For those of us barely old enough to remember the old "Addams Family" televison series, this slightly updated broadway touring production is a real hoot! My friend Gregg Jabaradisiki and I hit the road to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to see the show, which can best be described as "campy". The two hour show was filled with delightfully "dark" humor...not evil...just silly. One of the songs was an upbeat little ditty called "Death is just around the Corner (Coroner)". The story is centered around the romance of the Addams' daughter with a young man from Ohio. The young man's parents are invited to the Addams' home for a meal  and an attempt by the Addams Family to appear normal. Things obviously go awry very quickly and the quirky cast, sing and dance their way through several twists and character plots. Certainly wouldn't rank this among "The Lion King" or "Wicked" as amazing broadway shows. But, for the silliness in us all, this one is on par with "Spamalot" or "Young Frankenstein".

Today I  made  my  debut  at   Good  Shepherd  United  Methodist Church in  Circleville, which is  right on the main drag in Circleville. Years ago I sang at my nephew Phil's  wedding there, but this was my  first  time  I believe  to minister  in  song  on  Sunday  morning. These are extraordinarily wonderful folks.  I felt right at home from the  get go. I  was honored  when my  school  chums,  Donna and Tammy came to hear me sing. Donna is from Florida now, and we accidently  met up  when I  went to  a Joyce Meyer Conference in Florida and sat down right  beside  her!! Tammy  lives locally  and brought Donna to the service. The worship service went well. Good Shepherd has good musical  leadership, and Rev. Greg Swann is excellent sharing the word.  Looking forward to another visit soon!

I loved  singing this morning  at Calvary  United  Methodist Church  in the  south end  of Circleville.  They  are  a  very warm and friendly church! The service is mostly traditional with a bit of contemporary thrown in. I like  the use of both the organ and piano together during  the songs.  It adds a fullness that you can't get with either by  themselves! Also, as  you  can  tell  from  the  picture,  this  church  features amazing  stained-glass  windows!  It  had  been seven  or eight years  since  I had sung at Calvary. I think  the other time was with Diane Green and her group, so it's been too long!  The  pastor  is Greg Swann  who ably  serves  both Calvary UMC  and  Good  Shepherd  UMC  in  Circleville.

Last night, my friend Carole Hayes and I went to the Ohio State Fair and saw two old country music legends in concert: Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson. I hadn't seen Haggard  since 1975  when he  headlined at  Vets Memorial  Auditorium in Columbus, with opening  act Dolly Parton!  The show began with Kristofferson walking out, guitar in  hand and  doing an  opening song. He  then  introduced  Merle  Haggard  and  the Strangers to the Columbus crowd. For 90 minutes  Hag flew through  songs from  the 60s, 70s, 80s and a few new ones  as well. No talk, just  singing.

Kris was on hand to harmonize and sprinkle in a few monster songs that he had written. To say Kris was in "fine voice" would be a stretch, but the crowd loved his songs and showed their appreciation mightily. Midway through the show, Haggard mentioned there was a young man back stage that would sing a song for us. Turned out to be up and coming country performer Jamey Johnson. All in all, a great show by two veteran performers who genuinely like to perform.