the last weekend

Everyone keeps asking how the show is going. The answer? It’s going great! The cast is sharp, the audiences are lively, and the storyline is funny.

It was special to do the show for my children. I was worried the youngest would get bogged down in the dialogue and have trouble sitting still, but he was totally into the show. Once I caught a glimpse of him leaning forward in his seat, open-faced, smiling, and glowing from the reflected stage lights, completely enraptured. Another time my older son’s face danced across my line of vision. His mouth was spread wide with laughter.

My older son took issue with my Rita character. He thought her too bubbly and happy. “It’s not like you, Mom,” he said. My Iris, on the other hand—you know, the filthy-mouthed, ragey, demented woman—was, according to everyone, much more natural. Thanks, kids. Thanks a lot. As for my husband, he was both disappointed there wasn’t more Iris in the show and slightly worried that Iris was a preview of a future Jennifer. You never know…

My younger son had so many comments and questions afterward. Was the blind woman really blind? Could my “mother” walk in real life? Five wheelchairs! His favorite line involved the f-bomb (of course). A couple days after they saw the show, he and my younger daughter snagged my script and ran upstairs to reenact the play. It was slightly bizarre to hear them shouting, “WHERE THE HELL IS SPANKYPANTS,” in their best Iris imitation.

This is the last weekend to see the show, and tomorrow (Thursday) night is pay what you will. Come, come!!

This same time, years previous: our house, lately and shaking things up.

Jennifer Jo lives with her husband John and their four children on five acres in rural Virginia where she (kinda-sorta-maybe) homeschools the kids, gardens, bakes, and reads. You can find more of her musings and lots of recipes at her web-log mamasminutia.blogspot.com.