"Back in Ukraine, we were told, 'In the United States, you won't have any problems,' but we've had problems," Regina Skylar said, laughing at the memories.

The two women, who declined to give their ages, lived through many ups and downs as they acclimated to American life. But they were determined and always tried to look at their experiences with a sense of humor.

"Your life is not always so smooth, but humor is the one thing that can help you survive in any situation," Regina Skylar said.

One day in February 2004, Regina was sitting at her piano and was inspired to write a musical about their adventures moving from one country to another. With her daughter's help, they created "Amazing Adventures," which they describe in promotional literature as a musical about "two souls aspiring to overcome all obstacles."

The mother and daughter team wrote all the songs in the musical, and are the only performers in the show, which includes dance numbers.

"We wanted to show everyone that if two people have a great sense of humor and a great understanding of each other, they can create a bond that will never be broken, no matter what," Regina Skylar said.

The musical begins on a train back home in Ukraine and takes the audience all the way to their current life in the North Raleigh neighborhood of Falls River. The Skylars arrived in the United States with all of their belongings in two bags. From the beginning, their experience was different from the lives they had come to know.

Their first stop was New York City, where looking up at the tall buildings made the women dizzy. They made their home in Texas, where they went expecting to see lots of cowboys.

The entire show is performed in English.

"We no longer consider English our second language, although we are often told our accents are cute!" her daughter said.

The pair are no strangers to music. The mother has played the piano since age 6 and currently teaches piano from her home studio. She taught at the college level in Dallas and still lectures occasionally on the subject.

"All my life has been dedicated to music, art and education," Regina Skylar said. She has always dreamed of performing in a musical, never forgetting her dying mother's words encouraging her to show people her talent.

Geni Skylar has been dancing and singing as long as she can remember, and studied art in college. She now works as a health-care consultant.

Their Web site, www.glitter-pearls.com, offers a sample of some of the songs in the musical, such as the classical piece "Revolution 2" and the cabaret-style "Dreams."

Geni Skylar explains that the name of the Web site reflects their hope that the audience will see something in the show that "makes their eyes brighter."

The mother and daughter have lived in North Raleigh for about three years. They came here because Raleigh was, as Regina says "very green and around nature," similar to their home in Ukraine and something they didn't find in Dallas.

They love the ability to just pack and go in America and have traveled as far as California and frequent the beaches and mountains of North Carolina.

Asked if they ever wanted to go back home, Geni Skylar replied, "No, we're tougher than that."

"And that's what the show is about," her mother added. "Follow your inspiration and believe in yourself."

Correspondent Vera Wilson can be reached at NRNews@newsobserver.com.

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