Second Star to the right, and straight on till morning!

I spent the weekend watching my son perform in a musical. He portrayed Mr. Darling in a local theater group's rendition of "Peter Pan." I think this is something like his 4th or 5th musical, and in each one he is getting bigger and better parts.

He belongs to a local community theater troupe called CPK, or Christian Performing Kids. It was put together by a local Pastor who has a musical background and whose kids performed in musicals all through high school. They have since grown and left town, some to continue lives in the performing arts. The Pastor continues to work with the local school arts program, playing piano during chorus performances and helping out with the annual All-school musical.

The musicals that the CPKs perform usually have a Christian theme, though Peter Pan was a bit of a departure from that norm. One recent play portrayed the story of Esther, another was a cut down version of Joseph. Most of them are written and scored by the Pastor. One thing he does do is get other people to direct. He's had High School kids and adults act as directors, and it is really amazing how well the productions turn out, especially since there is no funding for things like costumes and sets. A local church lets them use a social hall for performances, and all performances are free to the public. Donations are asked for but not required, as most of the attendees are the parents and high school friends..

In Peter Pan, Kurt plays the cranky father, Mr. Darling. Hard to watch your son grouch to his "wife" and "kids" and wonder how much he gets from real life with Dad! He gets mad at the dog, Nora, and tries to discourage his kids and their active imaginations. In the end, he remembers a bit of his own childhood. He had three songs in this one, including a pretty decent rendition of that never to be forgotten, "Hair on my pants!"

In all, he had four performances, and as you can imagine, the cast loosened up a bit more with each show. By Sunday afternoon, they looked like professionals, and were even ad libbing a bit. It was a fun weekend, and they all made us parents very proud. I guess the best thing about this program is how much more confident these kids seem to get with each production. They are very approachable, easy to talk to, and have a lot of self-esteem. I think it's been a great opportunity for each and every member of the cast, and will pay huge dividends later in life.