Robin Hood

After we did The Three Princes we decided to take a break from theater for a while. Pam told us she would be doing more plays, but it took up so much time before, we couldn't imagine doing another one. So when she told us she was holding auditions for Robin Hood, we all just smiled and put the thought out of our minds. Then she emailed me and said she really needed someone of Ivory or Daisy's size to play a kid. The problem was that school was starting and I knew the girls would be so busy. But actually Ivory had nothing going on. So she auditioned and got the part of Heathcliff, a know-it-all boy.

And she was back into the crazy schedule of being gone every night at rehearsals. This time I didn't have to go as well, but I still had to drive her often. I finally bribed her to find her own rides. If she got enough rides, I would buy her ice cream. She is highly motivated by ice cream, and she fulfilled her part of the bargain, so I fulfilled mine.

Pam had reserved the Castle Amphitheater again. When they started rehearsing there, I took a picture from up above. They had most of the stage up, but they still had a bit to do. It is a lot of work to get the sets up. I believe everything blew down one night. Amazingly, the show went on for ten nights and it didn't rain once.

Opening night was postponed by a day. But I came when it opened. Ivory brought her friend Megan. (Megan actually came back later and watched it again another night. Very cool.)

The play started while it was still light but it rapidly got dark and most of the play was done with lights illuminating the stage. Hence, many of my pictures didn't turn out the best, but I think you still get the idea.

I'm not going to give you a summary of the whole play. You probably have a basic idea of how the Robin Hood story goes anyway. This production is a musical, and Pam told me I would be singing the songs for the rest of my life. I agree with her. After having Ivory in the play and her singing them around the house AND going to the play at least seven times, I easily got songs stuck in my head for weeks. Pam's son wrote the music for the play and they are clever songs. Here is some of the Sheriff Raised the Tariff.

Ivory did a great job in her roll. She was a boy who wanted to see justice returned to Nottingham. She carried around her Nottingham Code of Justice wherever she went. She was pretty bold telling thieves what they shouldn't do and also the evil Sheriff of Nottingham was on her list to rebuke. (Although he didn't take any flack.) But no one wanted more taxes.

One of my favorite songs was Naughty. The Merry Men manage to capture the Sheriff for a brief moment. They put him on a Mock Trial for being so naughty. Ivory (as Heathcliff) got to battle in the back with Friar Tuck. He often swung her around or she would roll off his back. It was fun to watch their scrimmages.

Here is a bit of the song, but you can't see Ivory very well because it is so dark.

The archery tournament was very fun. Three of the guys shot arrows over the audience into the brush. Ivory and Ashton had to go look for arrows every afternoon before the show started. I'm proud to say they found every one.

Here are a couple stills from the song the Merry Men sing about how loyal they are to Robin Hood.

Cliff has a hideout and he catches anyone who tries to sit on it. Here he is confronting John Little who has decided to take a seat momentarily.

The hideout was a good spot when things got really dicey. The Sheriff took Marian hostage and Cliff hid with the Constable. (Ashton was a really funny Constable. He was definitely one of my favorite characters.)

John Little had a thing for Heathcliff's mom. They eventually get married and the only one to possibly object was Cliff of course. But she puts an end to that.

Everything turns out right in the end. Robin Hood and Maid Marian get together and the Sheriff is taken care of. And King Richard returns as well. Cliff is ready to take on more responsibility with his new Dad. Look, he's even wearing John's feathered cap.

The play was very enjoyable and I didn't mind going multiple nights. Abby, Ashton, Eduardo, and Ivory were my favorite actors. Everyone did a great job, but those four made me laugh the most. Ivory had such a good time, I could easily see her doing another play with Pam. I guess we'll see...