42 Years Ago Today ......

"The Sound of Music" won the Oscar for Best Picture and something else I can't remember.

Yes, I admit it -- this is one of my favorite movies of all time. I know all the words and can sing every word to every song. (I even fake a Julie Andrews British accent when it's called for, even though I butcher it -- quite heinously in fact.) It's pretty annoying to watch it with me unless you share a passion for the movie and the music. Trust me, not a lot of people have the stomach for this.

But at least 3 other people do .... which leads me to my story ........

THE single most memorable time watching the movie was when my crew (Kelly, Schue, and Lil Fuzz) and I went to "The Sound of Music Singalong" at a theater in Philly. It was one of those events like the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" where people get dressed up like the characters, sing and recite lines through the movie, and even throw things. Singing, noise, and costumes? Right up my alley!!! (Throwing things ... not so much.)

So 3 of us made our costumes --- we dressed up as the goat marrionettes from "The Lonely Goatherd" puppetshow song. These outfits consisted of homemade craft fur goat "helmets" with horns that we spray painted gold. We had wooden marrionette sticks with puppet strings hanging down our backs. Alternatively, Schue dressed up as "Helga", the second runner up in the big talent show. You know who I'm talking about .... the big woman who bowed and curtsied incessantly as she accepted her award. Anyway, Schue wore her (now) mother-in-law's authentic German dress and braided her hair like a 60-year old school marm. I think we also stuffed her dress with some padding and a big set of knockers.

As we drove to the show -- 4 giggling, hideously costumed girls smokin cigarettes in Kelly's car --- we pulled up to a red light at South Street with all our windows down. Somebody standing on the corner, pointed at Kelly behind the wheel and said to his friend, "Hey, look at that dude's hair!"

OMG, we cracked up!!!! (I'm still laughing about it -- 6 years later.)

We got there and hardly anybody was dressed up, so naturally we looked slightly foolish. Yeah, there were a few gay men dressed up like the Baronness. I also remember one creative soul who dressed up as the pine cone that Maria sat on during her first family dinner with the Von Trapp family.

Anyway, the show was great. We sang as loud as we could, and laughed the whole way through. Afterwards, we got to be in the costume parade on stage and if memory serves, I think the goat/Helga combo even won first prize!!!