Oh, To Be A Star!

When the bitter January cold hits, the phone starts ringing relentlessly, my email count rises, and the random, drop-in visitors at LaDeDa multiply. That's because it's Heart-A-Rama time, and the itch to get eh latest HAR scoops gets the best of everyone in our production family. This always reminds me of that August cold snap signaling opening day of the county fair, and the first day of school. People just know. Throughout January and the coming months, somewhere in Manitowoc County, a HAR committee is meeting and planning some aspect of the annual wackiness presented in the name of heart health. 2009 marks our 39Th year. Can you believe that? 39 years of dressing up funny, selling toilet seats, assembling hot dogs., painting hearts upon bald heads...and this year we will reach our second million in donations. Next year, when the organization hits middle age, we will officially begin working on our third million.

If you follow my blog, you know that the book talk falls off this time of year,as I fill my posts with HAR news. This year, my plan is to photograph the scene behinders as they work to pull the show together. But, to kick things off, I dragged out a few pictures from the archives.

Sifting through the piles left me with two startling discoveries. First, I have no pictures of my friends doing normal things. They are all in costume, caked with make-up, and mugging. I'm not sure I know what any of them really look like. Second, I realize that our HAR men are troupers considering the use and abuse they endure for the show. Our women get to play the sweet young things, the vixens, and the unlikely villains. They get attractive wardrobe, and do their own make-up, which is an advantage since they know how to work with the contours of their faces - no freakish character make-up for them. Our men, on the other hand, just take a seat in the make-up room, and let someone have at them. Then they put whatever outlandish outfit has been prepared for them, and they step on stage, ready to greet the spirited audience - frequently in drag as you will see.

Enjoy these pictures.. I'm sure the subjects would agree that a little humiliation among friends keeps us all grounded.

This is Bobby. He was playing an orphan in a "Little Orphan Annie" parody called "Little Afrin' Arnie." He's holding a teddy bear and smoking a cigar. He also sported a nice topnotch, an Alfalfa sprout, but that isn't showing up here. Bobby had the darnedest time keeping his trap door shut. Double stick tape. Velcro. Nothing worked. The long-johns were so old that sewing it shut wasn't an option. The thread just tore through the fabric. Eventually, he opted to live with the breeze on his hinterlands, providing us many nights of off-stage laughter, and some fun photos.

Here's our Fritzie, playing Chuck! Yes, I said Chuck. Chuck needed money, so he took a gig as a substitute sex-ed teacher. The school preferred a woman, so Chuck posed as Lola, when applying for the job. "Chuck Needs Money; Chuck Wants Romance; Chuck Gets Brand New Underpants" pretty much tidies up the plotline for you.

Finally, here's Brad. We put him in a dress so many years in a row that he eventually broke down and bought his own, properly fitting underpinnings. The five o'clock shadow and thousdands of tiny hairs on his hands add a little somthing.

Well, that's HAR report for this week. Auditions are Sunday, Feb 8Th at 12:00, and Monday, Feb. 9Th at 7:00. Be there! Kadow Hall at the Capitol Civic Centre. Oh joy! Oh Rapture! Yippee! It's Heart-A-Rama time!

*****What am I reading? The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay...perfect for anyone who likes books, or hanging around in bookstores. More next week...maybe.

*****Who needs a joke of the week when you have Brad's pensive graduation pose to set your heart to dancing?

*****From the "Nonsense News" drawer...my Christmas tree is still up. I may be committed to a long haul with this one. It's growing! Check back tomorrow. I might take a few pictures for you if I'm not too emotionally distraught after tonight's episode of "The Bachelor."