Give My Regards to Brede Weg

By Kathy Kovach

Streets named Broadway are plentiful in America. From Los Angeles, California to Paduka, Kentucky—even my hometown of Denver, Colorado. Yet, any mention of Broadway elicits high-stepping dance routines, belting tunes, and bright footlights.

Broadway is synonymous with live theater.

Jennie Bobb, with her daughter, Nellie Longhat, both Delaware (Lenape)

Long before the theaters were built, Broadway’s location was a native American Lenape trading trail cutting through the heart of Manhattan Island. Known as the Wickquasgeck Trail, named for the Wecquaesgeck people, it followed a ridge of dry ground that passed by swamps, boulders, and fields.

In the 17th century, the Dutch moved in. They named their settlement, located in the southern tip of the island, New Amsterdam. By February 2, 1653, New Amsterdam officially became a city after receiving municipal rights.

Utilizing the existing trail to link trade with the rest of Manhattan, they broadened it in 1658 in order to get wagons through. This became de Heere Straet, or Gentleman’s Way. Most people simply referred to it as brede weg, or the broad road. From there, it morphed into Broad Street which eventually rolled off the tongue as Broadway.

As a side note, New Amsterdam became New York in 1664 when the British began to rule.

To think this infamous street went from a dusty native American trail to essentially the very pulse of bustling Manhattan boggles the mind. It has, in fact, escorted an assortment of New York’s population for hundreds of years.

Now that commerce could flow freely, businesses and houses for the elite popped up faster than a standing ovation. Broadway became a social hub, which naturally ushered in various forms of entertainment. Theaters were built. Everything from pantomime to Shakespeare were offered.

The Park Theatre

In 1798, the first world-class theater showed up at the southern end of Broadway, known as the Park Theatre. It hosted highly regarded performers from all over the globe. The Astor Place Theatre was built further uptown in 1847. It was around this area that many other venues clustered, and it is now known as the Broadway theater district.

Then came electricity.

Times Square today

At the dawn of the 20th century, all up and down Broadway, signage announced the next big thing. But no one could see them at night. Colorful lights made them shine . . . temporarily . . . until they burned out at an alarming rate. White lights seemed to last longer. Thus, all bulbs were changed to clear, and Broadway went from being known as a tiny trading trail to The Great White Way in 1901.

Ziegfeld Girls

Over the next two decades, a shining star arose shaping the Broadway musicals that we know of today. Utilizing glitzy music and dance, untamed humor, elaborate sets, and extravagant costumes, Impresario Florenz Ziegfeld managed and produced revues hosting such talents as W.C. Fields, Fanny Bryce, Will Rogers and countless others. Irving Berlin created music for the Ziegfeld Follies, including “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody”, that became the theme song for the popular Ziegfeld Girls. These were a host of up to forty women dressed in glamorous costumes who moved about the stage, often as a backdrop to the performers. Enjoy Dennis Morgan singing the Hollywood version in 1936:

By 1920, the area around Broadway and 42nd Street had firmly established itself. Over eighty theaters sprang up and created what we now know as Manhattan’s Theater District.

Who knew Broadway was simply that? A broad street. Yet it has elicited so much more emotion. Broadway is the rhythm and harmony winding through each heart that loves the kicking high step and a serenading tenor. It’s the storyteller that makes us laugh and cry . . . and forget. An escape into another world, if only for three hours.

You know what they say. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. And if you do make it there, give my regards.

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

Website
Blog With A Giggle
CraftCinema

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A Night at the Operetta

By Kathy Kovach

American live theater has certainly had its growing pains. From misunderstanding its intent to total rejection of the British influence that brought it here. Still, nothing can stifle the creative spirit.

Once theater put down its footlight, it declared it was here to stay.

Manhattan, New York had embraced the stage by the 19th century. American playwrights, as well as the now accepted British writers, moved into a relatively new genre. The operetta.

By definition, operetta is a shorter, lighter version of opera, originating in mid-18th century Italy and taking hold in France. It came to America a hundred years later. The style incorporated dialogue with singing and dancing.

The Black Crook

Widely accepted as the first operetta performed in America was The Black Crook on September 12, 1866. Theater goers sat through a mind-boggling five-and-a-half hours. And we complain when a movie runs over two hours!

