Question: What do star-crossed lovers and small sandwiches have in common? Answer: 2 for Tea with Friends! The Friends of McCain Auditorium Board of Directors invite you to an afternoon tea party at Meadowlark Hills prior to the Moscow Festival Ballet’s performance of Romeo and Juliet at McCain Auditorium. The event is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, April 27, in the Community Room. All Meadowlark Hills residents, Passport members, Board members and employees are invited, but please register in the Blue Book to reserve your seat.

 For resident with tickets to the ballet, the party promises to be a fun introduction to what you’ll experience at McCain. If you don’t have tickets, please don’t let that stop you from enjoying soothing music, tasty fare and a discussion of Shakespeare’s tragic tale.  McCain Board members and other volunteers will serve party-goers as they enjoy a variety of hot teas, bite-size sandwiches, scones and petit fours.

 Also set to attend the tea party is Jennifer Vellenga, head of Acting and Directing in the School of Music Theatre and Dance at Kansas State University. Vellenga plans a short presentation titled “The Enduring Nature of Romeo and Juliet.” Romeo and Juliet, published in the late 16th century, was adapted from a poem. Over the past 400 years, the tragedy of the star-crossed lovers has inspired multiple art forms: film, opera, art, musical theatre, comedy, and dance. Structured in perfect balance to keep us in suspense until the bitter end, the story of Romeo and Juliet promises audiences a passionate journey of romance, family obligation, economics, race and religion. Vellenga will share some of the reasons why Romeo & Juliet continues to endure.

Becky Fitzgerald, a member of the Meadowlark Hills Sales Team, also serves on the McCain Board, and announced this event at the April Town Meeting. Residents there had the opportunity to take home a door prize of two tickets to see the ballet, with Jean Beatty winning those tickets. McCain Auditorium has generously donated more Romeo and Juliet tickets for the Friends of McCain to give away. If you would like to have an opportunity to win tickets but were not present at Town Meeting, please stop by Becky’s office to register.

Two buses have been scheduled to transport ticket-holders to McCain. If you win tickets and would like to use Meadowlark transportation, please register in the Blue Book.