December arrived here in Kentucky flaunting his typical showmanship. It’s sleeting and toe-freezingly cold here in Owensboro which means one thing to my family: Hot Chocolate! (Click the link for my favorite hot chocolate recipe.)

It also means we run around less, so we can enjoy one another more. And people wonder why I love winter so much. Holidays, hot chocolate, snow, family time – what’s not to love?

Be sure you keep an eye both eyes on the Variety! Music, Memories, and More Schedule. I don’t want you to miss the Variety! Christmas show, Tuna Christmas (I’m still laughing…), or the It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

If you want to make some very special, even magical Christmas memories for yourself and your family – as soon as you leave this site, I want you to head over to the Grand Rivers Variety Website and order your tickets.

You’ll have the time of your life and after each show, you’ll be saying, “Wow. That caffeinated, chocolate addicted, chitty chatty, animal obsessed, snow loving gal from Genuine Kentucky knows her stuff.”

Yes. Yes, she does. And now she’s off to make more hot chocolate.

Click the audio below (the black triangle – for those who are about as technologically inclined as I am) as Bill Minihan describes Tuna Christmas and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

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Mark me as amazed.

Saturday night, Mr. Genuine Kentucky and I went to the Variety Christmas Show at Badgett Playhouse in Grand Rivers, Kentucky.  Everyone involved in this extremely entertaining production should be highly commended.  The decorations were stunning (all of Grand Rivers was lit up and took my breath away) and the costumes? I have no idea where they come up with the gorgeous, adorable clothes they wear at these Variety! shows.

Every single detail smacks of perfection.

Speaking of perfection, the cast is utterly sensational. They earned the standing ovation they received and then some.  Actually, several of us gave them two standing ovations – one, of course, at the very end of the show and one at the end of a very special performance of Mary, Did You Know? Those of us who were standing were somehow managing to wipe tears and clap at the same time.

Amazing what you can do when your emotions are moved further than they’ve gone in a while.

You’re well aware, if you’ve read any of my reviews, that I have thoroughly loved each and every play and musical performance at Badgett Playhouse.  Every song, every joke, every dance, every cup of coffee… Everything.  This particular show was one of the best yet.  My husband said, “That was the best one yet” at one point. I’m not sure if it was during the first standing ovation or the second.

Personally, I love little more in life than a good laugh, so I’m going to go with a tie – I tie it with Greater Tuna and Bus Stop.  If you didn’t see Bus Stop, go ahead and give yourself a little kick.

If you didn’t see Greater Tuna, hold the kick.  You still have time to see the Tuna Christmas Show.   We’re going Thursday night and I couldn’t be more excited.

But back to Variety Christmas.  As a web publisher, I write for hours each and every day.  As a female, I talk for even more hours each and every day. Yet, I find myself at a loss to convey to you just how special, not only this particular show was, but how VERY special the singers, dancers, and musicians are.

Let me try it from another angle.  Whenever I see a Johnny Depp movie, I wonder, “Is this man even capable of a sub-par performance?”

Whenever I eat at Willow Pond in Aurora, Kentucky, I wonder, “Could they make bad catfish if they absolutely had to?”

Each drink of a Starbucks drink (pick one) causes me to ask, “Where have you been all my life?”

And whenever I see a performance at Badgett Playhouse in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, I wonder “What are these people doing in Kentucky?!” Don’t get me wrong, I’m THRILLED that we have them - I’ve gotten countless hours of amazing entertainment from them (and have even marked my calendar for upcoming entertainment!).  I’m delighted that their vehicles don’t know the way to Nashville, NYC, or Los Angeles. And, selfishly, I’m delighted that the big wigs in those big wigged towns don’t know the talent that abounds in the beautiful village of Grand Rivers Kentucky. They’d come looking for them! So, shhhhhh….

I listen to far less people on the radio every day and watch people on TV who don’t have an ounce of the charisma, spark, or talent that these lovely people have.  At one point,  beautiful Dana Poulson was singing a song and I mentally began counting the people on the radio I’d listened to that day, alone, who didn’t sound nearly as good as she did.

Casie Janet is another very lovely young lady with an absolutely amazing voice.  Like Dana, she can dance as well as sing – and for someone who can do neither, I’m blown away.  Her family and friends were in the audience and were, understandably, very proud.   They, too, gave two tearful ovations.

The young man who sang Mary, Did You Know with Casie was a new addition to the cast – and he was an instant, powerful hit.  He hails from Tennessee and his name is, hopefully, Michael Inge. (I say “hopefully” because my husband and I couldn’t totally agree on what we’d heard him introduced as. He isn’t listed in the playbill I got and he isn’t on the Variety! website yet.) After his first solo, my husband said, “He’s a great addition.”  I would have answered, but my jaw was on the ground.  This young man has an incredible voice and I hope we get to see a lot more of him. He. Sang. His. Skin. Off.

Thomas Michaels - he of the wicked guitar playing – actually sang during the Variety! Christmas show.  Wow!  I had no idea he had such a good voice.  He continues to impress me, too.  We always knew he was to a guitar what I am to a car (i.e. he dangerously drives the heck out of it) but he keeps proving himself in other areas.  In Bus Stop, he acted for the first time and came across as though he’d been doing it all of his life.  Now, what does he do?  He opens his mouth and shows off wonderful country western pipes!  Who knew?