Audiences loved it, though. With the book written by Charles M. Barras, and music selected and arranged by Thomas Baker, it took over Niblo’s Garden on Broadway for a record-breaking 474 performances.

Niblo's Garden

The play was actually an accident, thanks to the burning down of New York’s Academy of Music opera house. A troupe of French ballet dancers were set to perform there, but after the fire, they had nowhere to go. They reached out to the manager of Niblo’s Garden, William Wheatley, who had the play by Barras that he deemed dull. The two worked together, and music/choreography was stitched in. Thus, was created a spectacular display that also utilized moving sets, colored lights, and plenty of razzle-dazzle.

It is also considered by some as the first musical comedy. Others argue that it was merely an extravaganza that incorporated already known genres such as vaudeville, burlesque, and pantomime.

At any rate, now that the stage door was open wide to this exciting new genre, others hit Broadway with dancing shoes on and vocal cords trilling.

Many followed, including Gilbert and Sullivan who gave us such timeless hits as Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, and The Mikado.

To many, Broadway is synonymous with musical theater. And we have the light-hearted operetta to thank for it.

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

Website

Blog With A Giggle
CraftCinema

Facebook

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Goodreads

Live Theater Growing Pains

By Kathy Kovach

By the turn of 19th century, British influence had been suppressed in colonial America thanks to the American Revolution. The new nation was free to create its own identity, and live theater accepted the challenge. Some hotspots, of course, still remained, most notably the Astor Place Riot that occurred in New York City on May 10, 1849. More on that later.

In 1832, William Dunlap, known as “The Father of American Drama”, characterized theater as a powerful engine.

“No arts can be made more effectual for the promotion of good than the dramatic and the histrionic. They unite music, poetry, painting, and eloquence. The engine is powerful for good or ill—it is for society to choose.”

Even though some southern states had already embraced live theater, three northern cities became the nerve center: Boston, Philadelphia, and New York.

Boston’s growing pains didn’t stem from British prejudice, but from Puritan resistance. Heavy hitters such as John Hancock and Sam Adams contributed to the religious, as well as artistic, suppression.

Poster of The Boston Museum, circa 1847

However, creativity cannot be squelched. Theaters were masked under names such as Exhibition Hall and Boston Museum. A comedic play, The Contrast, was billed as “a moral lecture in five parts” according to an advertisement in Boston’s Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advisor (October 18, 1792).

Beginning in the late 1700s, Philadelphia claimed to have been the center of theater entertainment until New York commanded the stage after the 1830s. In the 19th century alone, Philadelphia built over 100 theaters. The Chestnut Street Theatre, first opened in 1794 with a capacity of entertaining 2,000 patrons. In comparison, the Gershwin Theatre in New York is considered the largest on Broadway and holds 1,933 seats. The Chestnut Street Theatre was also the first in America to be lit by gaslight.

The Arch Street Theatre opened on October 1, 1828 and boasted a magnificent 108-year run. The notoriously infamous John Wilkes Booth joined the stock company there in 1857.

Louisa Lane Drew as Ophelia c. 1840-48

The Arch was the first theater to employ a female manager. In 1860, stockholders suggested veteran actress Louisa Lane Drew replace her husband, John Drew, due to his mismanagement for ten years. It thrived under her watchful eye until her retirement in 1892.

Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore, c. 1904

Drew Barrymore, 2014

Born into a performing family, Louisa Drew started acting as a child. The genes must have been strong as she went on to become the grandmother of Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore. Establishing herself as the matriarchal ancestor to the famous Barrymore-Drew acting family, spanning four centuries.

New York City live theater started small. The first appeared on Nassau Street in 1732. Nearly twenty years later, the New York Theatre became the first to present a musical in 1750.

Bowery Theatre

Park Theatre

Opening in 1826, the Bowery Theatre, located on the rowdy lower east side of Manhattan, became popular. Audiences there were known to disrupt performances, going as far as throwing projectiles. Their polar opposite competition, the elite Park Theatre, was located in what is now the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan. They catered to imported British actors, presenting Shakespeare.

Astor Place Riot

In 1847, the Astor Place Theatre, located in lower Manhattan, had been built to attract the upper crust of society. European entertainment fit their bill. A dress code was implemented, insisting on “freshly shaven faces, evening dress, and kid gloves”. While attempting to establish an air of refinement, no one could envision the tragedy that would ensue less than two years after its opening.

