It has been one of our greatest pleasures as parents, watching our boys be brave and vulnerable up on the stage in Rampart's theatre program, sharing their voices and their talents. Thus, we faced last weekend with a lot of heartache mingled with our incredible pride, as we watched Zac's last high school musical,
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Zac was cast in the lead role of Adam, so we were able to witness him close out his high school musical experience with a dream checked off in his pocket. Zac was INCREDIBLE! His voice was strong and he played his lovable jerk of a character with such conviction--I didn't even like this boy of mine that I love so much for part of the show because he was so convincing! And what a gift to see Ben up there beside him, playing Adam's brother Caleb. Could it have been more dreamy for this pair of bursting-with-pride parents? Nope.
It was a great show: our favorite yet! When the boys first told us the premise: a bunch of rowdy young men in the mountains kidnap women from the town, then hold them hostage for a winter, after which the girls marry them, we thought: "
What." But it was actually a really sweet show about love and redemption, understanding and growth, and it turns out that it was not creepy like the brief summation would suggest. Plus, the cast did a great job of showing the strength of Millie as a force for positive change in all the men on that stage, Adam included. The whole cast was phenomenal! Zac's two best buds, Ian and Nathan played two more of Adam's brothers, Benjamin and Gideon, and we were able to cheer on them and so many other kids we know and love. These kids have so much talent! We are going to miss this group of seniors so much.
There was a bit of drama for Ben, when just days before
opening night, Ben was told he'd have to give up his role to his understudy since they felt he had missed more than the days they'd approved so he could go to track practice, which was not what Ben felt was the case, so after clearing up some misunderstandings, Ben was given two of the four performances, split with his best friend and understudy Micah. Ben opted to just do the Friday night show as Caleb, so he could run in his track meet (where he PR'ed in the 2-mile) during the Saturday understudy matinee show. Ben was WONDERFUL! I don't know why they pulled him, he knew his part and crushed it. For the Thursday and Saturday evening shows, he performed as one of the suitors, Luke. What I loved the most through this all, was that in the deep of his disappointment, he was never bitter or vindictive. He would not even consider quitting and leaving his friends in a lurch with a hole in the cast, and even defended the director when others were dumping on him. He showed his integrity and character--something much more important than a role! In the end, Ben's heart for the program is intact, and he's already plotting ways that he can perform in
Newsies in the fall while also running cross-country.
I am going to miss watching Zac so incredibly much. He truly shines up there, and puts his whole heart into everything he's done on the stage over the four years that he's invested in theatre, because he loves it so much. He lives the statement "there are no small parts, only small actors," and has thrown himself into every role he's had. Whether he was part of the ensemble and had only one line, or had solo performances and many lines, whether he liked his role or hated it, he elevated every role to its greatest potential. He worked so hard in show after show in order to secure the lead this year, and we are so happy his hard work paid off. We have loved watching him grow as a performer and a vocalist, and the friendships he's developed over the years through the program have provided him a little high school "home." I am so glad he found this passion, and I hope he finds opportunities in the future to pursue it. Bravo, Zac!
Although running is his number one love, I hope to see Ben up there for two more years. I just love watching him put himself out there, and you can tell how much fun he's having on stage with the cast. He loves being a part of these shows, the energy he gets from them and the artistic expression he's able to display give him so much joy. And, boy, do we love seeing him in them! Bravo, Ben!
Opening Night:
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| Love this Bromance! |
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| The Pontipee Brothers |
Friday Night/Ben as Caleb:
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| Ben and Micah: best buds and both Calebs |
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| The Pontipee Brothers |
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| The Pontipee Brothers and Millie |
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| The Original Five: the five seniors who have done theatre all four years of high school. |
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| The fans! |
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| Brides and Brothers |
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| Ben and his bride, Alana. She was SUCH a nice person! |
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| The Momance |
Closing Night:
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| Ben and Emma |
Photos taken of the cast during their dress rehearsals (there are a ton, but I love them all!):
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| Zac and Millie |
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| Trying to charm Millie |
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| Going to the social in town. |
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| The fight scene. |
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| Love Comes and Goes Away |
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| Adam and Gideon (Z and Nate) |
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| Sobbin' Women (the next 10 pictures are also from the Sobbin' Women song) |
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| This is my favorite picture of the whole show! |
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| Kidnapping the girls. |
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| Where Were You? |
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| We've Got To Make It Through the Winter |
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| Gideon confronts Adam |
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| Caleb in love with Ruth (I mean--she's hard not to love! |
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| We don't want the girls to go, Adam! Adam: But we've got to do the right thing. |
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| Love Never Goes Away |
We were lucky that most of the pictures were taken on the run through with Ben as Caleb. Here are a couple from when Micah was in and Ben was a suitor.
Photos from the cast party at The IHOP. Ben was home sleeping, getting ready for his track meet. A first two were "re-dos" of some of photos they'd taken in past years.
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| The Original Five! |
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