You have to see this show if for no other reason than to see Bill Minihan coax Willie Nelson out of Thomas Michaels by holding his nose.  It wasn’t the first time in the evening I laughed so hard I had to set my coffee down.  And, no, I don’t often set my coffee down.

Speaking of Bill Minihan…  This ridiculously talented man and his ridiculously talented and lovely wife Sara beat all I ever saw.  Total Characters.  They convey so many emotions with so few facial movements that it’s really something to behold.  They pull the audience in unlike any performers I’ve ever seen.  You instantly adore them, the minute they hit the stage.  They dance beautifully and they obviously have wonderful voices.  They’re a beautiful and talented young couple – but that’s not where their magic lies.  The thing that makes them so extremely special, and the thing that would make me drive anywhere in the country to watch them perform is a unique “thing” that can’t be taught.  It’s something that can’t be coached and can’t be practiced.

For my Self Help Blog, I was once sent a book by a wonderful author. He even autographed it for me which was pretty darn cool. I loved the book so much that I raved in the review how that it was a beautiful thing to see someone doing what they were meant to do in life. This author has such talent and is so inspiring and motivating that it’s obvious: He’s doing what he’s meant to do in life. His level of talent is a perfect fit with what he does for a living.

You don’t often come across people doing what they do so well that you think, “They’re doing what they were meant to do.” There’s something magical about the rare people that do elicit such a response.

Bill and Sara Minihan are such people. And the real beauty… the real magic… lies in what they were meant to do: Bring smiles to people’s faces and make them feel good. There’s no better mission in life!

And the Minihan’s? They nail it down.

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If this one doesn’t get you mooving and grooving this morning, you might need another cup pot of coffee…

…or a doctor!

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If she’s right, I’ll buy her a Starbucks drink.

If she’s wrong, I’ll buy me a Starbucks drink.

Edit:  Dang, she’s right.  She doesn’t share.  I’ll add the other audio’s to the appropriate posts.  After Starbucks.

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par·a·ble –noun -
1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
2. a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.

Wow, I’m having ”Grammar 101″ flashbacks.  I loved grammar, so I’m cool with that.  Had it been an Algebra flashback, I’d be banging my head through the monitor right about now.  Math and I have nothing at all to say about one another that doesn’t begin and end with $%.

So, why begin a post with a definition?  Because I want everyone to keep this definition in mind for a minute.  Jesus used parables often.  Remember the good Samaritan?   He knew that people understood and remembered stories.  Since he was very much interested in His teachings being understood and remembered, He utilized parables quite often.

On a much, much, lesser scale – I homeschooled our three daughters.  When they were in the early elementary school grades, we read extensively about the Civil War.  When it was time to learn all about the Underground Railroad, one morning (while they were sleeping), I went through the house and set up “Safe Houses” – in hidden places (behind the couch, under a desk, inside an entertainment center, etc.).  Fortunately, they had a great abundance of Barbies and those (combined with my own collection of Gone With the Wind dolls) made up our brave residents and bold travellers, while a few of the Ken dolls “got” to be the villains giving chase.

My Girls, our cats, and I had a ball! Years later, they still talk about our Underground Railroad.  Most importantly, they learned more about this period of time than they would have just by reading or listening to me.  We used this same technique throughout our years of homeschooling (though not always with barbies!).

People understand what they’re familiar with better than what they’re told.  If you put a story “on their level,” using situations they’re familiar with, they simply “get it” better. 

Jesus used situations, characters, and settings that his listeners would not only relate to but that people would remember for years to come.  Was it effective?

What was your answer earlier when I asked you if you remembered the Good Samaritan? 

The Cotton Patch Gospel begins it’s run this season today. In the past it has proven to be controversial. People apparently even got up to leave during the show. I’m not one to pass judgement on anyone (never have, never will), but how can you ever truly make your mind up about something unless you hear the whole story. Bearing in mind that it is a story, in the first place.

The Cotton Patch Gospel is a fictional retelling of the Greatest Non-fictional story ever told. A parable acted out, if you will. The writers have taken “Jesus” and brought Him to a present day setting – in the south. The idea was for people to be entertained and enlightened at the same time.

If the story sparks interest in just one person out of the thousands to ever see it, and if this one person picks up the Bible to read more about our savior, Jesus Christ - can’t we all agree that it would have been MORE than worth it?

I’ll personally be seeing the production this weekend – the whole production (wink). Im expecting to be entertained, I’m expecting to laugh, and I’m expecting to be touched by the story. I’m not expecting a word for word production taken straight from the Bible. (If that were the case, it wouldn’t be set anywhere near Deep South, USA!)

I hope everyone who sees this story will go in with an open mind and out (at the end) with a full heart. Click HERE for the schedule – and if you haven’t seen the Variety show, yet, make plans to see it as well!  You can find my review for this energetic, amazing show  by clicking the link .

Finally, click the blue arrow for an audio about the controversy surrounding The Cotton Patch Gospel.

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