<p>So @halflokum, which Partridge Family member were you? I SO wanted to be Susan Day(Dey?) I had no talent either, but was really good at singing along. (What I really loved was dance, but I had no clue until well into high school that you had to do more than a tap/ballet/jazz combo class on Saturdays to be a professional.) I totally hear you on the teeth thing. I may be starting a sh** storm, but what’s with Robert Preston, anyway? Maybe he had something on stage that does not come across on film. Times HAVE changed. And who today could get away with standing still for 7 minutes (seems like 45 these days) and sing a song? No matter HOW lovely the voice.</p>
<p>Of course we all wanted to be Laurie Partridge with her completely fake piano playing skill and braces. Susan Dey could act even though she could not sing. The alternative was to be Tracy. Poor Susan Crough. There was a good reason she got out of the business after that.</p>
<p>What is with Robert Preston anyway? Good question. Perfect example. </p>
<p>I love this discussion. I have many fond memories of Disney Sunday night, a family highlight, and also the family event that any airing of Sound of Music, Fiddler, Oklahoma, or any of the other classics inspired. And while my dad was an avid opera and musical theatre fan, the thought that his D might want to pursue this was laughable. So, yeah, not only do we have way more access to information, maybe we also have a generation of parents who are thinking, what if, and “allowing” our kids to follow their passions wherever they may lead. And I have to add, just had lunch with a dear friend who asked, with a lot of concern, what D back up plan is if MT doesn’t work out. Sigh.</p>
<p>But then who wouldn’t want Shirley Jones for a mom? Back then, I had NO idea she had a life before Partridge Family, LOL. Loved Susan Dey again on LA Law. So maybe there IS something to that idea that acting is the foundation. TOTALLY the opposite of what we were hearing at some of the programs auditioned for. . .</p>
<p>OK, since we’re already off the original topic. I think I should have taken it as some sort of cosmic sign that the production of Joseph I and 11-year-old S saw at the beginning of this MT journey had Patrick Cassidy playing lead. Perhaps the Karma of that is that if you don’t live out your childhood dreams of following in Susan Dey’s footsteps, your son will have a life-altering experience when he sees a show starring the real-life brother of her on-screen brother. Whoa. Anybody else out there who can attribute your child’s current life path to an unfulfilled wish from your own childhood? The Monkees? H. R. Puff ‘n Stuff? Jackson 5? Michael Jackson’s first solo album (Ben, I think)? Josey and the Pussycats? Maybe the “glut” of current MT wannabes has NOTHING to do with themselves but is the result of something from their parents’ past. Oh no, what have I done?. . . If only I hadn’t rocked his older brother to sleep humming show tunes. . . Of course, he DID hum along to Thomas the Tank Engine’s theme song before he could talk. Surely, I had NOTHING to do with that. It’s GOT to be the early (over)exposure to VCRs and 24-hour cable channels that did it.</p>
<p>Come on now…the Brady Six were much better than the Partidge Family!!</p>
<p>Partridge Family all the way, even had my own tambourine! Loved David and Sean Cassidy!</p>
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<p>@mtflmomof1, you could be on to something with this and @mom4bwayboy, your elaboration is hilarious. Even Josie and the Pussycats made the list and oh the crush I had on Jack Wild from HR Puff’n Stuff (aka the Artful Dodger in Oliver) though sadly he became a hot mess later in life and died too young.</p>
<p>All roads lead to this being our fault. Bad parents. Bad bad bad parents. Though I do have a big stock of “Multiplication Rock” videos but duh oh,… it was still set to music. What was I thinking?</p>
<p>Oh and @bisouu, really? “When It’s Time To Change You’ve Got To Re-Arrange… sha na na na na na na na na…” You really going to compare that to “I Think I Love You?” Come on!!!</p>
<p>What about the Bay City Rollers? Anyone?</p>
<p>Conjunction junction, what’s your function?. . . </p>
<p>. . . so what am I so afraid of? I’m afraid that I’m sure of a love there is no cure for. . .</p>
