Music In High School (Part 3 of 6)

Starting with my Junior year I was in the chorus of the school musical. It was the fall of 1978 and we put on the musical Brigadoon. That was a magical time for me. Great friends and great music combined together to put on a fine production. We started by having chorus practices at 5:00 A.M. every school day. Then later, we practiced on stage after school and sometimes all day on Saturday. I was taught to dance. Yes, me dancing! And all the guys had to wear kilts. The opening scene was a town square with everybody on stage singing and dancing. There was a girl in the chorus that I wanted to ask to upcoming senior prom. We put the musical on four times. Once for the area elementary school students and three times in the evening for paying people to come see it. On one of those nights just as we were going off stage, I handed a note to that girl as she was going off the other direction. It turned out that she was already going to the dance with someone else, but I dated her a few times after that. On the final night of the musical at the very end, we ran off the stage and down the hall-way to the dressing rooms as we were directed. I was so excited I was running and jumping.
The next year’s musical was fun and enjoyable. We did Guys and Dolls. I had never seen or heard of the musical before so fortunately we watched a movie of it. I was in the chorus but I had tried out for one of the main parts. I didn’t make that, though, and it’s probably just as well. I don’t know how I would have been any busier during my Senior year than I already was. I was in the mission group. We started out with our early morning practices. Later these were after school and then we put it on. I was made up to be an old man with make up and also learning to walk that way. We put on another play after the musical where I also played an old man. That character became so much a part of me that even months later I gave a talk in Church and Mom said that as I got up and down from the pulpit I still looked very much like an old man.
There is a scene where the dancing girls had to do a striptease, or act like they were doing it. The stage crew had built a runway that went out into the audience, just for this scene. Our theatrical director wanted some guys to go gawk in front of them and cheer while they were doing their act. In the actual show this was to be done by the guys who played the gamblers, but they were rehearsing another part so the regular chorus guys were asked to go up. Both “guys” and “dolls” were of high moral standards so everyone was embarrassed and mortified by this act. But we all realized it was all in fun.