Stephen Sondheim's "Assassins" at Shenandoah Conservatory

Opening night is a success, "Alternately funny, terrifying, creepy, infuriating, and heart-wrenching, Assassins takes us all on an intense, arresting journey to a limbo populated by the men and women who have entered American history books for the wrong reasons." so says the director (daughter, Carolyn Coulson-Grigsby) in her notes on the program.

So we are in the car after all the photos, hugs and congratulations and granddaughter Eliza, aged 11 years, says "Can we go out with the cast to Buffalo Wild Wings?" (the show called for a child in some scenes and a small part as "Billy Moore" and Eliza had fulfilled these roles seriously with great dedication).  Eliza assured her mother there was some reason why she could go into school later the next day!  So mother says, "Yes" and "do you want to be dropped off home" to me?  "Hell NO, I never want to be dropped off home, I want to go where the action is."  As my Judy friends from New York can attest to!  Like grandmother, like mother, like daughter, as I mentioned to a friend later that night.

We lose Eliza to her new friends, 18-22 year old college students. Mom and I sit with a group of guys and get to talking about the great artists we had seen.  Carolyn tells them the classic story when I had nearly been arrested for audio taping and photographing Billy Joel, way back in the days when they were more strict about those things.  Also the times when a group of us used to line up for days for tickets for Paul McCartney and others.  She remembers seeing Sammy Davis Jr. at the Circle Star Theatre in San Carlos when she was about 8 years old, (remembers the book report she did) also Frank Sinatra and Mac Davis.  Sadly Judy was gone before my children could see her, but I did take Carolyn to see Jim Bailey (a Judy impersonator) in San Francisco. 

I begin to wonder if I am responsible for producing two performing arts children by taking them to see the "greats" when they were in their formative years?  I never will forget the expression on the face of fifteen year old son, Adrian, when we sat in the front row at the Flint Center in Cupertino for Woody Herman and his big band, or watching Gene Kruper play, the master drummer of all time.  Is this what made him the musician that he is?

But back to the discussions after the show.  I was so glad to hear that the young people are still crazy about the "greats" of the previous years.  Billy Joel seems to be a consistent favorite; not that Joel is gone but his days of the big concerts are over.  I think I must have gone to 15 or more of his concerts with my kids, way back before they could drive, and later when they drove me.

I am lucky to enjoy my children's careers.  I look forward to Carolyn's next directorial play, Pride and Prejudice in April and Adrian's Big Band concert with Bob McCheery, trumpeter from Los Angeles in February with the Dixon High School Band.