Set in the Bohemian Alps, an area of rolling hills in Eastern Nebraska, Ted Kooser and his wife Kathleen  grapple with Ted’s journey as an artist, “...like a man who has lost a hubcap and is looking for it in the high grass on both sides of the road”, and his moving stare-down with cancer.  Told in direct address to the audience, lively with anecdote, poetry and song, Local Wonders celebrates the wonders just at our finger tips.

Local Wonders was adapted from former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s prose book, Local Wonders and poems from his Pulitzer Prize winning book, Lights & Shadows as well as The Poetry Home Repair Kit, Winter Morning Walks, Weather Central and Sure Signs. It was workshopped and subsequently produced by the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, part of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Support for the work has come from the Nebraska Arts Council, the Layman Foundation of the University of Nebraska Lincoln and a grant from Columbia College in Chicago.

The LOCAL WONDERS CD contains the principal musical selections from the show accompanied by guitar, piano, violin, and bass with accents of banjo, harmonica, & melodeon.  You’ll hear the soaring harmonies and catchy melodies and a snippet or two from the script as well.  Great for quiet listening or you can sing your lungs out with it in the car.  A great way to get a thorough yet concise feel for the show.

Vocals, guitar: Paul Amandes – he also wrote the songs
Vocals, banjo: Anne Hills – she also produced the CD
Bass: Scott Petito – he also engineered & co-produced the CD
Piano, melodeon, harmonica: Peter Vitalone – he can play anything
Violin: Rachel Handman – Poughkeepsie’s finest fiddle

Ted Kooser describes with exquisite detail and humor the place he calls home in the rolling hills of southeastern Nebraska—an area known as the Bohemian Alps. Nothing is too big or too small for his attention. Memories of his grandmother’s cooking are juxtaposed with reflections about the old-fashioned outhouse on his property. When casting his eye on social progress, Kooser reminds us that the closing of local schools, thoughtless county weed control, and irresponsible housing development destroy more than just the view.

To order Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps by Ted Kooser please visit the Nebraska Press.