtiness. The bottom line is that Samantha got in the play. That was not the end of things, however.

Apparently, at least in the stage version, there is a character who roller skates. At the first rehearsal, Monday-yesterday, it was announced that they would have try-outs for that last character on Tuesday...that means today. The director said the person would have to be a pretty good skater, in order to skate safely and "poorly" on stage. Samantha's ears perked up big time. All of a sudden she was back in a blizzard of axels and lutzes and twirls and spins. You see, for a number of years, Samantha was a winning wizard (wizardess?) on the ice. She got in kind of late but excelled. She won a few competitions. It was hard work. Lonely work. Early mornings and late evenings. This was in elementary school and the first part of middle school. Being a very social person, Samantha decided that, while she loved skating, she really wanted to do things that involved a team and being with friends. So, the Olympic Dreams were put on hold. Then, came the big announcement on Monday. She heard "skating" and "speaking role" in the same sentence.

We have ice-skates and blades and glittery dresses stuffed into many nooks and crannies...as opposed to crooks and nannies. (Reminds me of the time my oldest brother was doing radio play-by-play of a high school wrestling match and said the match was "tip and nuck" instead of "nip and tuck." It's been about 40 years. Do you think any of us brothers have let him forget it? Nah.) We had some old in-line roller skates out in the garage. We even could have dug up some plastic Fisher-Price double-wheeled roller skates. (Those are actually mine which I still use to get from the anchor desk to the big green weather board. This is such a huge building!) However, we did not have any old-fashioned skates anywhere. So, a trip to the store was necessary. A place my poor wife...suffering from shopper's overload...did not want to go for what felt like the 113th day in a row. But, being THE MOM, she did.

So, now Samantha has roller skates and an audition. She believes her ice skating experiences will come back to her and be adaptable to wheels instead of blades. I wish her all the best but I'd be less than honest if I didn't express some mild concern. I can just see Samantha deciding to add a little flourish to her performance and attempt a triple lutz, quadruple axel, super Hamil Camel entrance from stage left which ends up exiting stage right onto the first three rows of audience members. Forget about Footloose...we're talking FEET-loose...and flying!