September 27, 2022 — Lawrence / Geist

There’s no such thing as too much teamwork.

Introducing Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Center. A partnership that brings all the experience and treatment protocols of one of the country’s top cancer centers to Indiana.

A hallmark of our approach is multidisciplinary care. It means you’ll have a care team made up of specialists and subspecialists, each with expert knowledge in your speci c type of cancer working together. There’s no better way to put together a treatment plan, and there’s no other place to get this level of care in the region.

Now, more than ever, we want you to remember that when you’re part of a community, you’re never alone. Let’s start the journey together at eCommunity.com/cancer

ESSAY

Cost of not knowing

Commentary by Terry Anker

Cocktail menus are often conspicuous ly absent prices. Some food menus are, too. Boutiques routinely keep the MSRP on a need-to-know basis. Consumers, it seems, don’t need to know. One is urged to try it on, fall in love and throw down the credit card. How much we would pay and how much the object is worth to us is not a consideration.

Health care is likewise priceless. Asking cost is almost always met with a look of abject confusion. “Why do you care? How much is your health worth to you?” How can we know the answer to that question unless we know how much we are about to be charged? Shaming and social pressure do the dirty work. It is like middle school all over again, and good decision-making is out the window.

Nonprofits have their own version. An acquaintance reaches out to see if we’re interested in catching up over a meal. In fact, he has an open spot at an event next week. No need to buy tickets, it’s on him. In addition to our talk, we’ll learn something about the cause. It all conceals a modern fundraising tool, the “get-to-know-us” breakfast.

The host is already sold on the project and is “network marketing” to us. For the cost of a continental breakfast, he becomes entitled to arm-twist cash for the cause before we are freed. It is a timeshare presentation for charity. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the device, if we know what we are getting ourselves into. But the Trojan horse of it all is the demand for giving. “Give a lot,” the pledge card directly placed into our hands by the host pressures. “Give every month,” it not-so-politely urges. We find ourselves cajoled into giving to a cause that, while important, is not central to our priorities.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Loving my empty nest

Commentary by Danielle Wilson

My, how times have changed! I re cently attended a birthday party for the soon-to-be 3-year-old of a co-worker. Be sides the grandmother and great-grand mother, I was the oldest person there and the only one without little kids claimable as blood kin. Although this is not a new phenomenon — our young est is 18, after all — the idea that I no longer am beholden to nap schedules and cupcake sugar rushes and bouncy house injuries really hit home. And it was magical.

I thoroughly enjoyed sitting back and watching the chaos unfold, able to enter the fray if — and only if — I chose. I was not required to chase down a toddler as she made a break for a neighbor’s jun gle gym, nor did I need to carefully pre pare a dinner plate with nonchokeable, cut-up grapes. I didn’t have to worry about food allergies or skinned knees or the bees wreaking havoc near the baked beans. And when a tense moment erupt ed during the present-opening grand finale — “That’s my Baby Moana!” — I could legitimately just shake my head and giggle.

Lest you think I’m a complete jerk, I did help clear plates and locate juicebox straws, and I occasionally assisted with step navigation. But the point is, I was under no obligation to do so. I was there as a true guest, unencumbered by the responsibilities and expectations of parenthood.

— DALE CARNEGIE

POLICIES

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The moral of my story is this: Even tually, everyone makes it to the empty nest Promised Land, where backyard barbeques are actually delightful experi ences and other peoples’ children, much like puppies, are unlimited sources of entertainment. My, how times will change.

Peace out.

Danielle Wilson is a contributing columnist. You may email her at info@youarecurrent.com.

Terry Anker is an associate editor of Current Publishing, LLC. You may email him at terry@ youarecurrent.com. is a receipt, not a bill

WHERE IS TIM? — Tim Campbell, a Carmel resident and internationally decorated cartoonist, is taking a break from Current in an effort to focus on his work for a newer cartoon syndi cate, Counterpoint, as well as other projects. Campbell had drawn nearly weekly for Current since October 2006.

Civic director has emotional ties to ‘Rent’

By Mark Ambrogi mark@youarecurrent.com

Civic Theatre Executive Artistic Director Michael Lasley has a special connection to “Rent.”

The musical centers on struggling artists in Lower Manhattan’s East Village. Two of the char acters are HIV positive and another has AIDS.

Lasley is directing the rock musical, “Rent,” and his wife Marni Lemons is the assistant director. Civic’s production is set for Oct. 7-22 at The Tarkington at the Center for the Per forming Arts in Carmel.

“It’s a seminal piece of theater for peo ple of a certain age,” Lasley said. “COVID brought up other epidemics in my mind, and the AIDS epidemic has been going on since the early 1980s. While we’ve made a lot of progress, it still exists. There are thousands of people who die from AIDS every year. It’s far more treatable if you are in a situation where you can seek out treatment. It’s still a serious health issue in the world. Many of the characters are HIV positive.”

Being in the artistic world, Lasley said he and his wife lost many friends because of the AIDS epidemic in the early and mid-1990s.

