I have told you a little bit about Peggy’s “secret life” as a member of the cast of “Minnie Pause and the Hot Flashes.” After the death of one of our cast members earlier this year we were faced with the difficult task of finding a new cast member. Before Bette died she told us she wanted the show to continue, but we didn’t want to just find someone to play the character Bette had created. We wanted to find someone who could create her own character.

Pam and Steve were two of the first people Peggy and I met when we moved to Katy sixteen years ago. Steve was actually the deacon who visited us after our first time attending the church we eventually joined, and he invited us to the Sunday School class that he taught with Pam. They are both excellent singers. Steve sings tenor with me in a gospel quartet, and Pam has been a soloist with the choir for many years.

We didn’t know if this was something Pam would want to do, but she was the first person we thought of when we started looking. We knew she would be able to handle the musical part of the musical-comedy act. We weren’t so sure she would want to handle the comedy part of the act. Also, she is a good Baptist so we didn’t know how comfortable she would be with all the dancing. Just kidding.

Pam agreed to join us in early October, which meant she had about a month to learn the Christmas show. That is not such a big deal when this is what you do for a living — when it is something you do “on the side” it can be daunting. And, yes, that means she also has to learn the regular show at the same time… 

Peggy is the choreographer, so she has worked a lot individually with Pam. When Peggy was recruiting Pam to join the cast, she told her “Don’t worry about the dancing; I’ll teach you everything. Besides, we’re doing the Christmas show first and it doesn’t have much dancing in it.” Actually, the Christmas show has a lot more dancing in it than the regular show. Peggy wasn’t “selling” Pam — we just hadn’t done the Christmas show for a while and Peggy forgot how much dancing is in it. Plus, when you’re the choreographer nothing seems like a lot of dancing.

We did our first show with the new cast member today, and it was outstanding. Pam did a great job, and Steve wasted no time getting involved as a “roadie” with the rest of the guys. We knew they would be a great fit, and today proved it.

Added bonus, since the show was in the Dallas area Peggy and I were able to go check on her mother again this weekend. Two birds and all that.