<p>At dinner tonight, my husband and 3 Ss (I hear a TV Theme song in there somewhere) were discussing this CC thread and H pointed out that we purposely did NOT get cable TV so we had “control” over the “quality” of what our boys watched - Only the BEST “musicals” ever - DIsney’s animated Cinderella, Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story (Pixar, Disney’s stepchild) Aladdin, Lion King, Mulan - the Winnie-the-Poohs (that we had to wait yearly for - I’m just a little black rain cloud, hovering over this honey tree. . .) - even the Rescuers and Great Mouse Detective had identifiable music. They watched these over, and over, and over - from a VERY young age. Even the “science” videos were set to music (Bill Nye, the Science Guy, Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill. . . ) Now I’m wondering why the other two aren’t MT nuts (although they both play multiple instruments and write music, one sings, but neither would be caught dead dancing - and wish their brother would stop). Oh yes, I was a bad, bad parent. And now there is NO back up plan. </p>
<p>Too funny. My goal was always to raise an MT nerd, someone who would go to shows with me and sing MT songs with me while I’m cooking dinner. Little did I know my D would actually want to pursue this as a career. And I’m totally in the Partridge family camp, first record I ever owned was a 45 partridge family record, I Think I Love You…classic</p>
<p>Godspell or Jesus Christ Superstar?</p>
<p>@mtflmomof1 - the joke at our house is that we had a third child in my vane attempt to get a girl. Didn’t get one - but I DID get a partner in musical theatre “crime” (my H is eternally grateful). Not sure where that leaves us as MT S goes off to college, but at least his school is only an hour away. My sister got the Partridge Family album. For me it was Jack WIld and Michael Jackson all the way. I’m pretty sure we played all of them to death.</p>
<p>@bisouu - Bay City Rollers, S. A. TUR. DAY NIGHT! - arranged by Bill Conti for marching band. I still remember some of the steps on the football field.</p>
<p>Jeez, what a nerd. My kids didn’t stand a chance. Bad parent, bad, bad, bad.</p>
<p>Godspell!! Played on endless repeat for a year in junior high, at least a year! Victor Garber, very young.</p>
<p>Oh, S A TUR DA Y Nights, how could I forget, pretended I was too cool to like them at the time, but really, who could resist their plaid pants and spiky hair. Sigh</p>
<p>For me it was Fame the TV show (and yes I realize the movie was better, but we didn’t get a VCR until I was about 15!) I would TOTALLY buy the argument that my D’s time at PA hs is an attempt to fulfill all my Fame fantasies…And there were two movies I waited for EVERY year- Sound of Music and Gone With the Wind (which played when I was 12 on my birthday- best gift EVER)</p>
<p>My parents met in a community theatre production… My aunt and uncle were key players in their community theatre for over 30 years… <em>I</em> grew up on all things musical. “Godspell”, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “the roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd”. “Stop the world, I want to get off”, “The Fantastiks”… And lots of Gilbert & Sullivan. </p>
<p>When I first met my husband… He marveled after a family dinner at my house “you people have a song for every topic!” And we proceeded to sit around the dining table for a couple of hours while he tried to stump us. (He couldn’t)</p>
<p>He did not grow up around MT… But he is a huge fan now… And it always cracks me up when he knows more about a show or an actor than I do!</p>
<p>So, I guess, in a way, my D was doomed… But despite the long tradition of community theater in the family, she is the first to attempt to pursue it as a career. I thought she would just be a fan and community theater participant… But she had other ideas from an early age. </p>
<p>@toowonderful, I actually own the boxed DVD set of “Fame” the TV series. Bought it thinking my daughter would love it. By today’s standards it is so lame and she didn’t take to it. But somebody in our house did watch it. ummm…</p>
<p>ooooooh- @halflokum I think I am going to need to get those dvds! </p>
<p>Wow! My kids loved Fame and hated (really, really hated) Glee after Season 1. No Glee factor here. LOL!</p>
<p>@kategrizz very similar story here.</p>
<p>@toowonderful, just fished them out of the Goodwill box. I will mail them to you and you can donate them when you’re done. :-)</p>