Syndrome Syndrome

One of our Fall fundraisers is best described as outdoor musical theater, a seasonally appropriate drama/comedy featuring a cast of talented, attractive young people. I am quite taken with them, because they are a nice, charming bunch. I'm so taken with them that, when a couple of them commented that the strain of performances was wearing on their vocal chords, I bought a big jar of Korean honey-ginger 'tea' for the site's breakroom, with a big 'help yourself' sign.

One of the principal cast members is as nice a young man as you could want to meet- he's funny, good-natured, handsome, and humble. Yesterday, his mom and his aunt, twin sisters, came to our daytime event before taking in the night's performance. Predictably, they were very sweet, and proud of the second generation's success. It was immediately apparent to me where he'd gotten his low-key, kindly personality.

I arrive towards the end of the daytime event- my first task is to help clear away the daytime visitors in preparation for the influx of new visitors. I met my friend's aunt and mother during the lull before the changing of the visitors. Later, in the runup to the nighttime event, when I basically make sure that all of the various contractors (performance cast, sound and light techs) have the access to the site they need, there was a message on the walkie-talkie... the cousin of this cast member was in the queue, and was seeking to enter on the 'friends and family' list. I was standing next to the tech director of the show, and she started laughing. I gave her a quizzical glance and she said, "That's not his cousin. She met him today, when he was with his mom and aunt, and said that she was a big fan of his, and he told her she could come to the performance."

"He's too good for his own good," I replied, "I've seen this movie before."





Thankfully, she didn't take the whole town down.