“It seemed like we were going to more funerals than our parents and grandpar ents because it was taking so many peo ple from the theatrical and artistic world,” Lasley said.

Lasley said the musical, which debuted in 1996, ran 13 years on Broadway. The composer, Jonathan Larson, died at age 35 of an aortic dissection on the night of the off-Broadway opening for “Rent.”

Lasley said Civic Theatre presented a concert version of it in 2010.

“It was a bigger cast, but less staging,” Lasley said. “We mostly concentrate on the music.”

Olivia Broadwater, a 2020 Zionsville Community High School graduate, plays Maureen Johnson.

“She is a powerful, bisexual woman who

is a performer and protester,” Broadwater said. “It’s a role that is pushing me outside of my comfort zone, artistically, and finding the confidence to do some of these awe some, crazy things on stage (is challenging).

Vocally, it’s a very good challenge for me. I’ve had a blast playing her. She is just so power ful and it’s awesome to get to play.”

Broadwater said she has been watching the musical for years.

“This is definitely the closest to a rock musical I’ve done,” she said. “But I’m clas sic rock girl. I like all the oldies. One of my goals is to be in ‘Rock of Ages’ because that is one of my favorites.”

Broadwater loves the fact that the production is almost all singing, like ‘Les Miserables.”

“There isn’t much plain dialogue,” Broad water said.

Broadwater was first runner-up June 18 in the Miss Indiana competition. Auditions for “Rent” were two days later. She told her mother she wasn’t going to go at first.

“I was nervous and didn’t feel prepared on the audition day, and my mom said, ‘Just go do it, it will be fun,’” she said. “It wasn’t one of the most fun auditions I’ve ever had. I was glad I ended up going.”

Broadwater, a Ball State University mu sical theater major, is traveling from Mu nich for rehearsals. So is fellow Ball State junior Julia Ammons, a 2020 Carmel High School graduate who plays Alexi Darling, among other ensemble roles, and is one of the two dance captains.

“I saw it once with the national tour and once with a smaller production,” Ammons said. “I loved both times I saw it and could envision myself being part of it someday.”

Ammons has performed in Civic’s Young Artists Program in the past. Her last pro duction at Civic was “Elf” in 2019.

“This show has more maturity and inti macy work that we do with our intimacy coordinator, which is stuff I’ve worked with before but not in this depth,” Am mons said.

Ammons said she is used to performing in more traditional musicals, not rock musicals.

“Alexi talks really fast, and she is pretty annoying,” Ammons said. “She says a lot of phone numbers really fast, so there was a lot of memorization. But it came pretty easily once I started working on it.” For more, visit civictheatre.org.

‘ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE’

“Escape to Margaritaville” runs through Oct. 2 at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre in Indi anapolis. For more, visit beefandboards.com.

’THE CURIOUS SAVAGE’

Main Street Productions of “The Curious Sav age” will be presented from Sept. 29 through Oct. 9 at the Basile Westfield Playhouse. For more, visit westfieldplayhouse.org.

‘REHEARSAL FOR MURDER’

The Belfry Theatre will present “Rehearsal for Murder,” a murder mystery, through Oct. 2 at the Ivy Tech Auditorium in Noblesville. For more, visit thebelfrytheatre.com.

WHAM

Live at the Center presents WHAM (We Have All Music), a Carmel-based nonprofit group, as part of the Live at the Center series at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. Tickets are $5 or register for the free lives tream at the centerpresents.org.

JOSHUA BELL

Violinist Joshua Bell will be accompanied by pianist Peter Dugan in concert at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Palladium in Carmel. For more, visit the centerpresents.org.

TOWER OF POWER

Tower of Power will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Palladium in Carmel. For more, visit the centerpresents.org.

DISPATCH

Men sought for choral group – VOCE, Voic es of Choral Excellence, is looking for male vocalists with tenor, baritone and bass ranges. Singers with music degrees or cho ral experience and excellent music-reading skills are encouraged to apply. VOCE is a small semi-professional vocal ensemble based in Carmel. It meets twice a month on the second and fourth Sundays from 2-4 p.m. at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 1402 W. Main St, Carmel. For more or to schedule an audition, contact Brenda Iacoc ca at bmiacocca@gmail.com or 317.946.2056, or visit voceindy.org.

MUSICAL

Olivia Broadwater, left, and Miata McMichel appear in Civic Theatre’s production of “Rent.” (Photo courtesy off Joshua Hasty Photography)

Ammons

NOTICE

STATE OF INDIANA, COUNTY OF HAMILTON: SS

I, Kathy Kreag Williams, Clerk of the Hamilton County Circuit Court, pursuant to IC 3-11-13-22 and 3-11-14.5-1 do hereby publish notice of a test of the voting systems to be used in the General Election held November 8, 2022 to ascertain that the system will correctly count the votes cast for all selections. The test will be conducted in the Hamilton County Election Office at the Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center, One Hamilton County Square, Noblesville, Indiana on the 7th day of October, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.

Witness my hand and seal this 13th day of September, 2022.

Kathy Kreag Williams

Hamilton County Circuit Court Clerk