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| Curtain Call |
I love musical theater and one of my favorite memories was seeing Beauty and the Beast as a teenager in London. Theater may not end up being Edmund's "thing," but when I found out Beauty and the Beast was coming to the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) I knew I had to get tickets. Steven was working so we decided to make it a mother/son date. Evie was in heaven getting to spend the afternoon with Grandma while Edmund and I hit the town.
It was a dreary day, but neither of us let that get us down. Edmund loved seeing the large theater and looking at the theater posters hanging in the "gimongous" glass windows. After we ascended the stairs for balcony level we just had to scope out the treats available for purchase before we took our seats. Edmund's stomach told him he wanted it all, but I told him he could narrow it down to one thing and let me know at intermission.
After waiting in the lobby for a few minutes, the doors opened, and we were finally able to take our seats. Edmund and I had seats in the balcony, but that didn't bother him. He thought it was "cool" that we were so high up. Grandma and Grandpa had lent us their binoculars and when you're 5 getting to use binoculars is pretty awesome. After getting settled and having our picture quickly snapped, the music began and the curtain went up.
I braced myself for Edmund's reaction to the dimming of the lights and foreboding intro, but he was entranced. He had so many questions and wanted to know how the special effects he had just seen, worked. I think it greatly helped that we talked about the fact we would be watching actors "pretending" beforehand. I came armed with Edmund's headphones since loud noises are often triggers for Edmund to begin screaming, but he only asked for them after a thunderclap sound effect. As I reached to get them from my purse he said, "Actually I don't think I really need them." I put them back and he turned his attention back to the show.
Intermission came and we decided on a pretzel. While eating our snack Edmund told me he was very excited to go back in and find out what would happen next. We finished the pretzel and headed back to our seats for Act 2. Edmund remained engaged and focused the entire time. In fact, the only problem we had throughout the show was the volume of his voice when asking me questions. He was so interested in what he was seeing that he couldn't contain his excitement while asking me questions or relaying what he'd seen. While I was able to get him to turn down his volume as to respect the other theatergoers, we were fortunate to be attending a matinee where the majority of people were there with kids.
The show eventually came to a close and Edmund gave a standing ovation with some hearty claps. I am so happy he enjoyed his first true theater experience, but I am even more thankful at the strides he is making with some of his sensory issues. A year ago I wouldn't have dreamed that I would be able to take him to a place with dim lights and slightly loud music, but here we are. In fact today he asked me when we could go see another show at the DPAC. I am so proud of my little guy and who he is becoming..
When we arrived home Edmund was excited to tell Steven all about the show. When asked who his favorite character was, he replied "Belle. Because she's a girl, and girl's are pretty." You can't argue with that logic.
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| Future Trumpeter |
Two of the songs were paired with animation from Fantasia. Before showing the clips the orchestra played without animation and the children had to decide what the music made them imagine. Many children responded that Beethoven's 5th sounded like Star Wars and the conductor talked about how John Williams was probably influenced by Beethoven. For the record, Edmund thought it sounded like "Dog Wars," his version of Star Wars starring Puppers.
Edmund loved the kazoo orchestra that he and his peers participated in during "Hornpipe" from Fantasia on British Sea Songs. When you let 100 kids loose with kazoos you are asking for trouble, but the conductor did a fantastic job handling the kids and they all learned a lot about watching the conductor. After a little practice the kazoo orchestra was fabulous.
I was beyond impressed with how well this concert was organized, especially since it was free. As if what I have already written about wasn't enough for Edmund's musical education, the final part of the concert took the cake. Every child who wanted was invited to conduct the orchestra. It took probably 20 minutes to get through all the children, but no one was left out. Edmund was very excited to hear the orchestra play "Ode to Joy" since he had recently learned that song in piano. However, the orchestra decided to give the listeners a break from the constant refrain of that song before Edmund's turn and moved on to the "Radetzky March." Edmund had a great time conducting the march and I thought it fitting that the "Radetzky March" just so happens to be one of the first songs on learned on the piano.
Edmund took his bow as he finished and we watched as the final set of children conducted. After the concert we were invited to partake in an "Instrument Zoo." where the children can touch and play the instruments. Edmund tried the xylophone, timpani, trombone, and cello. And as a child after my own heart, he tried the trumpet, and amazingly got a sound out of it on the first try. We may just have a musician on our hands and a trumpeter to boot. I am having a blast getting to experience some of my loves again through a child's eyes . Things that I have become lackadaisical about take on new life and I am learning as much from Edmund as he is from me. While I love babies and toddlers, I'm also learning that this new stage Edmund is entering into, one I wasn't sure how I would handle, is so much more fun than I ever dreamed it could be.
* Below is a video of Edmund conducting the Radetzky March.
