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arts the Smillie in War Horse. frst appearance of the full-sized horse — so great and so convincing are the writing, design and staging — makes the audience gasp. "Actors are being trained to operate these giant puppets because the creators of Warhorse wanted actors with heart — not just puppeteers — to bring the animal to life. Tere is something about puppets that allows you to suspend reality, and it's interesting the way you see the actors inside the body. I mean, they could have 'Trojan Horsed' it, but this technique is more creative, more moving." Midori makes rare guest appearance Smillie's PICKS By Thomson Smillie Illustration by Bart Galloway Smasheroo season Broadway in Louisville has a strong lineup that launches this month, and you should pencil in two events on your 2013-'14 calendar. Warhorse is the most compelling prospect of the fall (Nov. 19 to 24) and Te Book of Mormon will rule the spring (May 27 to June 8). I have not seen Mormon and can't bear the wait. (Also on the schedule: Te Addams Family from Oct. 15-20, Sister Act in January and Ghost in March.) I spoke with Leslie Broecker, president of Broadway Across America's Midwest region, and she acted like the cat who got both bowls of cream. Smillie: "Te Book of Mormon has had better reviews than the Bible. One critic called it the greatest musical in history. Bring us down to earth." Broecker: "I am not a South Park person, have never seen the TV show, but the guys who wrote South Park and Book of Mormon grew up loving Broadway musicals. Tey had always wanted to write one. Book of Mormon follows the pattern of a traditional Broadway 'book' musical — like, for instance, Hello, Dolly! — but the diference is, Book of Mormon takes apart the beliefs of the Mormon religion: how the Book was written, why it was buried and so on, but does so in such a clever, funny way that, I don't know how, it gets you past the ofensive. Also, you leave humming some of the tunes." Smillie: "You are smart to have landed this blockbuster because one show like this can sell a complete season, yes?" Broecker: "It defnitely becomes the case that one big show brings in the subscribers for the other shows, but almost more interesting is that subscribers come to other shows with lesser expectations but often leave having gotten as big a kick out of them. We do know that if you sell a subscription on one blockbuster, then 85 percent of those new subscribers will not renew the following year. My strategy this year is to surround the blockbusters with shows of equal quality, in this case all shows new to Louisville." Smillie: "Like Warhorse. I saw the OK movie, but people tell me that the original live stage show is infnitely better. Tales are told of strong men weeping in the aisles." Broecker: "Te frst sight of the horse Joey is as a small puppet, so the 90 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 10.13 You'll need to act in the next few days or miss a major event in Louisville's musical life: a rare chance to witness the Japanese violinist Midori in action with the Louisville Orchestra performing Brahms' violin concerto. (Midori is so famous that she can get away with using only one name. Like Elvis. Well, not exactly like Elvis.) Te concerts are Oct. 3 at 10:30 a.m. and Oct. 4 at 8 p.m, at the Kentucky Center's Whitney Hall. I'm happy it's the Brahms concerto she has selected in preference to the oft-performed Beethoven, Tchaikovsky or Mendelssohn. It is a work of wondrous autumnal warmth and great melodic beauty. What's new in opera? Generally the answer is "not much," so it is good that Kentucky Opera is continuing to feature new music in its program. Dates to note are Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. Commissioning and giving U.S. and regional premieres was a big feature of the company's frst three to four decades, but audience indiference and a tough arts economy have sidelined that aspect of the repertoire, except for the occasional foray into the American verismo, which always sounds to me like Puccini left out in the rain. David Roth, the opera's general director, has programmed two one-act performances. Te frst deals with the confict between Benjamin Franklin and his son William, who had supported the "wrong side" in the War of Independence. Next is a comic piece recalling that most disastrous of opening nights: the evening Stravinsky's Rite of Spring was hooted, catcalled, jeered and rendered inaudible (yes, the audience hated the dancing nearly as much as the music) at its Paris premiere 100 years ago. Singers from the opera's young artists program will perform. Venue is Comstock Hall on the University of Louisville's campus. Final thought I decided to visit the new KFC Eleven, where Baxter Avenue and Bardstown Roads branch. I have long had a jaundiced view of KFC since the days I worked as general manager of the Opera Company of Boston, with a famous woman conductor more noted for her displacement than her musical ability. She started every Monday by asking her assistant: "Which diet are we on this week, Frederick?" One week the reply came: "Te Swedish Ladies Ski Team Diet, ma'am. Boiled eggs." "Waiter!" the great lady cried. "Bring me 24 boiled eggs." She proceeded to pop them with avidity. Her secret ingredient was that every night on the way home she bought a 24-piece bucket of KFC chicken, which she devoured in bed. Te new KFC Eleven is sleek and modern, and has beautiful decor in "green" tones and a TV display telling us of upcoming marathons, Ironman stuf, festivals of ftness and other events you may want to avoid. Te food is light, with an emphasis on whole grains, fatbread and rice. I found it delicious. Changed times, but the experience did recall that sad day some years ago when Col. Sanders died and was given a massive funeral. Franchisees came from all over the world and a massive trafc jam developed on I-264. Te funeral timetable was greatly delayed. A KFC corporate jock told me some weeks later an entirely apocryphal gag about the tragic consequence of the delay: that while it had been intended to cremate the Colonel regular recipe (not true; he is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery), he ended up extra crispy.