So long, farewell, Auf Wiederseh’n, goodnight

The first time I saw a Ron Parker production, I sat in wonder, so mesmerized I could not bring myself to leave my seat at intermission.

My oldest son was a freshman that year and he’d yet to grow into his giant feet. The football field seemed more like his natural habitat, because it was. But, he ended up feeling just at home in the theatre. That night, the opening night of Appleton North’s the Sound of Music, Charlie waltzed.

I elbowed my husband, who also watched wide-eyed.

“Charlie’s dancing!” I whispered.

That production included other aspects that astonished me — a set that embedded the pit band in the side of a mountain; a 15-year old named Alisa Jordheim who sounded like (and later became) an opera star; costuming by Cece Shoaf and her merry band of sewing wizards.

From the opening scene, our whole extended family was hooked. We clapped so hard during the long ovation at the end of that show I thought my hands would crack open.

As it turned out, my hands were fine. It was my heart that cracked open.

I’ve written before about Mr. Parker’s tremendous influence on my family. From him, my kids learned how to set and achieve high standards, to work as an ensemble, to take a risk, to play a leading role, to lose a role to someone better suited for the part, to give and receive a sincere pep talk, to clap for a talented cast member, to take a bow, to lead with kindness, to try.

Family members who came to that first show returned every year. Even when she became wheelchair bound and moved to an assisted living facility, the Outlaw Mary Jane still came to see the North Theatre productions.

I hope you did too. I really hope that, if you lived in traveling distance of an Appleton North theatre production during the Ron Parker Glory Years, you treated yourself to a show.

They were magnificient.

Mr. Parker is retiring after 27 years as the Appleton North Theatre Director. During his tenure, Appleton North won 27 straight Critic’s Choice awards at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Theatre Festival. He guided his program through historic challenges, including a global pandemic. Fueled by a passion for his craft and copious amounts Mountain Dew, he staged such high-quality productions they rivaled professional companies and sold out entire runs.

The ripple affects of his efforts lasted far beyond those heady days in the theater. Buoyed by his faith and uncanny ability to develop talent in them, Ron Parker’s students have gone on to remarkable careers. They are writers, producers, directors, actors, singers, theatre managers, teachers, builders and entrepreneurs. They approach life with gusto, compassion, and the kind of precision they learned from him.

So, the legacy of Ron Parker lives on.

Bravo!