The Thomas Treehouse
~ by Lee Edgren
How far is it from a career in musical theaters from New York City, Los Angeles, and Branson, MIssouri( not to mention 13 other countries and many other states) to a light-filled woodworking shop and studio on Old School House Way?
For Rhett Thomas, his wife and business partner Wendi, and their five( soon-to-be six) children, the opening of their shop as natural as the emergence of a leaf from a twig. Rhett and Wendi married when they were in their very early 20s.“ I was a surfer and she was a mountain girl. We met on stage in Illinois and started our careers together. We had individual dreams, but we had a bond from the very beginning. Having children( Aleese, 19; Albany, 17; Olivia, 15; Ilana, 11; Dallin, 7— the only boy; and another girl on the way) only made us stronger.”
Rhett and Wendi Thomas. courtesy photo
Rhett Thomas with his sculpture“ Balance.”
“ Our whole life, we’ ve been around music. I grew up watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. My parents were ballroom dancers. They were second to Bobby Burgess in the auditions for the Lawrence Welk Show. My grandmother was a radio singer and actress for MGM studios, and she was a dancer. I started performing with Sandy Duncan, Gavin McCloud, Nannette Fabray— the old school shows. It was a great time.”
Rhett’ s brother Rick, an illusionist, is a headliner at the Andy Williams Performing Arts Center in Branson, Missouri. His brother
20 Our Brown County July / August 2016