"The hills are alive ... "

I love musical theatre! There, I've said it loud & proud (my brother-in-law is now cringing, though I wouldn't smirk too much Mr. I-auditioned-once-as-Tigger for a Disney musical production!)

I suppose this passion started as a young child after watching The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz every year on television. It grew when my grandmother took my sister and me to see Annie at the Centre In the Square in Kitchener. My first professional theatre experience! In high school I helped with costumes for a couple of drama club productions and actually performed as "the bartender" and one of a "trio of fans" in Bye Bye Birdie. Later, when I moved to Toronto and then Ottawa there were many opportunities to indulge my love for theatre.

This devotion was shared and probably nurtured by my mother. On many occasions she would travel to Toronto or Ottawa and join me in the audience ... Cats, Joseph, Rent, Singing In The Rain (it actually rained on stage as the actors merrily splashed along in the puddles!) ... These are some of my favorite memories of time spent with my mom. I used to delight in the story of how, as a young woman, she orchestrated an excursion to New York City with my grandmother to hit the famed theatres of Broadway. I still have several of her old Broadway record albums.

After I moved back home from the city I still managed to see at least one production a year. Our local rec department has an annual bus trip to Toronto to take in a matinee performance of one of the city's latest musicals. Every year my mother would accompany me on this fall pilgrimage. It was our special mother-daughter time. We saw Mamma Mia!, Hairspray, Wicked ... My sister joined us for the Wicked trip and we will always be thankful that she did. Mom passed away the following spring. This past fall when I boarded the bus for Dirty Dancing my sister accompanied me again, but this time the trip felt somewhat lonelier.

My oldest daughter seems to have inherited her grandmother's passion for musical theatre. She too has repeatedly watched The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz (on DVD purchased for her by her grandmother). She dances along to Hairspray and High School Musical.

This year I am hopeful that it will once again a happy trio heading to the bright lights of the big city. My daughter, who will be six, may be joining us. Starting in October Mirvish Productions will be staging a revival of The Sound of Music. While it has not been confirmed, I think this will be the musical that the rec department will choose for the theatre trip.

To psych ourselves up for our autumn date we are currently engrossed in the CBC reality show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria. A panel of expert judges have whittled down thousands of Maria hopefuls to a group of ten finalists. The winner will be cast as Maria in the Toronto production. So Sunday nights we cheer for our favorite Marias and then vote, vote, vote. This has become our mother-daughter time. I hope it gives my girl the gift of special memories that my mother gave to me.