The play has been held every summer for years, and we have often talked about going to see it.
So when I recently came across a special for half price tickets, I didn't hesitate to make a reservation.
Curtain time is 8:00 in the evening but we drove down to Bardstown early to have dinner and look around town a bit.
We ate at Kurtz Restaurant...in this stately old stone home.
There were several dining rooms. We were seated in this bright and sunny front room. We had it to ourselves for a few minutes before more diners arrived.
Our meal was "meh". They bring out fried cornbread and sliced beets(?) before the meal, then bring more cornbread and rolls with the meal. Lonnie had a roast turkey dinner and I had a salad with grilled chicken.
Everything was okay and edible...but not so good that you'd go back again.
We had extra time before the show so we drove around awhile admiring neighborhoods of well kept old homes and buildings (and a few dilapidated ones). We drove past some of the bourbon warehouses.
We said we should definitely do the "Kentucky Bourbon Trail" sometime, which is a map of all the distilleries around the region. Most have tours and/or visitors centers now.
Lots of bourbon here!
Then - time to head over to the theater. It's built on a hill, the box office at the top.
Southern belles in full skirted dresses outside to greet us.
Wish I could have one of those lovely pink dresses....
But wait....maybe I can!
I'm ready for my close-up!
It would have been hilarious if I could have convinced Lonnie to stand behind there instead...like a cross-dressing Colonel Sanders!
But, back to the subject. After you pass through the box office, gift shop and concession area, you are in the theater. The seats are facing down the hill to the stage at the bottom.
We had great seats in the front row, but that meant climbing up and down the stairs for a bathroom break during intermission.
The show began with the full cast in their costumes, singing Stephen Foster songs. All ages, including children.
Then the story of Stephen Foster.
To change scenes, several different smaller stages were rolled out, then back away.
To represent Foster's time in Bardstown, a curtain was dropped to reveal a mock-up of Federal Hill.
It was an enjoyable and well done production!
Just as it was getting dark we were bothered by an army of little black gnats. They didn't bite, but everyone was slapping at them for a while.
The show lasted just over 2 hours including an intermission. We are hardly ever out that late!
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