So many talented friends

Two nights ago, I drove to a town 1 1/2 hour north of home to see our faux grandson play Brad in The Rocky Horror Show.  This is the tall, mop-haired, goofy, sweet young man who played my grandson in a series of commercials I was hired for in Boise last year.  He no longer has grandparents, so Sweet Hubby and I have sort of adopted him, or he's adopted us.  He's come over a couple of times for movies, and we took him tunnel flying once.  He's still young and unfinished, but he's going to make a terrific and admirable man as he matures.

This was my first time see Rocky Horror live, and it was quite the hoot.  More than half the audience were in costumes, and the theater handed out bags of props for those moments in the show which have come to call for them (squirt guns, phony coins, cards, etc).  Those member of of the audience also knew the show well enough to shout out questions at different moments of the play.  The costumes, both in the audience and onstage, were outrageous - a lot of bustiers, corsets, fishnet stockings, loads of cleavage.  (Too bad Sweet Hubby wasn't feeling well and couldn't join me.)  The cast members really threw themselves into their roles, totally committed.  It's hard to beat Tim Curry, though, for outrageousness and commitment to a role.  I actually met him once, and he seemed absolutely nothing at all like Dr. Frank N. Furter.  He was a quiet, modest English gentleman who loved to talk about gardening.  (Of course, I don't know what he's like in private.)  Anyway, this was a delightful, raucous evening.

Last night I went with friends to a town not quite an hour south of home to see one of our mutual friends in a very old (1923) play about a supposedly haunted train depot.  Our friend was terrific; we hardly recognized her when she first appeared onstage.  Too bad her character ends up sleeping through a lot of the play.  The actors showed different levels of skill, but it was an enjoyable enough evening.

Tomorrow SH and I are driving 3 hours to Portland, OR to see yet another friend in yet another play.  This friend is someone I met decades ago in acting classes.  Like me, she has never quite been able to create a sustained, successful acting career and, like me, she continues to look for opportunities to scratch that performing itch, which never seems to go away for some of us.

So those have been and will be my Something News for these few days.  New plays, new theaters, new experiences.  I do have so many talented friends, and not just actors.  Because of all the writers in my sphere, I feel as though I'm always reading a new or in-progress play, novel, essay or poetry collection.  What a treat.  I try never to miss supporting a friend's accomplishments, and not just because of course I love for them to support mine.