The King and I

My first taste of Show-business took place in 1974.  Harbor High was doing "The King and I" as their spring musical....  The call went out -- they were looking for children to play the "prince and princesses of Siam"--The possibility was intoxicating........  I don't remember the audition or what I sang--  but I made the cast---The theatre at Harbor  at that time was  beautiful--  Built in 1930, It was spanish/deco/nautical not like a High School theatre at all--  more like Broadway---  The 16 or so of us were paired up with harbor girls who would be playing our mothers.  Gina Haddox would be playing mine--  Doing that show was absolutely magical--   I still remember every lyric we sang--  Secretly, I wanted to wear my costume to school---Gina and I became very close--  there really was an adult voice inside my (9 year old) brain--  never wanting this show to end--  The cast party was crazy fun--  dancing to "Love will keep us Together"---  I felt so grown up--  The show closed---  everyone promised to stay in touch--  The theatre underwent a modern redo in the late seventies---  Two years ago I happened to be in Newport--  The theatre building was being demolished---  leaving the stage open to streams of sunlight---  the addition  falling away leaving the art deco underneth--  a bulldozer was chomping away at the balcony seats.....  It was spooky that I happened to be there on that particular day---