Front-Row Seats

We didn't want to get kicked out of Century II, so I didn't turn my camera flash on. Since it was intermission, it probably would have been all right. But, we weren't exactly incognito there on the front row.

Yes, the front row!

So, we may be in the dark, but here's our proof of a little culture for the farm folk! (I look better in photos in the dark anyway!) For my birthday, Randy got me tickets to Music Theatre of Wichita's production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat."

I promise I was good and kept my camera in my purse for the production. I pulled the production photos from The Wichita Eagle's website this morning.

Photo from The Wichita Eagle by Christopher Clark

The voices were amazing, especially Darcie Roberts as The Narrator (left) and Ian Patrick Gibb as Joseph (middle).

Photo from The Wichita Eagle by Christopher Clark

It's not a musical from which I knew all the songs before I went, but I still might have been singing "Go, Go, Go, Joseph" as we left the building.

Someone who hadn't left the building? Elvis. Pharoah (played by Ryan Vasquez) was the Egyptian version of Elvis in his '50s-style rendition of "It's Good To Be King." It was just one of many instances for a little comic relief.

My date thought he was going to have to stay home to bale hay. But with our 2.5" of rain, he was able to go. I found it rather ironic that the plot (based on the story in Genesis) has farmers, drought and crop abundance as central themes.

See? It was a musical for a couple of farm folk!

Flashback: 5,6,7,8

This is as close as I'm ever going to get to being in a chorus line. Going to Crown Uptown's production of A Chorus Line transported me back to my audition for K-State Singers when I was in college.

I passed the vocal audition with flying colors. And then it was time for the dance audition. My college voice teacher did her best to prepare me. In a practice room in McCain Auditorium, I worked with her son's girlfriend who was a dance major. She valiantly tried to teach me the simplest of dance steps. It wasn't her fault that I had zero aptitude for dance.

I went to a small high school with no high school chorale group. No sequined costumes and grapevine moves were in my repertoire. As I stood among the other auditioners in the large classroom in McCain and watched the choreographer lead us through a series of dance moves, it was like she was speaking a foreign language. And no amount of translating by a helpful dance major could overcome the language barrier.

I didn't make the cut. I was crushed.

But then I got into K-State Concert Choir, and it was a much better fit for me in the long run. It's funny how life works out that way.

And maybe that traumatic college experience makes me a better audience member today. Unlike me, the cast members of A Chorus Line in the Wichita production could both sing and dance. It's always good to have an appreciative audience. I'm glad to do my part.

I've been fortunate enough to see two musicals in the last couple of weeks. We went to the Crown Uptown Sunday evening. For my birthday, Randy treated me to tickets to Music Theatre of Wichita's production of 9 to 5. With seats on the front row, I got to see those dance moves up close. I'm still no closer to being able to do them.

That's OK: Randy can't either. On the rare occasion when our dance skills are required, we can ably stay out of other dancers' way by dancing in our little invisible box. A 5, 6, 7, 8 ...

Short Shorts & Tall Tube Socks

Photo from The Wichita Eagle's website

Do you know how hard it was to leave my camera in my purse when I had a front-row seat at a musical?

For my birthday, Randy got me tickets to Music Theatre of Wichita's production of Xanadu last week.

I got the tickets in June, but I didn't pay attention to the row number. Was I ever surprised when we got to Century II, and we were in the front row! I could have caught any roller-skate-wearing actors as they tumbled off the stage ... if there'd been any who fell.

It was pure delight to be able to see every expression on the actors' faces without binoculars. But I was good and didn't take any illicit photos after we snapped these prior to the start of the show.

Randy says we saw the movie Xanadu back in our dating days. I don't remember. Before I got the tickets, I didn't know that the failed movie starring Olivia Newton John had become a Broadway musical.

Even though the movie was a bomb, the soundtrack included five Top 40 hits, including "Magic," "Have You Ever Been Mellow?" and "Xanadu." The album by the Electric Light Orchestra stayed near the top of the pop charts for 2 years.

Music Theatre's Artistic Director Wayne Bryan told the audience that the 1980 movie version was "credited" with helping to kill the movie musical genre for a couple of decades. When Xanadu debuted on Broadway in 2007, critics couldn't imagine that a stage version would be any better. But it was even nominated for a Tony for best musical.

It's certainly not Wicked or Annie or The Sound of Music. But the spoof was just cheesy enough to provide an evening of laughs and a little nostalgia for the legwarmers, short athletic shorts, tall tube socks and the big hair of the 1980s. OK, maybe I didn't leave Century II longing for the fashion of the '80s, but I was definitely humming "Have You Never Been Mellow?"

For more on the show, check out the video on the Music Theatre of Wichita's website. And you, too, will have a flashback to 1980. Hmmm ... Is that a good thing?

Fully Dressed

Life according to Annie: "You're never fully dressed without a smile."

"Who cares what they're wearing
On Main Street or Saville Row?
It's what you wear from ear to ear
And not from head to toe that matters."

It was easy to smile last week when I collected on my birthday present, one that was definitely worth waiting for. Randy got me tickets to Music Theatre of Wichita's production of "Annie."

I didn't realize it until we got to Century II, but the tickets were on the second row.

Leapin' Lizards! It was close enough to check out the orchestra pit just by standing up. And you could see every expression on every actor's face.

It was this musical lover's dream come true! Even better, he didn't have to pay extra for the seats.

If you leave a performance of "Annie" with a frown on your face, it must be a really bad day. The whole musical is filled with optimism in the face of a "Hard-Knock Life."

Our Wichita trip also gave me a change of pace, so to speak, on my daily walk.

I couldn't believe it when I saw the hay bales just off the walking path behind the Marriott. (We are usually more Motel 6 or Super 8-type people, but the Marriott was where the Wheat Profit Maximizer summit was held, and that's the real reason we were going to Wichita in the first place. More on the wheat profit event in tomorrow's blog ...).

Some farmer had to get through the traffic on Webb Road in Wichita to bale this little field of Johnson grass. I didn't envy him, but it sure made me feel at home.

It was a beautiful morning for a walk, with the sun just peaking out and making a drainage area look more like a picturesque oasis.

I'm used to finding hidden treasures along the way as I walk. Among the grasses was this pretty purple flower being explored by a brilliantly-colored insect.

I had a great walking companion, too.

Wichita was the perfect little getaway.

But then it was back to reality. Sometimes reality is a little hard to smile at.

I must admit it was a little tough to find my inner "Annie" after about 3 hours on the phone with my internet provider this weekend. Nothing like trying to converse with customer service people in India to ruin a day.

My hubby suggested a break, so I rode with him to check rain gauges and pastures.

And who can stay upset when surrounded by a beautiful sky like this one?

It took a walk to straighten out my attitude and realize that Annie was right: The sun will come out tomorrow. (Who knows what time that happens in India, but that's another story, right?)

It was just another instance when it doesn't hurt to live with an eternal optimist. The rain over the weekend seemed to mirror my mood - dark and stormy and a little indignant after my customer "service" nightmares.

And, yes, it rained again on our swathed hay. Pretty much every bit of hay we've put down this year has been rained on. (You can send your thank you notes for your timely rainfalls to The County Line!)

But again, it was just in time to help the milo crop. There had been a few heads popping up in the field. The rain will help fill the heads with grain.


It gave the emerging sudan feed crop a great drink of water.

It helped green up the pastures after a week of 100-degree-plus weather.

So, with a little help from the hubby and glimpses of beauty on The County Line, I guess I'm back to being more like Annie and less like the nasty Miss Hannigan in the play.

I will endeavor to keep it up. Hope your day produces its share of smiles, too!