The goat who waved goodbye

Marc and I have seen "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" many times over the years.
He's been in the cast several times as Jacob and we've been to productions in Provo, Lehi, American Fork and Pickleville.
Every one has been fun but the one we saw Saturday night was the topper.
Marc's daughter Erin and our 6-year-old granddaughter Ellie were the stars — at least as far as we were concerned. The Smithfield LDS North Stake put it on, listing it on the program as an "amateur production of" but it was anything but amateur.
The cast was well chosen and well directed (Erin had five different roles from an Ishmaelite to the wife of Simeon to a member of the Pharaoh's court. Ellie was the goat). The songs were crisp and delivered with energy. The costumes were great (trucked in from Nevada, apparently) and the lighting and sound were professionally done.
Four months of rehearsal and significant investment from the LDS stake were obvious.

Ellie the goat

As they sang and danced and waved and disappeared (Ellie was a most accommodating goat. She ran out dressed all in white, let the brothers lift her high in the air and disappeared with a smile and a wave!), we exulted in the music and the warmth and the magic of theater.
The brothers and the wives and the guards and the children in the chorus (again, Ellie was waving!) were having a great time and sharing that with us.

Erin on the Pharaoh's left fighting for love

The "LDS" accents were hilarious as Jacob sat reading the latest issue of the Ensign and the brothers passed out Twinkies from their food sacks. (Joseph wore considerably more than a loincloth and his wife and kids joined him in the finale.)
It was fun to see Erin — who spends most of her days chasing Ellie and busy two-year-old twin boys — get out and literally kick up her heels.
She shone in the spotlight even when she had to hold her arms up in an Egyptian pose for what must have seemed like hours and when she shuffled away as a grubby Ishmaelite in dreadlocks.
It started as an opportunity for mother and daughter to share something worthwhile together but Erin has told her father she got caught up in the rush that comes from performing. She told him she now understands what compels him to keep heading to the stage.

The wives with Erin on the far right

She confessed that during those last days, it was all she could think about, all that mattered.
Ellie liked being the only child who got to go under the stage!
Look out world.