Yes, the Revolutionary War had helped America to establish its own identity, and yes, much of the British influence had been suppressed, but not eradicated. Sixty-four years after the war, pockets of loyalists remained on both sides.

William Charles Macready

Edwin Forrest

Enter William Charles Macready, a renowned British thespian, and Edwin Forrest an equally loved American actor having established himself at the Bowery Theatre. Both performed notable Shakespearean characters. Both were accomplished in their art.

Astor Place Riot

On the surface, the Astor Place Riot may have looked like a rivalry between the two men and their supporters, Macready’s fans preferring the gentility of the British style, and Forrest’s championing his robust, athletic technique. Forrest exacerbated the feud by hissing at Macready from a private box seat in the audience during a performance of Hamlet in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was in retaliation of the European audience doing the same to him while delivering his interpretation of Macbeth, of which his style of acting was unsuited.

In a plot twist, once Isaiah Rynders became involved, things got ugly.

Hollywood actor Edward G. Robinson as a mob boss

Isaiah Rynders was an underworld figure (I read that as gangster) who was known for organizing election fraud and participating in voter intimidation. When Macready performed Macbeth at the Astor Place Theatre on May 7, 1849, three days before the riot, Rynders stirred up the audience, encouraging them to throw things and be disruptive. On May 10, he went too far, and in an attempt to make a point against the British, he handed out handbills and free tickets throughout saloons and various places in the city, inviting patriots to Macready’s next performance in order to demonstrate their feelings about the British.

When the play opened that evening, 10,000 people lined the streets. The riot broke out and vegetables and shoes were replaced with stones. Some attempted to set fire to the building.

The militia was called in, as were the police. In all, 600 soldiers and law enforcement personnel fought against angry civilians answering Rynders’s question: “Shall Americans or English rule this city?”

In the end, nearly two dozen rioters were killed and forty-eight were injured. The militia and policemen also suffered wounds. The theater never was the same, and ended up closing after the next season. Edwin Forrest’s reputation took a hit, as well, because some still saw it as one rival actor attacking another.

Whether this tragedy opened people’s eyes, or the stigma of British rule simply faded, I’m not certain, but at some point in American theater’s four-decade history, things have settled down.

To finish on a happy note, who’s up for musical theater?

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

Website

Blog With A Giggle
CraftCinema

Facebook

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Goodreads

How Live Theater Shaped A Nation

By Kathy Kovach

It took some doing to convince Americans that theater had a place here. Between religious objections, and the attempt to sever all British ties by the Continental Congress in 1774, live theater almost died a painful, melodramatic death on our shores.

America’s only established theater troupe, The Great American Company, had been forced to flee to Jamaica. However, thanks to the manager’s persistence, it returned in 1784 following the end of the American Revolutionary War. One of the cities that had encouraged theater prewar, Charleston, South Carolina, embraced it with open arms.

Ironically, what we consider the hub of live theater today, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, rejected efforts to bring live theater into their communities. These, and other cities, enacted bans, going as far as to arrest anyone involved in theater. Including the patrons themselves.

By the end of the 18th Century, economic and cultural reforms began to take hold of the nation. New men were in power, and many believed live theater could promote nationalism and patriotism. Beautiful new playhouses with red velvet curtains and crystal chandeliers popped up in communities where powerful people could connect. Not only plays were performed there, but the elite enjoyed other social activities, as well.

At least, that was the hope.

It soon became evident that British influence was still unwelcome, and its plays were no exception. Dissenting political views disrupted the elegance that the theater managers wished to promote.

William Dunlap
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Dunlap_Engraving.jpg

One such disruption was a riot that took place on March 30, 1798 between the Federalist and Republican factions in attendance. The play, André by William Dunlap, took place in New York’s Park Theatre.

Before explaining what happened, it’s important to note this about playwright, actor, and producer William Dunlap. Although he was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey in 1766, that city was located in one of the colonies owned by the British Empire at the time. His father was Northern Irish and was wounded at the Battle of Quebec in 1759. In other words, he was an American born under British influence.

The play, André, is about the real person, Major John André, a British spy hanged for his role in the treason of Benedict Arnold.

So now, we have a playhouse full of American patriots of two different factions in post-war New York, watching a play about a British officer who had been executed by George Washington, written by an American with British ties. What could go wrong?

