I knew I’d love the Appleton North production of Newsies before I even bought a ticket. First of all, I genuinely love anything Ron Parker directs and I am keenly aware of the extraordinary talent his program attracts. I also just loved the movie when I saw it in 1992 with my then five-year old [...]
We celebrated a friend's 17th birthday last night. Since then, "At Seventeen," Janis Ian's 1975 hit song, has been stuck in my head. "I learned the truth at 17, that love was meant for beauty queens..." The truth about 17 is that it has always been a challenging age, a plateau of poignancy from which [...]
The story you are about to read is true. The names have not been changed because there are no innocents, just a half-century milestone we’re thrilled to be marking and a legendary party about which some people would prefer we don’t speak. To celebrate properly, and excise old demons, speak we must. Our story begins [...]
We'll always be grateful to the teachers who gave our kids a voice and showed them how to use it effectively. As I've written about before, all four of our kids benefited from an outstanding public education system that provided them a safe environment to test themselves, to develop academically, to foster empathy and, therefore, [...]
If you're Irish, or want to be Irish, or remember that cool "Manly yes, but I like it too" Irish Spring commercial, you will love Appleton North's energetic production of the Pirate Queen. If you love fight scenes, or sword fighting, or lush backdrops that make you think you've woken up on the Emerald Isle, [...]