Eldest's New Friend of Color

It's opening night for Eldest. The show, as I've said, is The Ensemble Member and the Baker!, in which he is the star, which some people call Aladdin, in which he is an ensemble member and a baker.

I was very proud of Eldest for auditioning for this show. Really. The theater company has a great reputation, the director more so. It was an intense, sweaty-palm, stomach-churning, heart-in-the-throat couple of days. It was tough on him, too.

He got cast, and ever since he has put a tremendous amount of time in the show: Three hours every night, a big rehearsal every weekend. He's missed family events and parties and sleep and play and downtime, and he never complained even once, not because he was being a trouper (though he was) but because he was having such a great time. Every time I picked him up, he was in a terrific mood. He had a nine-hour rehearsal last Sunday, and when I picked him up he was energized and goofy.

And tonight is opening night. The whole family is going - the immediates, I mean - and hopefully you'll come see it too. Unless you're some creepy internet-trolling bad guy, in which case I should tell you that all of my children are heavily armed and trained in the arts of the ninja.

Here's some information that was sent:

[Eldest Last Name] (center) is performing in Columbus Children's' Theatre's production of Disney's Aladdin, playing through April 29th at the Columbus Performing Arts Center. Also pictured is Sam (left) as "Genie" and Stephanie (right) as "Jasmine." The show is recommended for ages 4 and up. For ticket information call: 614-224-6672 or visit colschildrenstheatre.org.