Ray Bolger hits Cherokee

Iowa's communities are small, but tight knit. That's evidenced by their affection for parades. They're not just about sitting along Main Street to see the floats. It's about making sure to see your neighbor. Check on their health. Ask about their kids.

Tight knit communities also breed tight knit community theatres. At least, that's what it seems like. Both Le Mars and Cherokee have community theatres that have caught my eye. I'm hoping to take a trip up to Cherokee this weekend to see The Wizard of Oz. It won't be a Kennedy Center production, but that's not what I'm looking for. I miss the productions of yore (pre-college) built on sweat, low-budgets, and camaraderie. Sure, the Kennedy Center has sweat, but they also have personal butlers to wipe their brow.

Attending the show is also a way to tame the withdrawal from college theatre. This current job of mine probably prohibits doing a show myself (except Curtis's Apartment Guide), so watching these performances takes on added significance.

That being said, if a local community wanted to put on a production of The Mikado, and was in desperate need of Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner . . . well, I could make a few phone calls.