Middle School Musical

My seven-year-old surprized me the other day.
"I want to go see High School Musical," he said, pointing to a poster of the production at the middle school in his school district.
"You do?" I asked, confused.
This is the same child who complained his way through a play a friend of mine was in that I apparently forced him to sit through against every bone in his body.
"Yea, my friend Justin is in it," he said.
"He is?" I asked, confused, since Justin is in second grade and this is a middle school production. But, hey, he wants to go see theater, I am not objecting. I was a theater minor in college and believe in the arts - so much so that I hope to teach theater one day. So, off we went.
The show, at Troy Middle School, was sold out. Oh boy. I knew I was going to be blogging about the production, and I knew the sooner I could do that the better, so others could buy tickets to the remaining productions. So, I hung out, figuring the worst I would have to do is stand in the back of the theater.
Luckily, though, Dee Engelsbel sold me two tickets she had, so thank you so much to her.
The production, well, I highly recommend you catch this one.
Andrew Willis, who plays Jack Scott is funny. He opens the show with a warning to silence cell phones.
"Miss Darbus has a zero tolerance policy and she'll take them away and you'll get detention," he said of the teacher in the show.
The singing in the show is quite good. Amber Allison, who plays Sharpay Evans and Matthew Verive, who plays her brother Ryan Evans, not only have good voices, but they have voices that blend flawlessly together. When they sing their first duet, "What I've Been Looking For," neither one overpowers the other.
I was also quite impressed with the actress who played Ms. Tenny and a Wildcat cheerleader. You might not notice this was the same girl, as Zoe Roechner morphed into characters so well you had to be paying attention.
This show requires a lot of energy from the entire cast, and they must have been exhausted when they were done, for they kept the energy up for more than two hours. This was perhaps no more clear than when the set changed from locker room to cafeteria or theater or lab, without leaving the audience impatient.
This was a middle school production, and, as such, had it's own flaws and places it could improve. But, having said that, it also had moments of glory, moments where, as an audience member, you lost yourself in the production. And, that is the point of theater, to draw you in and make you a part of the illusion.
As I said, I suggest you go and see this production. But make sure you buy your tickets ahead of time. This show sells out.

Have your secretary put this on your schedule

For the past seven years, Suzie Stockwell, Wedding and Event planner at Joliet Junior College's Renaissance Center, has been taking time out to honor the men and women who keep their bosses running.

"Without their secretaries, the bosses wouldn't be where they are today," Stockwell said.

The Secretary Day buffet and vendor fair is set this year for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., April 22. In addition to a buffet prepared by the professional chefs and culinary arts students, which includes grilled Sicilian-style steak with peppers and onions and a pasta action station, attendees will be pampered by a variety of vendors selected to give the secretaries an opportunity to relax.

Shana Laugherty is Stockwell's secretary. While she is taking the day off from her secretary duties, she is not spending the day being pampered. Instead, she is offering pampering to others.

"I love it, it's not like work to me at all," she said of her time as a massage therapist.

Laugherty will be offering seated chair massages.

"The chair massage is very beneficial," she said. "You don't think it helps, but when you're done, you feel better, even if it's ten minutes."

In addition to chair massages, Sandy Costa, of Foo Tribe will be offering Reiki, Dulcinea Hawksworth, of Little Black Book, will be selling hand-made jewelry and promoting her latest show, "The Vagina Monologues." (I am in the cast.) Linda Herrick, owner of Alternative Soulutions, will be offering hypnotherapy. And Mary Kay Independent Executive Senior Sales Director Susan Hohlman will pamper the ladies.

In addition to these, yours truly will be offering mini tarot card readings. Come out and try a reading for free and find out if you want to know more.

To attend the event, please call 815-280-1404.

To schedule a longer session with Laugherty, call her at 815-557-1727.

Ambrosial apples just the beginning

When I was a young child, my grandmother would make the most amazing apple pie. It was just the right combination of sweet and tart. The crust was flaky. It had cinnamon and nutmeg notes and generally was downright delicious. My grandmother stopped making the pie decades ago, after my grandfather criticized it on the wrong day. I felt punished. I loved that pie. She could have made a smaller helping just for me.
I have never found one that was as good as granny's. That is until Wednesday.
I am a foodie. I love food. And one of the perks of living in Joliet is that I can taste gourmet food, prepared by professional chefs and culinary arts students, pretty much whenever I want.
It was at the Wednesday buffet at the Joliet Junior College Renaissance Center that I ate pie that immedietly took my taste buds back to my youth. I had two helpings. And that was after I had relished the offerings of the day, which was a Spanish-themed buffet.
The best part about these buffets is that the public is welcome to take part. Recently, the Renaissance Center added a daily menu as well. So, even if you can't make it on a Wednesday, you can taste the offerings of the chefs.
While the daily and weekly options are fantastic, they do not hold a candle to the special events at the school. The next event is the Spring Gala, April 19. For $95 you get a four course meal plus hors d’oeuvres, dessert and winepairings. In addition, you are supporting the scholarship program for the culinary arts students.
I have personally tasted the offerings on the menu and there was nothing I tried that I did not like. For more information on the menu, read my story in The Herald News.
Suffice to say the food is worth the price, which goes to a good cause anyway. For tickets to the event, call 815-280-2255.
If you can't make it on April 19, consider taking your secretary to the Secretary Day buffet on April 22. Watch for a blog on that event in the coming days.
Or, take your mom out to the Mother's Day brunch on May 10.
Happy eating!

Many of my readers know that I am currently involved in a production of The Vagina Monologues. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, The Vagina Monologues, written by Eve Ensler, was first produced in 1998, with a benefit performance at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The event raised $250,000 for local NYC anti-violence groups.
The production I am involved in raises money for the Will County Sexual Assault Services Center.
It’s a worthy cause and the message of the show is one that is needed.
As a cast member, though, the message that audience members will be touched by and hopefully take action because of take on a life of their own.
In the months that I have been working on this show, the very word Vagina has transformed.
The Vagina is not just a part of the body of a woman. The Vagina is the woman.
It bears forth life, takes in passion, bleeds and heals. It hides secrets and reveals truths. It is hidden, yet its mystery is embraced. It grows and changes and when it is called on to be strong, holds more strength than anyone, including the woman herself, thought that it could.
When you sit and listen to the monologues, cast members are not just memorizing lines, but are becoming the women whose stories they are telling.
As women, we want others to understand where we are coming from. We don’t generally tell our stories purely for the entertainment of others. We tell our stories so people can learn something, understand more deeply, be moved to action. And, when other tell our stories, they learn and understand and are moved.
Today, two days before our opening night, each of us in the cast is a different person than the day they auditioned. We have more compassion. We have more attitude. We are angrier and less angry. We have channeled our inner dominatrix.
The stories of women whom we have never met and whose circumstances may be more than we can imagine have become part of our stories.
We have become their warriors.

Go see the production. The first performance is at 7 p.m., April 4 at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Joliet, 3401 W. Jefferson. The second is at 7 p.m., April 25 at Ambrosia, 2771 Black Road.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and seniors.
For more information on the production or to volunteer, visit www.myspace.com/artnite
To reserve your tickets in advance please contact lbbvday2009@yahoo.com