Small-Town Culture

I had a big night out on a small town one night this past week!

I trekked about an hour and twenty minutes to where my daughter and her family live and we attended the fourth and fifth grade school play entitled, "Go West!"  What showing of art and culture it turned out to be!  Mr. Sutter and westward expansion with covered wagons, cattle drives, and the trans-continental railroad were featured aspects of the musical.  I must say, the performance was stupendous!

Our Lillie had a speaking part as a cowpoke.

Bridgette said she was never more surprised than when Lillie came home a few weeks before and informed her mother that she was auditioning for a speaking part.  You see, it hasn't been more than a couple of years that Lillie was grumbling and complaining about having to sing at the school PTO meeting and such.  Lillie has never been one that sought the spotlight.  She's didn't want to stand in front of people, much less sing.  So, it is no wonder that her mother was a bit surprised at the proclamation of an audition.

Yet, audition she did and won the coveted role as Cowgirl #1.

As an educator, I've been to lots of school performances.  As a mother of two dance students, I've been to a lot of musical performances.  Yet, I have never been to a performance quite so entertaining.  Even not knowing most of the children involved, I watched with merriment because at times I was watching the children as an educator and tried to envision them in the classroom.  Then, at times, I was purely Grand B and watching my eldest granddaughter with pride and indulgence.

As a purely impartial spectator, I thought Lillie was truly a star.

Each of the actors with speaking parts spoke into one of the two microphones positioned prominently on stage.  A handful of folks broadcast their lines before our Lillie stepped up to the mic to speak.  She immediately adjusted it from where it was pointing toward her blingy belt buckle and brought it to a comfortable height just below her chin.  Then, she calmly declared her first lines as a cowpoke.  (Notice the height of the little fellow to her left and that she is leaning over just a wee bit!)

That was the first time I almost lost my laughter-control, beaming with grandparent-of-Lillie pride.

The microphone adjusting continued throughout Lillie's starring ahem, speaking portion.  Then, it was time for the singing and dancing performance of our long, tall, lanky cowpoke and her compadres.  She and the other cowpokes lined up in a couple of rows.  Of course, with her height, Lillie was positioned on the back row.  Yet, to this audience, it was painfully apparent that she definitely should have been front and center with her graceful dance moves.  I mean, she swayed back and forth like she was riding her horse on the trail and step-touched with fingers looped on her pockets, her elbows rocking with far more style and rhythm than any of the other cowpokes, for goodness sake!

And that smile she wore while performing was one of pure joy and showmanship!

The country-and-western-type song proclaimed, "Yippee-Tie-Yi-Yay! My pony and me!" and it told the story of western expansion and long cattle drives.  Lillie sang and danced with all the passion of any singing cowpoke and did so with a smile on her face the entire time.  I'm telling you, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans would have been proud of Cowgirl #1 and I think the small-town audience realized that they were being exposed to an experience of high culture.

That was the next time I almost lost my laughter-control, beaming with grandparent-of-Lillie pride.

At the end of the song-and-dance portion where our super-star stole the show, Lillie did what all the famous singing cowpokes who came before her did and I hate we didn't get a photo of it.  She paused, plastered on a huge smile, and tipped her hat to the masses.  We, of course, did our part as all enthralled audiences always do, and we clapped till the  palms of our hands were tinged with a brilliant hue of hot-pink to show our heartfelt appreciation of such talented performers.

That was the third time I almost lost my laughter-control, beaming with grandparent-of-Lillie pride.

Like her mother, I have never been more surprised to see Lillie in such a role.  Her usual, quiet, matter-of-fact, stand-on-the-sidelines sort of behavior was nowhere in sight.  She seemed to realize her job was to entertain and tell the story of the wild, wild American western expansion and she did so with confidence, showmanship, and style.

This Grand B has never been more proud that we have let this baby grow up to be a cowpoke!

*Special thanks goes out to Bridgette for these cell-phone photos to illustrate this post.