Country Music Enterprise Currents

What Artists Should Know About Bringing Children Onto The Stage

Christine McDonald presenting Blessed Mother to Jimmy Durante

I don’t remember where we were or why we were there. All I remember is myself and my sister being chosen to present a statue of the Blessed Mother to Jimmy Durante on stage.

I remember a man who seemed to be a thousand feet tall to me at the time asking me if I wanted to say something. Yes! I nodded, like a bobble doll. He flipped that microphone upside down, held it in front of me and said, “Go ahead”.

Nothing.

I was so mesmerized by what he had done that I was speechless.

My innocence was met with deafening applause and a standing ovation (for bravery, I’m sure).

But that was the day I fell in love with the arts.

So remember, when you bring a small child up onto your stage, you are in a position to affect them for the rest of their lives!

As Told To

Years later the way the story was told to me is that a priest in the church I attended as a very young child – we’ll call him Father Z – had several family members in the entertainment industry. Father Z took a hankering to myself and my sister (18 months my senior) and often arranged for us to appear on stage. I’ve been told we made several appearances with a variety of entertainers. But this is honestly the only one I remember.

Thank you, Jimmy Durante, Father Z and the man who seemed to be a thousand feet tall to me at the time. You set the stage that day and I fell in love with the arts!

About Christine McDonald (31 Articles)
Christine McDonald is a Boston-based copy, content and column writer, crafting copy for the arts, entertainment, holistic health and spiritual markets. Christine's been "Writing since I was old enough to hold a pencil and a thought™", hooked on country since conception and studied songwriting with the Boston chapter of NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International). When Christine's not writing she enjoys family, friends, food, pets, photography, reading and the ocean.
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