Concert with Jodi Benson

You may not recognize the name Jodi Benson right away, but if I asked you if you have seen The Little Mermaid, Toy Story II, Flubber with Robin Williams, Thumbelina, or a number of Broadway shows, you would recognize her voice. We were privileged to have her come to the Center for the Arts here in Midland and sing in the Christmas concert. The first half of the show featured all of the musical groups in Midland, including the Chorale, of which I am a part. I made my "debut" (Ha ha) by singing a short solo, accompanied by harp, during our performance of Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols. Thankfully, it went very well! After our part and other groups performed, we had an intermission (or as Emma has called it, "interception"--probably because of her football dad :-) ), and then Jodi Benson came out for the second half singing, "Part of Your World" and then many other Christmas songs. We ended the concert with her singing, "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and "O Holy Night." It was amazing! Jodi and I had an opportunity to talk for quite awhile on Fri. night at the dress rehearsal. I had gone into the green room when Chorale had a bit of a break, and Jodi came out of her dressing room. I wanted to welcome her to Midland and let her know that I had found out she was a Christian, and I would be praying for her that weekend. She had arrived in Midland without her luggage arriving at the airport with her. :-( Long story short, God gave us a wonderful time of talking about Him, our families, etc. I was so encouraged by her testimony, genuineness, and friendliness. She said I could bring the girls back before Sat. night's show to get a picture and have their books signed. We were able to do that, and again, Jodi was gracious, taking time to talk to the girls, and let us hang out for more than a minute in her dressing room. I was trying to be sure both Fri. night and Sat. that I was sensitive of her time, and mentioned something both times. She was so laid back and real, for lack of a better word, and said she didn't mind at all and enjoyed the time to chat. Well, the real kicker was her calling out to my girls during the performance! She asked where they were and waved to them, talked about their time together before the show, and was very kind to me in referring to my solo. To say the least, we were on a high that night. I had other opportunities to talk with Jodi briefly the next day before and after our performance. She was so wonderful on stage too, talking about not caring if she is politically correct about saying/not saying, "Merry Christmas." She made no bones about it that her faith is in Jesus and she is celebrating His birth. It was just a wonderful weekend, and again, I am so ecouraged and thankful for the kind of woman she is in the entertainment world!