In departure from story line, Joseph asks Mary to marry him

Tue., Nov. 30, 2004

Associated Press

TACOMA – It wasn’t in the script for Joseph to propose to Mary at the end of a dance rendition of the Nativity, but that’s what happened in a Metropolitan Ballet of Tacoma performance.

Shortly after the conclusion of “Celebrate His Birth” Friday night at the Pantages Theater, Dan Larson (Joseph) got down on one knee and asked Amanda Thaut (Mary), “Will you marry me?”

Thaut quietly gasped, “Yes.” The audience was stunned. One of the wise men pumped his fist in the air and said, “Yes!” The shepherds and angels could barely contain their enthusiasm.

“I started planning it more than a year ago,” Larson, 25, said later. “I wanted to make it something very special. Every part of my life is better because of her.”

Despite her surprise, Thaut, 26, said she had an inkling some weeks earlier he might be about to pop the question.

“I had a dream about it,” she said.

Larson kept his plan from all but a trusted few, but the growing closeness of the couple was a secret to no one in the company.

“It’s been blossoming for a while,” artistic director and choreographer Damaris Caughlan said. “They’ve been dating for at least two or three years.”

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