Let me begin this blog by explaining the title.The It in the title above refers to the play, Into the Woods, that our( my wife Ann) son, Eric(He), just finished doing this past Sunday in Windsor, the last of five shows with a summer cast from the Cirillo Summer Theater.

Of course, it wasn’t just Eric performing. There was a full cast who did the show in its entirety but, of course, Eric was the one who shone the brightest in our eyes playing the part of Jack, a simple poor boy with a cow, comically named Milky White.

Now, in some surveys, people fear public speaking more than death. These people( the cast) were not just speaking, but shooting off lines and songs with relative ease, seemingly not noticing the good-sized audiences who were watching the show. That takes guts and it takes talent. This crew had both.

It hardly surprised either Ann or I that he did such a find job because he has been doing theater for almost 10 years. But I was then and am, right now, still impressed by how smooth Eric was, doing what he loves dearly with true passion and emotion in each show. Now 14, Eric’s voice has gotten a bit deeper and stronger, holding notes longer when he needed to and singing with passion a beautiful version  of what is a song-Giants in the Sky- about what the little boy(Jack) encountered after climbing the beanstalk.

Time and time again, Eric also delivered his lines easily but energetically, displaying his obvious love for theater and acting. No, this wasn’t the first time that Eric had performed so well in a play. He’s played other roles and has sung many different songs each time displaying the same intensity and excitement, therefore making the role he is playing that much better, a confident boy with a lot of talent.

For his next project, Eric will soon be auditioning for a play at his school(Waterbury Arts& Magnet School) called Memphis whose story is loosely based on Dewey Phillips, who was one of the first white disc jockeys to play black music in the 1950’s. No matter what part that he gets, you can be sure that he will play that role with just as much, if not more enthusiasm than the rest of the cast.