At the Dietrich by Hildy Morgan
So. The daffodils are poking their heads up above the still semi-frozen earth, yawning, looking about at the geese flying over, hearing the spring birds trilling and, yes…screeching…their welcome to the warmer breezes. The deer that survived the great fall hunt as well as the brutal winter that would follow are out in huge herds now, chowing down on the newly minted grass. So, even though the thermometer still hasn’t pushed itself much past fifty degrees (as I write this on a Monday), still the signs are there, that spring, bless it’s lime green and bright yellow heart, will soon be upon us!
Which means the Dietrich bus trip is upon us, too. Do give a call to 996-1500 to book your seat on May 7, to go into New York and walk about, have lunch, see a great musical and eat dinner at the fabulous Carmine’s. If you’ve never been on a bus trip with us, let me tell you what a hoot it is – we all have the best time! People have time on their own before the play, to shop or lunch where they would like, then we go to the theater and then we all eat together, family style, at Carmine’s. It is a great fun day and we come home exhausted but so happy. Oh yeah, you probably would like to know the name of the play, right? Well, it’s the hilarious Kinky Boots! There was a movie made of Kinky Boots in 2006 and it’s totally endearing, about a shoe factory that saves itself by creating sexy, shiny, gorgeous high-heeled boots for a certain segment of the population. It is so much fun, I highly recommend it, but no matter how good the movie is, the show is always better. So, again, give them a call at 996-1500 and make your reservation for a perfect spring day in the Big Apple.
Finally, I want to talk about The Laramie Project, the play jointly put on by Keystone College and The Dietrich Theater. The play is co-directed by Jane Honchell of Keystone and our own Jennifer Jenkins. I can’t encourage you enough to come and see it. Although it sounds as if it would be too sad to bear, there is actually a great deal of humor in it, and you will find yourself laughing throughout the production. The actors do a terrific job (there’s not a bad apple in the bunch!) portraying various folks in the town of Laramie, commenting on the murder of Mathew Shepherd. The hate crime which happened in October of 1998 instantly became a media sensation and the townsfolk, most of whom lead ordinary lives, suddenly found themselves smack-dab in the middle of one of the most sensational and cruel crimes of the century.
The play is all factual – the characters are real people and the dialogue is exactly what they said. It is so interesting to see how things changed, how people changed in the year following Mathew’s death and the trial of the two men who murdered him so barbarically. No one felt good about what had happened. People came to see that language and how we use it (you know, that teaching that homosexuals are evil, that it is the devil’s “lifestyle”, that they are so very different form heterosexuals) – those words and beliefs can have terrible, terrible consequences. And they did on that cold October night in Wyoming.
Times have changed a good deal since 1998. There is so much acceptance now even of gay marriages, so much acceptance that our sexuality isn’t a choice, but that we are born to it, that our fate lies not in our stars, but in our genes. Still, there is a lingering viciousness, a vituperative speech, a meanness toward those not exactly like us that is encouraged by some churches and politicians, amplified by the lazy media, and so, so hurtful to the targets of the hate. Are things better now? Most assuredly. Could such a crime happen again? Sadly, yes, it could.
So thank you Jennifer and Jane for putting on this superb production. Please do come see it – the actors and the directors have worked so very hard on this and it is superb. It will make you laugh and cry. And mostly it will make you think. 996-1500 to reserve your seats. And Sunday after the play there will be a question and answer session with the cast. Hope to see you then.
See you at the Dietrich.
