Happy Anniversary!

   
   It's hard to believe that it was 12 years ago today that I started writing the Tri-State Theatre blog for the Herald-Dispatch! 

   It started with a phone call from my pal Dave Lavender at the H-D, who said, "We want to start a blog dedicated to theatre in the area. Do you know someone who might like to write it?"

   I immediately responded, "You mean other than me?"

   I was happy to tackle it because it promised to be a way to help promote local shows - and that was something community theatre badly needed (and continues to need) help with: getting the word out about upcoming shows.

   It's been a lot of fun, although not always easy to work into my schedule - I wish I had more time to write stories about shows, or write more reviews, for example - but we'll continue to do our best to get out the word on upcoming shows.

   By some coincidence, I also note that our "Pageviews" count is just about a dozen away from hitting half-a-million viewers - how cool is that? It's nice to know folks are reading along out there!

   This blog continues to be fun, so I hope to keep at it for a while - as long as you keep reading, gentle reader, I'll keep writing!

   And, as always, feel free to send in guest columns / reviews / memories / etc. to us at TheMinskers@aol.com.

   Just for fun, here's the first post for this site from Oct. 4, 2006:

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   Local theatre is an interesting phenomenon, wherein a group of people gather together to “Put On A Show.”

   Huntington has a rich history of theatre, both at Marshall University and its outstanding Department of Theatre, and through community efforts, including groups like the Musical Arts Guild, the First Stage Theatre Company, Huntington Outdoor Theatre, Fifth Avenue Theatre and ARTS, to name the ones that leap immediately to mind.

   You’ll also find active theatre groups at almost every local high school, and several groups just a short drive away in Charleston and Ashland.

   And thanks to the Marshall Artists Series, we even get to see professional theatre groups perform locally.

   So if you like live theatre (and we assume you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t), there’s a lot to choose from. In addition to its rich history, Huntington has a bright future ahead, with some impressive shows on the way in the months and years ahead.

   In October (2006) alone, you can see "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Hair," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "The Three Musketeers."That’s why, under the kind auspices of The Herald-Dispatch, we’re launching this theatre blog -- to focus on those local shows, and talk about the shows that are coming up, shows from years past (the ones you loved and the ones you hated), and to take you behind the scenes to see how shows are made.

   If you have a topic you want to offer up, drop me an e-mail and we’ll get the discussion going. I’ll be offering my own comments, reviews and previews as we go along. Comments are always welcome, as long as they’re civil.

   So thanks for stopping by -- we hope you’ll add us to your “Favorites List” (hint, hint)!