The Orphan Train
Hangzhou International School (HIS) has produced a play. I'm going to watch tonight and several of my students have roles. My next door neighbor Tia is the director.
My mom made a solid effort of trying to "culture me" when I was younger. She took me to several plays and musicals. She liked to buy season tickets to either the Paramount or the 5th Avenue theater in Seattle each year. My first was Fiddler on the Roof starring Herschel Bernardy. He was famous for voicing Charlie the tuna from the Starkist commercials. I was immediately hooked. We bought the soundtrack on a cassette tape and I listened to it so many times that I still remember the words to many of the songs. Sunrise, sunset, If I were a rich man, Matchmaker matchmaker, etc. i got to see Yul Brenner in the King and I. Jerry Lewis in Damn Yankees. Debbie Reynolds's in Unsinkable Molly Brown. Cats. Phantom. Stomp. Showboat. So many more.
One of my mom's favorite stories is about me falling asleep at King and I. Yul Brenner woke me up with "It's a puzzlement!" Her Swiss cheese memory is hit and miss, but that one's going solidly to the grave with her. Never fails to make her smile and me cringe.
Tonight I get to watch The Orphan Train. It's the story of the orphans of New York in the 19th century. There were so many orphans there they decided to put them on trains and ship them to the Midwest. I'll report back after watching the show.
A great performance! So happy to see my students in a different setting. Some needed more volume, but overall I was very entertained. Looking forward to seeing them in class on Monday so I can give some high fives. A few of the performers aren't great math students, so it feels extra special to make sure those students feel successful in other areas. This feels especially true here in China. An emphasis in mathematics achievement is prioritized by most families in China. Glad my strugglers have other outlets to find themselves.
I have to get super early because tomorrow I get to play some golf again. Yes!