Judy and Rick marked a musical milestone: They joined the throngs who have seen The Phantom of the Opera. Already the longest running show in Broadway history, its current touring incarnation visited Minneapolis recently.

We are glad we went. We were also slightly alarmed that we weren’t all that impressed. What? It’s a cultural phenomenon. The aforementioned Broadway show is in itself a tourist destination; it’s one of the things you “should see” when you’re in New York. Did we miss something? Was it an off night? Was it a case of “the emperor’s new clothes”? What’s wrong with us? Continue reading →

Clockwise from left: Judy, Alex, Grant, Rick, Mike, Andrea, Anna, Claire, and Esther.

“Happy Thanksgiving” is a greeting worth considering.

On the surface, it is a well-intended wish that the recipient will enjoy the holiday. After all, how can one help but be happy if one only takes time to give thanks? It makes sense. If you focus on the blessings in your life, and take time to appreciate them rather than take them for granted—or better still, focus on the good rather than the bad—you are bound to feel better about how things are going.

In a strict sense, there is an implicit imperative to “have a happy ___(holiday)___.” Does your commanding me to be happy then make it so? Not so much. Were it only so simple!

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We have always enjoyed live entertainment, whether music or plays—or musical plays. We’ve been Guthrie subscribers for decades; we attended every school performance for our kids; we dabbled in Minnesota Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra subscriptions. We have seasoned our selections with university concerts, and marveled at marching/pep bands at games (football and volleyball). We have even travelled great distances for Drum Corps International competitions.

Both our girls were in the band for show choir, which competitions exposed us to a compressed compendium of show tunes, albeit without the original storyline. So it was only a small step to add season tickets for the Orpheum Theater’s “Broadway on Hennepin” series of touring shows.

We were first hooked by an amazing production of “Wicked”—which Judy saw first with a friend, and encouraged Rick to attend with her again.

We signed up on the spot.*

All of this transpired while (impatiently) waiting to attend “Hamilton” on Broadway, Elise’s Christmas present to Rick (which should already have been another story, and will be soon).

I received an amazing and mysterious gift from Elise for Christmas, 2016.

In an envelope looking like it contained a CD—she often creates music for us—was in fact a CD case. I thought perhaps it might even have been the soundtrack to the musical “Hamilton,” to which she had introduced me that spring, and to which I had been immediately drawn. We had been talking about it together constantly. Her students all wanted to perform and were infatuated by the music. Our book club discussed the book, and I was amazed by how it was interpreted in the music. AND by the (largely unrecognized?) influence Hamilton had in the formation of our country.

I thought, “How thoughtful. She got the album for me.” But when I opened the envelope, it was not a CD.

It WAS in fact a CD case, but it was empty. Instead, there was a puzzle, which upon assembly instructed me to open envelope 2.

Therein were TWO TICKETS TO THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE OF “HAMILTON”! Early in the summer she had scoured the Internet for tickets so we could see it together. What a gift! She was somehow able to keep the secret for over six months, admitting it was difficult to do so.

Thus amazed and gratified, we began to think through how we could make this happen. We planned to spend a week there. Judy would come as well so we could share the trip. We didn’t know until almost the last minute whether Matt could come.

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