Break a Leg, or "Many Broken Bates Legs!"

I don't like to keep saying it out loud. But I do keep thinking it nonetheless:   "This is the last time........"(fill in the blank.)

With Claire graduating in June, I'm having lots of "lasts". I'm surprisingly sad about it. When I was going through school with my kids, I couldn't wait until I could say, "this is the last time......" but now that it's here, it doesn't feel as good as I thought it might.

The hardest so far has been the end of the Era of Bates kids singing and dancing on stage in their High School Musicals! Each year this has been a huge deal in our life.......

Announcing what the musical will be!
Preparing for auditions!
The auditions!
The day the parts are posted!
First rehearsals!
So many rehearsals!
Set Construction!
Getting the costumes!
Tech Week!
Opening night!
The run!
Cast parties!
Closing night and Strike!
Exhaustion!
Sadness that it's over!

I went through all of the ups and downs of this with them. Waiting, waiting, to hear if they were cast! What part did they get? Will they be bold enough to stand up for a modest costume? (Yes, every time!) Will they be able to learn all those lines? (Yes, every time!) Will their voice be loud enough/high enough/low enough/clear enough? (Yes, every time!) I was the driver for many of these rehearsals and shows, sometimes waking up a baby to get them there on time. I was also a ticket seller, usher, prop provider, early dinner provider, cast party host, Green room chaperone, treats provider, secret buddy gift buyer, costume repairs, wait-er upper until they finally came home, but mostly, I was the most enthusiastic and loudest cheering audience member!

Our 5 kids in High School did a total of 17 shows!

 Here is the list:
1. My Fair Lady (Laura) 1999
2. Oklahoma (Laura and Jeff) 2000
3. Guys and Dolls (Laura and Jeff) 2001
4. Music Man (Jeff) 2002
5. Into the Woods (Jeff and Marie) 2003
6. Darn Yankees (Marie) 2004
7. Fiddler on the Roof (Marie) 2005
8. Les Miserables (Marie) 2006
9. Foot Loose (Marie) 2006 (They did 2 musicals that year)
10. Once on This Island (Mike) 2010
11. Music Man (Mike.....and Claire as a child) 2011
12. Pirates of Penzance (Mike) 2012
13. Aida (Mike) 2013
14. How to Succeed in Business without really Trying (Claire) 2014
15. Putnam County Spelling Bee (Claire) 2015
16. Oliver (Claire) 2016
17. Little Shop of Horrors (Claire) 2017


I have proudly enjoyed each of them singing many songs, including some amazing solos on stage. My favorites were:

Laura: Guys and Dolls playing Adelaide and singing Adelaide's Lament
Jeff: Music Man playing Marcellus and singing Shipoopi
Marie: Les Miserables playing Cosette and singing In My Life
Mike: Pirates of Penzance playing the Modern Major General and singing I am the very Model of a Modern Major General
Claire: Little Shop of Horrors playing Mrs. Luce singing The Meek Shall Inherit


Side Notes:
1.  Our kids have married spouses who also love the stage.  Jeff T has toured all over the world singing and performing!  Kate has choreographed many musicals including the Music Man at our High School!  And Jeff C played Tevye in his high school musical of Fiddler on the Roof.  Marie played the Matchmaker in the same musical, of course they hadn't met yet.  But Marie's Matchmaker skills paid off later!
2.  I won't list the other musicals they have been in, in community theater.  They would have been in more, but we tried to stick to a "no rehearsals or performances on Sunday's" rule.   That limits your opportunities.  But Reid and I (along with Laura, Jeff, and Marie) were in a Stake Musical once. Reid and I even sang solos. Reid's was great.  Mine was, well, lackluster at best.  You can definitely put to rest any idea that our kids got their musical/stage talent from me!
3.  The day Oklahoma opened, back in 1999 was the day I found out I was expecting Claire! I remember sitting there wondering if some day I'd be watching this baby in his or her High School Musical! And I did!

Thank you to each of my kids for being brave enough to put yourself out there and up there! Trying out is not easy. Singing in front of your peers is not easy. Making your Mom proud of you is always easy!

So, as this era comes to an end, I'm sad but oh the memories!

As they say in show biz, It's a wrap!