"The Pirates of Penzance"

Last Wednesday night, JB and I ventured over to nearby Woods Cross High School to see our 17-year-old niece Kira perform in WXHS's production of The Pirates of Penzance. And I think it is honestly the most fun I have had seeing that particular classic Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. (I think this was the fourth time? Including once at Deer Valley.) This wonderful performance was also directed by my Improvables colleague and WXHS drama instructor Liz Christensen, with whom I had performed improv five nights previously in the reunion show. (See my previous post. ... I know you will stop and now look it up.)

Anyhow, the kids were obviously having a blast, as you could see by the looks on their faces and in their acting and singing, and the audience had a ball right along with them.

The narrator for "Music and the Spoken Word" was there, and he'll vouch for me.

Kira played one of the Major-General's daughters, and can I just say that this girl has pipes? Meaning, she can sing—and I didn't know just how well until this show. She had been holding out on us before this night. She had not one but multiple solos, and she blew us away. Meaning, not like TNT, but figuratively. She also had a few lines of dialogue.

50

In spite of my best efforts, I had another birthday on Friday. This one was a pretty big number and something of a milestone for me. All I can say is that it was one more than 49 and one fewer than 51.

I don't know how I got here. Where has the time gone? Emotionally, I feel like I'm about half that age at best; meanwhile, my body feels like it is 20 or 30 years older than that.

Anyhow, JB spoiled me rotten. She took me out to lunch at Penny Ann's Cafe in Bountiful, one of our favorite new local restaurants, where we always seem to get breakfast food, no matter the time of day. Apparently, if you tell your server that it's your birthday, they will bring you a free scone to accompany your meal.

JB also took painstaking time and effort to collect recorded video birthday greetings from family members, a few close friends (Pepe and Darren), and myriad members of the Improvables. It was very well put together and was very touching. I'm truly blessed to have wonderful people in my life.

Finally, many of the same people from that video congregated at our house that evening for karaoke, featuring also pumpkin cheesecake, chips, and other snacks.

At one break in the action, I caught Danny taking the pumpkins only from JB's bowl of candy corn treats. (The thing is, I also do this.)

The partygoers picked out "Weird Al" Yankovic's "One More Minute" for me to sing. I accepted. Ben, Steve, and I collaborated on Mr. Big's "To Be with You." Many of the niblings got in on the act, and I even convinced JB to sing "That Thing You Do!", which is of course the title track of one of our favorite movies.

We ended the evening by watching BYU play West Virginia in college football. The Cougars beat the Moutaineers, 38-24.

Pepe Graduates from the TabCho

On Sunday, Jana and I traveled to Temple Square for the first time since the pandemic started. Temple Square renovation began just a few months before that, so really there hasn't been too much going on there in the past few years that we have missed.

Anyhow, the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square are back as of a few months ago, and they are once again performing new "Music and the Spoken Word" broadcasts for the public each Sunday morning at 9:30. This particular occasion also marked the retirement of more than 30 TCAOATS members, including my lifelong friend, John "Pepe" Abercrombie.

Generally speaking, TabCho members may remain in the choir for 20 years or until age 55, whichever comes first. However, Pepe found a loophole to stay for about 22½ years altogether. He joined toward the end of 1999, and therefore, he reached his 20 years' mark at the end of 2019, with a planned retirement broadcast/concert set for the spring of 2020. As you all know by now, many live theater and musical groups (including Improvables!) closed down or postponed operations indefinitely at that time, which ended up being about 18 months for the TCAOATS. Ergo, this retirement ceremony featured a large number of retiring TabCho and Orchestra members who hit their 20-year marks or reached age 55 during the pandemic.

It was wonderful to be back in the historic Tabernacle. Likewise, it was wonderful to hear the TCAOATS live for the first time in years, because the TV broadcast just doesn't do justice to how great they sound in person. The retirement ceremony that followed the broadcast included conductor Mack Wilberg and Choir President Michael Leavitt (former governor of Utah) presenting plaques to each retiree.