Tricorn hat with cockade

The riot sparked when an American character in the play, named Bland, is furious with Washington and rips off the black cockade from his three-cornered hat (a Federalist symbol) and throws it away. How dare he dishonor America! As a result of this theater revolt, Dunlap was forced to revise the ending.

So, how did William Dunlap come to be known as the Father of American Drama? He became devoted to the shaping of American theater, writing more than fifty original scripts, translations, and adaptations. Besides his management of New York’s John Street and Park Theatres at the turn of the century, he also wrote A History of the American Theatre in 1832. He turned out to be an advocate of shunning the old European system and encouraged the practice of allowing artists freedom of expression and thought.

Dunlap was one of the first to believe that theater could transform the new nation, teaching lessons of “patriotism, virtue, morality, and religion.”

Eventually, thanks to William Dunlap and others, by the early half of the 19th century, America, along with the American theater, was well on the journey of establishing its own identity.

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

Website
Blog With A Giggle
CraftCinema

Facebook

X

Goodreads

Coming to America - Live Theater

By Kathy Kovach

Storytelling is as old as time. It’s how God wired us. I’m sure Moses sat near the fire, regaling the Israelites with stories about his ancestors. “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,” (Psalms 78:2, ASV.)

Centuries later, Jesus took principles and made them into relatable stories that he orally taught to those gathered. “Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them,” (Matthew 13:35, WEB.)

The ancient Greeks and Egyptians honed storytelling to an art. They were so successful that their blueprint stood the test of time. Entire nations were influenced, none more so than Great Britain.

From there, it was only a matter of time before it would hop the pond.

In 1510, European theater made it to Puerto Rico, giving the island the honor of becoming the first to hold refined performances in the Americas.

In the 16th century, theater moved north, and plays were performed in the Spanish-held territories that eventually became the United States. In what is now known as Louisiana, several performances took place on October 12, 1721. The town of Los Adaes celebrated the arrival of the Spanish governor, the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo. This cultural event brought the people together to solidify Spanish control after a time of uncertainty.

Hamlet and his mother

By the early 18th century, two theaters had been built in Williamsburg, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina. However, it wasn’t until the British actor and theater manager Lewis Hallam brought his theatrical company to Williamsburg in 1752 that the first complete company of actors was organized. The Hallam Company performed the top European plays at the time—Hamlet, Othello, and Richard III  to name a few. Their first, Merchant of Venice, was performed on September 15, 1752. Unfortunately, they encountered opposition from religious organizations and moved the operation to Jamaica around 1755.

English actor David Douglass met Hallam in Jamaica. After Hallam’s death, Douglass married his widow, actress and theater director Sarah Hallam. The two traveled with the company, now known as the American Company, to Philadelphia where they opened the Southwark Theatre in 1766. This was considered the first permanent theater in America. On a roll, they also built the John Street Theater in 1767, modeling it after Southwark. There, the first American-written play, The Prince of Parthia by poet Thomas Godfrey, was performed in that same year.

Quakers

American Colonial era theater suffered the same opposition as England had during its turbulent times. Those in Puritan and Quaker regions felt it was frivolous and often sacrilegious. Others opposed any British influence, as most of the plays had come from there. Massachusetts in 1750, Pennsylvania in 1759, and Rhode Island in 1761 all banned theater performances. Most of the states followed during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) thanks to the Continental Congress.

It was difficult to come back from such prejudices. In 1794, Yale College president, Timothy Dwight IV, wrote the following in Essay on Theatre:

". . . to indulge a taste for playgoing means nothing more or less than the loss of that most valuable treasure: the immortal soul."

Yikes!

Encampment at Valley Forge

Despite the congressional ban, George Washington himself recognized the importance of entertainment as a distraction. He asked for his favorite play, Cato, set during the Roman Civil War, to be performed for the troops after the harsh winter at Valley Forge.

The storytelling seed has been planted deep within all of us. Its branches weave through time, barrel over social status, and travel across continents.

Welcome to America, Live Theater!

 

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

Website
Blog With A Giggle
CraftCinema

Facebook

X

Goodreads

The Strange Traditions of Live Theater

The Strange Traditions of Live Theater

By Kathy Kovach

Whenever creatives get together, one can expect imaginations to collide, creating a burst of prismatic color. This is my explanation for the wild and beautiful traditions that have sprung from live theater.

