While August interim meetings and the third special session of 2009 are well underway at the Capitol, lawmakers, staff and constituents alike are being treated to a bit of culture on the grounds today.
Theatre West Virginia is promoting its summer shows with abbreviated performances of Seussical the Musical and High School Musical on the Capitol steps. Seussical the Musical is a combination of many of the books of Dr.Seuss. It debuted on Broadway in 2000. Written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahern, this play is one of the most frequently performed shows in America. High School Musical has been adapted from the Disney Channel’s hit musical.
The sweet sounds of the Appalachian dulcimer can also be heard rising from the well of the Capitol Rotunda today. The fretted, plucked instrument also known as the lap dulcimer, mountain dulcimer and hog fiddle is played by strumming the instrument as it sits on the musician’s lap. Theatre West Virginia’s own Emily Pritchard and Hunter Walker, both from Beckley, W.Va., have been playing the string instrument for all to hear this afternoon.
A pair of accomplished musicians, Walker and Pritchard took first and third respectively at June 21st Coshocton Dulcimer days in Coshocton, Ohio. The competition featured dulcimer musicians from throughout the Mid-East Region.
