All Hearts Come Home at Show Time

 I’m finding that the older I get, the more nostalgic I am. And the more appreciative of those around me. Last evening was the fourth performance (out of six) of our summer musical, “Once Upon a Mattress.” 

I always start out with “I can’t begin to put into words….” And then I go ahead and put into words….what it feels like, what it means to me to do a show, to be the matriarch of this incredible, wonderful, amazing theatre family.

This show has 10, count ‘em, 10 former KidsPlayers in it. Yes, with 25 years under my belt, some of my KidsPlayers are grown. They are in high school, college, young adults, married and some with second generation KidsPlayers of their own. Conversely, there are 10 among us who have never been in a CrazyLake show before and these people grow the CrazyLake family even more.

The marvels of the people I work with. Amy -- my co-director, my choreographer and vocal director, my costumer, the soft voice to my constant barking -- actually records and creates tracks for each vocal part of every song so that the sopranos and the altos and the tenors and (an octave higher) the basses can all learn their parts note for note. She does the choreo, videoing the rehearsals so the cast can rehearse at home. 

Between our two costume collections, we were able to put something on each and every actor. Amy made just three costumes for this entire show: two for the queen and one for Princess Winnifred. The rest were alterations and repairs, done by Amy, Andy and me. 

Over the last 10 years of working together, Amy and I have become like interlocking puzzle pieces, finishing each other sentences, jumping to do something almost before the other realizes it needs to be done. We are two skill sets that match perfectly to do what we do.

Amy is also in the booth, along with Brent on the light board and Jeff upstairs on the spot. Neither of these two guys have a horse in this race, but they are here for the camaraderie and the stories they can tell afterward. Jeff, whose kids are in KidsPlay, stepped up when we needed a spot operator. He, also, is one of those guys who asks what needs to be done, and, however menial the task (“The backstage cooler needs restocked with ice and water….”), he gets it done. And Brent, a KidsPlay parent and occasional CrazyLake actor…I think Brent has a touch of FOMO (fear of missing out). Lol. He wouldn’t have missed this behind-the-scenes experience for the world.

Backstage, we have Blair and Allison -- two of the aforementioned KidsPlay grads – and Andy, moving the set, fixing the occasional prop, taking care of the actors and calling the show. As sure as the sun is going to rise each morning, these three are at their posts, standing guard and always ready with encouragement for everyone.

And then there’s Corey, the hero of tech week. We ended up having seven cases of COVID among the cast, including me. I missed two of the tech rehearsals. All it took was one phone call to Corey and he was there to stand in for me, to give notes and help Amy in the booth. 

Thanks to COVID, I missed the move-in, too, but Jeff and Dennis (the prodigal son returned home) managed to get the set dismantled in the Dungeon, loaded into the KidsPlay trailer, moved and reassembled at the Ricks without Amy or me being present. We were able to assemble the entire set from flats and set pieces we already had. Moral of the story? Never throw anything away!

All of which brings me around to the nostalgia. Actors come and actors go. The younger ones grow up; they go off to college; sometimes they come back to Greenfield, but sometimes not. They have kids. They get busy. For the older ones, there are life changes. Children move away and sometimes they move with them. They, too, get busy. Life moves on. 

But these shows that we do bring everyone home. Last night’s audience brought in the Browns from northern Indiana; Evan from southern Indiana; Nancy from Alexandria; the Roots from Morristown; my former boss from Fishers. The Coles were there and the Gawrys-Strands and the other Browns and the Harts. A good number of these people were there for the second time, thanks to the CrazyLake Groupie Program. And it’s been like this for every performance. I’m surrounded by friends and former actors. They stayed after the curtain call to greet friends and family on stage and to hang out for hugs and congratulations. It’s just wonderful. Warm and wonderful.

And if you look up, where the stage lights are still on, you can see it. You don’t even have to squint. It’s the love, hanging up there in the air like glittery stardust. We are family. Forever and ever. Do a show together and you’ve taken a life journey together. You’ve formed a bond that will never break no matter the life changes, no matter how far away you travel. And in the end, all hearts come home at show time.