It was good to run into a number of friends and other familiar faces who still perform with TCAOATS or who attended. As for Pepe, he tells me he'll spend the Thursday nights and Sunday mornings he now has free by looking for another musical group or groups to continue to sing with, which I'm sure will include at least his ward choir. It'll be odd not seeing his face among Choir members at future general conferences and concerts, but life goes on.

Surprise Birthday Party

I had another birthday this weekend. In spite of my best efforts, they keep happening each year. Such is life.

Anyhow, my wonderful wife organized a surprise party for me when I returned home from work Friday night. She had invited my mom and siblings and their spouses over for a karaoke party, something I've wanted to do since the Karaoke Cafe closed a few years ago (the place where my birthday parties used to be held, and also, not coincidentally, the site of JB's and my first date).

In addition to inviting the guests and providing the refreshments, JB also baked us a chocolate and peanut butter cake for everyone to enjoy together (one of my favorite creations of hers).

I got to spend the rest of the weekend being instructed by the living prophets, seers, and revelators of the Church at another amazing general conference. Earlier today, we went out to Grantsville to watch the Sunday afternoon session with JB's parents and some of her siblings/niblings, for which she made us even more cake.

I'm enormously blessed with great people in my life, and as cruddy as the year 2020 has been, I'm looking forward to what the next year may bring.

Weekend at Bear Lake 2018

For the second consecutive year, we went on a family vacation up to Bear Lake. Except this time, everyone (all 27 of us) from the whole Plowman clan went, and JB and I were among them for a four-day weekend of good times and good fun.

Day 1: On our way up to the lake, we stopped at Gossner's in Logan for some cheese curd and ice cream, because that is how we roll.

Following, we also stopped by the Smithfield City Cemetery, where Mom and the kids spent some quality time with Grandpa.

After that, we made our way up through Logan Canyon to the lake, where we spent our vacation at a very large house in Laketown, right on the lake, that Mom rented out to fit all of us.

Christian flexed his muscles on the beach:

. . . while Mike and Ike also enjoyed some time in the sand.

After everyone got settled in and we had some dinner, Kate and I joined a few others for a viewing of Disney's Frozen.

Day 2: Most of the gang went out on the water on a boat we rented for the day, while JB and I enjoyed the fresh air and got in a lot of reading. Like you do while on vacation.

In the afternoon, JB and I ventured out on our own to Zipz in Garden City to enjoy what else but a Dole whip and a raspberry shake, respectively.

That evening, we enjoyed a family "RiffTrax" while watching an '80s classic, The Neverending Story. To their great credit, the kids (Dallin and Jackson especially) are much better at riffing than I had initially supposed.

Day 3: Some of the boys buried Jackson in the sand, because TBH you just can't resist the urge to do that while you're around him.

Our final night at the lake included a talent show, during which those more musically inclined than myself performed a few numbers. Ben and Steve performed a couple of Bluegrass Thunder numbers, while Kylee and McKenna sang a duet together, with Kenna accompanying them on the ukelele (quite an impressive skill set I didn't know she had until then!).

Ben and Steve goaded me up into joining them for a karaoke rendition of that "Weird Al" Yankovic classic "One More Minute," with Steve playing the guitar for us:

Toward the end of the evening, we posed for this family photo, with all 27 members of the Plowman clan (including four Woods) present:

On Day 4, we were on our way home to Bountiful, wrapping up an enjoyable four-day family trip.

We look forward to hopefully doing the same thing in 2019.

Family Dinner/September 2017

At September family dinner, we also celebrated our September birthdays. (Like you do.) In this case, the cake was for Biz and her alone. Hooray to another year on this planet!

Our family parties often include karaoke, and let's be honest: Karaoke makes everything that much better. Even the kids get in on it, and they have a great time.

Steve and Danny had a little father-son bonding time with the TV:

And everyone had a great time, all told.

Danny's Second Birthday Party

At August family dinner two Sundays ago, we celebrated my nephew Danny's second birthday:

They grow up far too fast, huh?