Such as, you can never say the name “Macbeth”, but you can wish someone to “break a leg.” Never ever whistle, but bad dress rehearsals are encouraged. Let’s enter the stage—with the right foot only, please—and explore the origins of theater traditions and so-called superstitions.

The big no-no that is widely accepted is to never say the name “Macbeth” inside the theater. It is only to be referred to as “The Scottish Play” or “The Bard’s Play.” So powerful was Shakespeare’s authoring of the tale, that it’s believed the spells the three witches invoked actually cursed the play itself. Could this really be the reason for the multiple mishaps over the years? Such as nearly losing the beloved actor Lawrence Olivier in 1937 when some stage weights narrowly missed him. Or, in 1942, when three performers died during the play’s run at the Piccadilly Theater in London.

Was it really a curse, or would these things have happened regardless of a slip of the tongue? Those who are a slave to superstition have a simple remedy. If the name “Macbeth” is invoked, one need only to step outside of the theater, turn around three times, spit, curse, and knock three times on the stage door. Whew! Who knew disaster could be avoided by doing a bizarre version of the Hokey-Pokey?

What about the “no whistling” rule? Was that the result of the underworld playing cruel games? Not at all. Sailors, while on leave, often worked backstage to earn extra money and used the same system while at sea to give instruction. I imagine the sound cut through the wind and waves easier than a voice. The “no whistling” rule didn’t apply to them, but to everyone else.

If someone decided to whistle a happy tune, it could, for instance, confuse the one waiting to drop a set, and thus cause injury. Therefore, the stagehands were the only ones allowed to whistle while they worked. (Sorry, it needed to be said.)

How often have you told a performer to “break a leg?” No one? Just me? Well, this tradition has a plethora of theories. Ancient Greek patrons would stomp their feet so hard in their enthusiasm that they would break their tibias. Another theory was that the space between the wings and the stage was called the “leg line.” Someone waiting in the wings to fill in for an injured actor would be instructed to “break” the line. The phrase “break a leg” was meant to wish for a performer the good fortune of being on stage.

Let’s talk flowers. How many times have you seen the leading lady clutching a bouquet to her breast and bowing as single roses are tossed at her feet? The tradition started when someone would steal flowers from a graveyard and present them to the director or actors at the final performance, thus representing the final curtain call, the death of the production. It morphed into the rule of only giving flowers after a show because it could be considered bad luck, causing the performance to go badly.

I don’t know how many times in my “performance” era—we’re talking school plays and church choir productions—that I’ve heard the encouraging words, “It will be okay. Bad dress rehearsal, good performance.” Where did that come from? No one knows the origin, but it makes sense. What are the odds that something would go off the rails two nights in a row? It’s better to make mistakes in an empty theater, where they can be fixed, than in front of a live audience.

You’ve seen it before. The single lamp, lit, sitting in the middle of the barren stage. (Again, just me?) This single bulb has the unfortunate moniker of Ghost Light. Some say that every theater is haunted, and the light gives the spirits the opportunity to enjoy the space without livings milling about. Others say it’s supposed to keep the specters away. Yet another theory is when the light goes out, the ghost will cause mischief. See how superstitions get skewed?

There are more practical reasons, however. Back when gas lights were used, the pressure on the gas valves needed to be relieved. I don’t know much about gas lamps, but I remember in historical movies the lamps on the wall always had a dim glow. My favorite source of the Ghost Light stems from a myth. It seems a thief had broken into some theater somewhere, stumbled around in the dark, and broke his leg. I’m thinking by falling in the orchestra pit. He then sued the theater for damages.

We’re always encouraged to put our best foot forward. In the theater world, that foot is the one on the right. Of course, that old “good luck/bad luck” thing has to infiltrate everything one does. However, it comes down to the right side being the dominant one for most people. In European culture, it’s said that the right side symbolizes righteousness—It’s right there in the name!—and correctness.

My favorite tradition of all is the time-honored serenading of the cast and crew singing Roy Roger’s “Happy Trails To You” after the final performance of the run and after the audience has filed out. The sweet farewell wishes those who gave their time to make the production successful a blessing and a fond adieu.

https://youtu.be/eEqUyNaSdvg?si=8JcfMm8xOp78RrjV

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

Website

Blog With A Giggle
CraftCinema

Facebook

X

Goodreads