Hays Daily News Review

Friday, December 10, 2004

Call of the Madrigal Well-heeded

 Patrick Lowry, Commentary

Receiving a summons in the mail ranks right up there with property tax notifications, quarterly retirement account statements during bear conditions and any reminders about April 15...It's not like I shiver in my boots or wonder whether the letter-opener will cut the envelope or my wrist. There's just nothing all that exciting about viewing the contents.

As I continue to acquaint myself with this community, I now can add receiving a summons to my list of firsts.But this note was more intriguing than intimidating, probably because it was sent from the "Lady of the Manor." No name, mind you, Just the title.

After a little investigating , we came to the conclusion that the Madrigal Dinner just might be worth checking out.

Huzzah! It was.

We spent three hours Saturday night transfixed in a transformed Memorial Union, enjoying the revelry and reverence of a 40-year -old Hays tradition. What a tradition. Probably 75 - 80 volunteers and staff pull together northwest Kansas' version of 16th century England with aplomb. It struck me as a formal version of The Renaissance Festival held annually in Kansas City.

The pageantry extended throughout the hall. Tunic-clad trumpeters heralded the arrival of guests and royalty. Delight was taken in the boar's head, the peacock and the Yule log. The singing was phenomenal; students of the university negotiated difficult harmonization's with relish. Ladies and lords traded barbs, odes were offered from The Bard, and while the magician didn't pull a rabbit out of his hat -- he did make the postmaster appear as a waiter. And the costumes were stunning.

The bear-rug-clad Virgil Scott and the demure Diane Scott appeared stoic and regal as the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. But it was the resplendent real-life Barbie who commanded the most attention.

The afore-mentioned lady of the Manor was portrayed by none other than Brenda Meder, Hays' own queen of the arts.

This was her sixth year as the leading lady, and while she's been seen in the same dress for all those dinners, the thrill has not diminished.

"I get to wear a purple gown, a blonde wig and a crown." she says, "and everyone has to bow to me. I get to eat and perform."

What's not to like about that?

And what's not to enjoy about the dramatic flair the Volga-German from Victoria infuse? Meder's theatrical background is well-suited as she anoints the beef Sir Loin (this scripted tradition never becomes "old crown" for her).

Meder's motivation is admirable/ "Contributing to someone else's cultural enrichment and diversion is fun," she says. "It's really exciting when people leave having a great time/"

Count me in as one of those people.

Other than a court jester, the only thing missing from the occasion was a goblet of mead to wash down the Yorkshire Pyddyng and Queen's Krust. I offer one supplement to "The Book of Curtasye" that governs the festivities: "Thru powyr of the pressudent, thys being an offyshal funkshun of Forte Hayz Stayte Unyvercity,  Gueysts shall be provided fruit of the vyne for theyre pallets."