beauty and the beast
After some breakfast and chat-time with my visiting brother I drovedrovedrove to visit K's sister and her family.
I had time with my nieces and nephew, chatted with K's brother-in-law, slurped up some delectable soup (K's sister is a GENIUS in the kitchen) and bought my beautiful god-daughter some stacking rings from Etsy (a belated birthday gift).
But the real reason for my visit was to see niece M STAR in Beauty And The Beast.
It was a school production but I have to say that it could easily have been regional theater.
Each of the main players was wired for sound.
Parents spent hundreds of hours on costumes.
Makeup and hair was arranged by professionals.
I have never seen anything like it.
And, in the center of it all, tiny and beautiful, was niece M.
She was breathtaking.
Literally.
Several times, when she sang or appeared suddenly in a gown, a quiet gasp fell over the audience.
She has had vocal training over the years, but she is young...and often seems small and fragile.
The boy who played Gaston was a good match. He too had a strong voice and was purely natural in his part - neither of them ever stepped into that obnoxious wanting-to-sound-like-Broadway voices and set of mannerisms.
I had nearly as good a time watching the supporting players as each put so much into their performance.
And there were so many children (I can't even believe they WERE children) in the play that there was a steady stream of things to enjoy.
I had even more fun watching for my nephew who played a fellow in a tavern and an angry townsperson with equal enthusiasm.
Even the cameo roles won my heart -
Above: my favorite piece of pie!
There was adorable choreography and, I'm guessing, much complicated wrangling of dozens of kids.
But to think that M was the centerpiece of the play...
to see her perform with just a trace of nervousness (she's only just 13) and yet watch her find her confidence...
to hear the strength of her voice and realize that she has become a lady -
transformed her. Right in front of my eyes...which did not remain dry through the bows and curtain calls.
I had time with my nieces and nephew, chatted with K's brother-in-law, slurped up some delectable soup (K's sister is a GENIUS in the kitchen) and bought my beautiful god-daughter some stacking rings from Etsy (a belated birthday gift).
But the real reason for my visit was to see niece M STAR in Beauty And The Beast.
It was a school production but I have to say that it could easily have been regional theater.
Each of the main players was wired for sound.
Parents spent hundreds of hours on costumes.
Makeup and hair was arranged by professionals.
I have never seen anything like it.
And, in the center of it all, tiny and beautiful, was niece M.
She was breathtaking.
Literally.
Several times, when she sang or appeared suddenly in a gown, a quiet gasp fell over the audience.
She has had vocal training over the years, but she is young...and often seems small and fragile.
The boy who played Gaston was a good match. He too had a strong voice and was purely natural in his part - neither of them ever stepped into that obnoxious wanting-to-sound-like-Broadway voices and set of mannerisms.
I had nearly as good a time watching the supporting players as each put so much into their performance.
And there were so many children (I can't even believe they WERE children) in the play that there was a steady stream of things to enjoy.
I had even more fun watching for my nephew who played a fellow in a tavern and an angry townsperson with equal enthusiasm.
Even the cameo roles won my heart -
Above: my favorite piece of pie!
There was adorable choreography and, I'm guessing, much complicated wrangling of dozens of kids.
But to think that M was the centerpiece of the play...
to see her perform with just a trace of nervousness (she's only just 13) and yet watch her find her confidence...
to hear the strength of her voice and realize that she has become a lady -
transformed her. Right in front of my eyes...which did not remain dry through the bows and curtain calls.
Comments
She's lovely!
And she looks like you.
For me, as an aunt, it amazes me how quickly my one niece and many nephews are growing. I don't know how I'm going to feel when one of them is 13 and does something amazing like this.
And how wonderful that they didn't sound like something out of "High School Musical."
That nasal uptight singing irritates me to tears. Of a bad kind.
I'm sure your neice and nephew really appreciate you being there. :)
It's not all grumpy little kids with no aspiration or will.
There are sweet kids, young people willing to do stuff.
And do it just fine.
Chapeau.
What kind of lens.. do you have on your camera? How far were you from the stage.. you must have a lowlight lens in order to get those photos...
She was stunning in that yellow gown!
While I know that my love for them is not the same as the love that one has for their own child, when I look upon them shining and in their element, I puff like a peacock.
And slowly I'm learning to value their perspective of our relationship, as I recall the beautiful, supportive, wonderful aunts I had as a child.
(also, yay for kids in live theatre!!)
What a lovely young lady. What a sweet aunt.
i'm so proud of her...and i can really feel how amazing it was for you to see your niece.
here's to hoping i can keep my crying to a minimum at my sister's performance. i'd like to be able to see at least a bit of it.
p.s.
wow, it looks like they went all out on this production...you say your niece is 13: is this high school or middle school? i am WAY impressed.
Your niece has such beautiful poise.