Bravo! Bravo!

Last night (Friday night, for those of you who pay no attention to the dates on posts here), my older daughter, older grandson (Alex) and I went to see a play!

And I'm sure some of you are now shaking your heads and saying, "A play? And that is news?" or something along those lines.

But I do have to tell you a little bit about this event because it was something else to see. Really, it was.

This play, put on by the Student Youth Theatre of the Moshannon Valley, was in a word, AWESOME!

The group had opted to put on "Peter Pan" -the musical based on the Play by James M. Barre and which I'd be willing to wager many of us have seen sometime over the years too, as Disney Productions have done it several times and it's also been done on Broadway starting way back around 1954, when Mary Martin starred in that production as the illustrious Peter Pan.

First and foremost, I really do have to commend this theatre group in our area for all their hard work, for the excellent choices the directors made of the youth to portray all the roles in the play and for the youth themselves and their committal to doing such a terrific job with the music and dialogue involved. They were really great!

My next-door neighbor, Deb, and her daughter, Kylie, have been a part of many theatrical productions in our little region over the past decade, at least now. Deb teaches Special Ed in our local high school and also heads the Drama Club there and under her tutelage, our Drama group at our school has won numerous awards for the many different musicals they have produced there, year after year. As a result of the interest she has been able to spark in many local young people, several of them have gone on to college and majored in The Arts, or drama, or English -all variations of studies that their interest in those areas can be traced back to their participation in the school's Drama Club and often as not too, their participation also in this expanded Theatrical Group or one of the other Theatre Groups that now exist in this area.

Yesterday, during the day, I was out and about, trying to interest local businesses in supporting the production of the Cookbook our church women's group is putting together by getting them to sign up for some advertising in our cookbook and at many places where I stopped and talked with various people, the conversation often turned to the Theatre Groups that have sprung up around here and all have been very complimentary of the work the various leaders of these groups have done to offer ways for the youth to have something positive to do, a way to learn about so many different things life has to offer and providing excellent entertainment then to the community at large through their efforts. So many adults remarked about how they wished some activity like the theatre offerings had been available during their youth and how needed things like this were and are for the entire community.

And I concur completely with those thoughts and theories!

This weekend, and next weekend too, the area is almost on overload though with productions like this one. There are two productions going on this weekend with "Peter Pan" going on at our local (West Branch Area) school and in Philipsburg, the Ignite Theatre Group is doing the play, "Les Miserables" and next weekend, the Front and Centre Theatre Group in Philipsburg will be putting on "The Jungle Book Kids" and that's three productions I have wanted to see, for sure.

Well, I have been able now to see "Peter Pan" but trying to arrange so I can also get to go see "Les Miserables" is now the ongoing issue here. And it is a bit of an issue too because Mandy still wants to go see "Peter Pan" if possible but if she goes to see that tonight, I will have to stay home because there's no way that Kurtis can go see that, simply because of the length of the play and his inability to sit still for long periods of time and to do it quietly. That, plus the fact he is fearful of the potential for louder noises and he also doesn't like or understand that the lights will go down, spotlights will be used, and various other things that create problems of sensory issues with him. However, one nice thing though is that on Sundays, Maya and Kurtis both go to spend the day with their Dad so that might then open up a way that Mandy and I can go together to view "Les Miserables!" (We both really want to see that one too because the grandson of my cousin who lives in Philipsburg has one of the lead roles in "Les Miserables" and having watched Jamers (Jamison Robert Hill Monella) perform in many productions over the past few years, we definitely want to be able to go see him and watch how much he has grown over the past 5-6 years, at least, in his ability to sing, dance and act in all the productions he's been in!)

Next weekend is going to mean a little juggling again with finding someone to watch Kurtis because we (Mandy and I) both HAVE to go see "The Jungle Book Kids" because Miss Maya will be portraying one of the elephants in that play and no self-respecting grandparent can possibly resist the chance to go see their grandchild in a production on the stage now, can we?

That Maya has shown the interest she has in taking part in the plays with the Front and Centre Theatre group is wonderful as it has opened up a whole new way to increase her socialization skills. She has thrived in this atmosphere for sure and that has been a nothing but positive experience for her and for us, her family, as a result.

So for anyone reading this who lives in this area -what we here refer to as the Moshannon Valley Region of Clearfield and Centre County -and if you're wondering about what you might be able to do for some great entertainment, there are several choices you can make now and I would urge you to go see either of the productions this weekend -or both if you can do it (one on Saturday and another on Sunday afternoon) to see "Peter Pan" and kids flying through the air on the stage or "Les Miserables" -which certainly will be a very worthwhile experience too. And then next weekend, you can go see yet another production in our region with the "Jungle Book Kids" presentation at the Sixth Street School in Philipsburg!

The support your attendance will give to these groups and the youth will be greatly appreciated by the youth in our region and those folks assisting the kids in these productions and you definitely will be very well entertained then too in the process.

All of this makes for definite "Win-Win" situations and something you won't regret for your decision to support the Theatre Arts in the Moshannon Valley of Central Pennsylvania!

So make plans NOW to attend at least one, preferably all three of these events!