Among the many gifts given, a big hit (at least for the birthday boy and his two-year-old cousin Kate) was this tunnel:

We also broke out the karaoke. Kate entertained us all with a rendition of the song "Belle" from this year's live-action remake of Disney's Beauty and the Beast:

Family, good food, and karaoke made for a great time indeed.

"Give My Regards to Bad Guys"

Yet another member of the family has been bitten by the acting bug!

My 16-year-old nephew Dallin participated in CenterPoint Academy's Give My Regards to Bad Guys performance last week at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre, and he was phenomenal. (So what if I'm a bit biased?)

In addition to providing backup vocals and dancing to a host of numbers from The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Xanadu, and (of course, the one that everyone's talking about) Hamilton, Dallin sang solo on "Gaston" from Disney's Beauty and the Beast and hit it out of the park.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Improvables: Eighth Annual Halloween Show

Last night at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre, it was my troupe's annual Halloween show (our EIGHTH together!), which is one of our favorite nights of the year. I got to take the stage to perform along with Bryan, Cassie, Erica, Keenan, Kelly, Landon, Parker, Richard, and Ricky, with Lorin as MC for the night and Willis on keys.

One of my favorite parts was getting to sing a song about pajamas in the style of the late artist formerly known as Prince, joined by Cassie as Taylor Swift in a duet.

In memory of my Uncle Dexter, who passed away about this time last year, and who was often seen wearing overalls, I wanted to portray a character with overalls this year. So, I chose Wreck-it Ralph, of the Disney movie of the same name.

Our troupe, as always, came up with some amazing costumes, and everyone contributed to making it a wonderful night.

Family Karaoke Party

Fortunately, I belong to a family who, for the most part, enjoys karaoke as much as I do.

I recently purchased a karaoke machine, and Ben and Christian were good enough to perform a duet of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music to be the first ones to break it in.

Danny's First Birthday Party

At tonight's monthly family dinner, we also celebrated Daniel's first birthday. His actual birthday is August 25, but with family dinner falling where it usually does, we made the adjustment accordingly.

Danny needed some help from Summer but was able to get the candle blown out on his cake.

Toy Story factored into the night, with the gifts of a Sheriff Woody hat and a Toy Story 2 DVD given.

In addition, we broke in the karaoke machine I recently purchased, and I'd say it was a big hit with everyone. The kids especially enjoyed the opportunity to sing some of their favorite songs.

Improvables: Girl Power! 2016

A few weekends ago, the Improvables hosted our second annual ladies' night performance. Brianne, Cassie, Charlotte, Erica, Jamie, Megan, and Shannon from our own troupe were joined by four talented gals from other Wasatch Front troupes.

The evening began with "Da Doo Ron Ron":

. . . and ended with "Greatest Hits":

I may be a bit biased here, but the evening was fantastic, and just as great if not better than our "regular" (irregular) performances.

Improvables: Stomp!

Shot from last night's Improvables performance, taken from the front row:

It's easy to take a seat on the front row when you're the M.C. that night.

As Jamie sings an Adele-inspired song in "The Greatest Hits of Janitors," Megan, Ricky, and Parker back her up with a Stomp!-inspired . . . backup thing.

I never cease to be amazed by the brilliance that surrounds me at these performances.

Improvables: Sixth Anniversary Show

Last Friday night, the members of my troupe and I celebrated our sixth anniversary of performing together as the Improvables. It's difficult to believe it's really been that long. For this special occasion, former troupe members Brittney, Grant, Guy, Ian, and Michael returned to our stage for a one-night-only reunion show. It was good to share the stage with them again.

Some of the highlights included watching and listening to the Gibbons warm up musically:

. . . and then cool down again after the show:

Accompanied by the Gibbons, Richard performed a rap song about America as Hank Hill from TV's "King of the Hill":

Ricky was among several with memorable step-out game moments in "Tag Line":

Brittany and Ian (joined later by Ryan) put on a very funny game of "Pieces of Shakespeare":

Good times were had by all. I'm looking forward to a seventh year with the Improvables. And beyond.