Warner‘s 50th, and Raybud in a Suit

Warner Crocker just turned 50. Warner is the fearless leader (a.k.a. artistic director) at Wayside Theatre, where I was recently in a production of THE KILLER ANGELS. There was a big party for him this past Sunday, and I was fortunate enough to swing by for a bit. There were a lot of people! It was grand to see so many -- Thomasin (who set up this shindig for her husband, and major kudos to her for that), Malia, Natalie, the one and only Larry Dahlke, Carl and Andrew, the Galbraiths (who housed me when I worked there), Tamara, Ray (great suit!), and so many more. Most of these folks I haven’t seen since I was out there last fall. I only worked out there for 7 weeks, but . . . well, when I saw these folks there were big hugs all over and excited greetings, it felt like old friends. And, of course, there’s Warner.

Now, most of these folks know him better than I, having worked with him more than I have. And I suggest you check out Larry and Carl and Malia’s blogs to see what they say. They talk about his passion for the work, his mentoring. His grand laugh, of course. Read what they said, they can tell you more than I can. So what can I say to add to their comments? Well, let me tell you about what he did when he saw me at this celebration. He gave me a hug. But not just an ordinary hug. A bear hug. And in this hug he wrapped an arm around my head and held tight and close. This was not one of those faux-proper, cordial, pat-ya-on-the-back-three-times guy hug. Nah, this hug had value. This is one of those guys who, when he calls his theatre friends “family,” he really means family. God, I love that. Why do so many people like and admire him? Because he loves the work, and I think he prefers to have the same sort in his company. (And check out Warner's site, too!)
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Now, I’d said I’d talk about the wedding ceremonies. Each ceremony was very important for its own reasons, and I don‘t consider any of them to be more or less important than the others. It was a lot of work, but I’m very happy with how they all went. Here’s the first ceremony:

Friday, June 10, 2006. The outdoor stage on Sugarloaf Mountain in Chillicothe, Ohio. This is where the show TECUMSEH! is staged, and Jen and I have a lot of history there. It is a great show, performing every summer, and if you have a chance to see it, do so. The ceremony took place a little after midnight (okay, that technically makes it Saturday), shortly after the opening performance. Raymond Speakman (a.k.a. Raybud) officiated. Raybud is a very good friend to me and Jenny. He is a real mountain man, big guy, red hair and red beard, actor, hunter, proud father of Caleb (who is one now), former competitive arm wrestler, pyrotechnics expert, and a great guy. For the ceremony, Raybud wore a suit, which is a very rare thing.

We positioned ourselves center stage. Near me were Demetrius Thomas, who plays the lead this summer and on this night was my best man; and Donald Leffert, production stage manager, and Marion Waggoner, the executive producer, both groomsmen this evening. On the ladies side: JJ Cobb, who had played Tecumapese for a number of years, and who became Marion’s wife a few years ago and mother of his second child Kane (yes, they are raising Kane now, heh-heh). JJ was the maid-of-honor this evening. Bridesmaids were Annelise, who is playing Tecumapese this summer, and Raina, who is now the head costumer. The other witnesses to this ceremony were this year’s castmembers and a few friends from other recent years.

Jenny entered by canoe (the stage has a pond behind it) to music from the show and to the cheers of the witnesses. A simple white dress, flowers in her hair. Marion escorted her from the canoe to her place on the stage. And then Raybud began the ceremony, reading from a script that Jen and I had put together earlier. Ray said a few things beautiful things about marriage and about us, and asked other people for a few words of their own -- we hadn’t warned them in advance, so Donald wasn’t quite sure what to say. I think he said something about love being like scotch, because I tongue-in-cheek offered that as an idea for him. Marion said something brilliant that I can’t recall most of, but I do recall it began with “Love is 10.000 pounds of thrust . . . .” Marion is an aerospace buff. Then Jenny and I said a few special things to each other, and there were tears and the sounds of “Aaaaawwww” from the people around us. And then Raybud launched into some wedding lines taken right from the show itself. It was great!
The ceremony concluded with Raybud presenting us to the witnesses, concluding it with God help us all!” And then we had cake and champagne. It was a wonderful, fun night.

More to come . . . .