Higdon: 61st season of ‘The Stephen Foster Story’ kicks off this weekend
By JIMMY HIGDON
14th District State Senator
Saturday, June 8, 2019 — Over the years, I have had the distinct pleasure of attending The Stephen Foster Story in historic Bardstown. The talented cast is always incredibly entertaining and the night flies by. The musical is truly a great Kentucky story about the life and music of one of America’s most influential songwriters, the talented Stephen Foster.
In honor and memory of this Kentucky icon, the community stepped up. The 61st season of The Stephen Foster Story is now showing in historic Bardstown through August 10, 2019 on a newly reconstructed stage. Come out and see why Bardstown, Nelson County, and Kentuckians are so proud of this traditional Kentucky musical.
Across the Commonwealth, Foster is best known for “My Old Kentucky Home.” When this famous song is performed on stage, the audience gets goosebumps from the beautiful combination of banjo melodies and talented voices that resonate throughout the historic My Old Kentucky Home State Park.
Since its debut in the J. Dan Talbott Amphitheatre in 1958, The Stephen Foster Story has been performed more than 4,000 times. This season continues the tradition of this historical narrative along with additional opportunities suitable for all ages. This summer the My Old Kentucky Home State park is giving you an opportunity to experience the sights and sounds of an era when Stephen Foster wrote additional classics such as “Oh! Susanna,” “Camptown Races,” and “Beautiful Dreamer.”
Come spend the day with friends and family in historic Bardstown. Enjoy My Old Kentucky Home in the afternoon and attend the Stephen Foster Story that evening. I encourage you to see for yourself why The Stephen Foster Story is such an artistic treasure for our commonwealth. You will leave the show singing Doo-Dah Doo-Dah and humming:
The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
‘Tis summer, the people are gay;
The corn-top’s ripe and the meadow’s in the bloom
While the birds make music all the day.
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor
All merry, all happy and bright;
By ‘n by hard times comes a knocking at the door
Then my old Kentucky home, Good-night!
Weep no more my lady.
Oh! Weep no more today!
We will sing one song
For my old Kentucky home
For the old Kentucky home, far away.
This show is a must-attend event for every Kentuckian who loves our great commonwealth, history, and the arts. For more information on The Stephen Foster Story, please visit www.stephenfoster.com, or call the box office for tickets at 502-348-5971 or toll-free at 800-626-1563. Visit them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thestephenfosterstory for photos, videos and updates.
In closing let me make a statement about civil discourse. A government of, by, and for the people requires that people talk to people, that we can agree to disagree but do so in respectful manner. We all disagree about many approaches to public policy. Many strongly agree that we should do so in a calm, respectful, and civil manner.
With an election year approaching, even more Kentuckians need to choose civility. Civility as we pursue is the ability to disagree productively with others, respecting their sincerity and decency.
The interim has officially begun for the Kentucky General Assembly. With that, several Interim Joint Committees met to listen and discuss upcoming legislation and public policy issues. As always, I encourage you to get involved and follow the happenings of the Kentucky Legislature.
If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181, on my home phone at 270-692-6945, or e-mail me at Jimmy.Higdon@LRC.ky.gov. You can share your thoughts with me on Facebook or on Twitter @SenatorJimmy. You can also review the Legislature’s work online at www.legislature.ky.gov.
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