Theater Jones
When Dallas actor and playwright Steve Lovett passed away unexpectedly last June from complications following heart surgery, the local theatrical community lost not only a beloved friend and colleague, but a musical theater advocate and historian as well.
Along with the shock and sadness of his death came the lingering question of what would become of his vast library of musical theater CDs and vintage vinyl recordings? Over the years, Steve amassed what is has to be one of the largest privately held collections.
Steve’s catalog included everything from the expected to the astonishingly rare; from the biggest Broadway hits to the most unheralded of obscurities. (The last CD he gifted me? Poop: The Musical.) Not content to merely have a recording of a particular show, he often had every recording of the show. And they didn’t sit on shelves, he actually listened to them, and even more spectacularly, he shared them. Actors around town knew they could count on Steve if they needed to find a particular song to work on for an audition or performance. He wouldn’t just let them listen to the recording, he’d burn them a CD or three.
A few years ago I was assigned "The Ladies Who Lunch" as my solo for Uptown Players’ annual fundraiser Broadway Our Way. I didn’t have a recording of the song and asked Steve if he had a copy. Did he ever. A couple of days later he presented me with a CD that had the song as recorded by Elaine Stritch, Julie Wilson, Cleo Laine, Anna Kendrick (from the Camp soundtrack), Barbra Streisand, Michael Ball and...Dame Edna.
Steve’s adventurous collection didn’t focus on the English language. Not in the least. He had recordings of musicals in every language imaginable: The Lion King in Japanese, Grease in Czech, Cabaret in Hebrew, Little Shop of Horrors in Icelandic, Chess in Hungarian, Rent in Norwegian. Just dying to hear Peter Pan in Chinese? Which dialect? Steve had it in Cantonese, Mandarin and Wu.
You’re just not gonna find this stuff on iTunes.
It’s not known exactly how many recordings are in the collection. Thousands, to put it modestly. So without Steve to nurture the collection, what would become of it? His sister Karen had plans to donate it but wanted it to be kept intact and wanted it to be used and enjoyed. Endeavors to place the collection in appropriate hands led to disappointment. Eventually it was warehoused through the generosity of the Dallas Theater Center in one of their production and storage facilities in the industrial district.
But how to make it accessible? Dallas actor/director/producer LisaAnne Haram had an idea. She is on staff at the Society for Theatrical Artists' Guidance and Enhancement (S.T.A.G.E.) and wondered if it might become home to the collection? Space is limited in the theatrical institution’s modest digs along the Stemmons corridor, but Haram and S.T.A.G.E. operations manager Jeff Fenter decided to make it work.
So on a frigid, rainy, gray day in late January, LisaAnne enlisted the aid of Steve’s pals and local show folk Kevin Keating and Andi Allen and, along with graciously efficient assistance from DTC staff, transported all 62 boxes to their cozy new home in the S.T.A.G.E. library.
The collection is still in boxes and will need some special attention before it is available for use. But it is safe. It is intact. And it will be used and enjoyed.
And that’s gotta be music to Steve’s angelic ears.
Want to offer some TLC to Steve’s treasured collection? Contact S.T.A.G.E at www.stage-online.org.
TheaterJones has beaucoup tickets to give away for upcoming arts events, so join our fan page on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, to learn more about the contests.
Here are the giveaways, updated with winners as they happen:
- Three pairs of tickets for Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, presented by TITAS, at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House, at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7. Tickets were given away Sept. 2. The winners: Pam Spofford, Darren Climer and Kim Whipple. Congrats!
- Ten pairs of tickets for "The Blues" in the Jazz Roots Series, featuring Shemekia Copeland and the James Cotton Superharp Blues Band, at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House, for 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 8. Ticket giveaway: Friday, Sept. 3.
- Five pairs of tickets for MOMIX, presented by TITAS, at AT&T Performing Arts Center, Winspear Opera House, for 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 10. Ticket giveaway: Tuesday, Sept. 7.
- Five pairs of tickets for genius record producer T-Bone Burnett, in the Brinker International Forum, at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House, for 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 12. Ticket giveaway: Wednesday, Sept. 8.
- Three pairs of tickets for Blue Man Group, in the Broadway Lexus Series, at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House, for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 14 or Wednesday, Sept. 15. Ticket giveaway: Thursday, Sept. 9.
- Two pairs of tickets to The Sound of Music at Casa Mañana Theatre in Fort Worth, for the 7:30 p.m. performance on Wednesday, Sept. 15. Ticket giveaway: Friday, Sept. 10.
The email address you'll want to have handy is tickets@theaterjones.com. We'll post the winners after each giveaway.
The 2011 season for Level Ground Arts has been announced. The group's third season, and its first full season in its new home at the K.D. Studio Theatre, follows in the tradition of the groundwork that LGA has already laid. It's heavily influenced by film, although less heavy on the camp this time around.
The six-show lineup includes a silent film-inspired production of the classic movie Metropolis, and an intriguing take on the German expressionist vampire masterpiece Nosferatu. There's also a new musical version of the Victor Hugo novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and in a bit of a surprise, the Tony-nominated musical The Drowsy Chaperone, which was on Broadway in 2006. It is a spoof of old musicals, though, and spoof is very much in line with LGA's history. (Theatre Three has the area premiere of Drowsy, which opens there in December.)
There is one to-be-announced show for the summer, and given Level Ground's track record with musicals based on cult films, such as Evil Dead: The Musical and Poseidon: An Upside Down Musical, it's a good bet that the as-yet-unannounced June show will follow that path.
Here's the season:
- Rod Sterling's drama Requiem for a Heavyweight, which was performed live on the television show Playhouse 90 in 1956, and then made into a 1962 movie, starring Anthony Quinn, Mickey Rooney and Jackie Gleason. The play appeared on Broadway in 1985. LGA's production runs Feb. 25-March 19.
- Metropolis, a faithful adaptation of Fritz Lang's 1926 German film, performed silently and with an original score. World premiere. April 8-30.
- TBA, a "big surprise" that can't be announced yet. June 3-25.
- The Drowsy Chaperone, the hit Broadway show about a man who discusses his favorite Broadway musical as it comes to life around him. Aug. 5-25.
- A Samurai Nosferatu, a premiere adaptation of the vampire story, set in pre-industrial Japan. World premiere. Oct. 7-29.
- A new musical version of the classic story The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with music by local composer Scott Eckert and book by LGA artistic director Bill Fountain. Nov. 11-Dec. 3.
- A travelling production of Macbeth, presented at various dates and locations throughout 2011.
There are several season subscription packages. For $60, you can see each of the first six shows on the Thursday preview (Macbeth not included). A season pass that's good for any performance of all six shows is $90 per person. For $175, you can get a party pass, with 10 tickets valid for any five shows of the season, except Macbeth.
For more information, call 214-630-5491, or visit www.levelgroundarts.com.
To read Mark Lowry's Q&A with Bill Fountain, see the September issue of Arts+Culture, which is on stands now.
Local actor Gary Moody was found dead on Sunday in his home in Granbury. He was 63. He was found by Drenda Lewis, a local costume designer who also lives in Granbury. The cause of death has not been announced, but Moody had been having fainting spells recently, according to sources.
Moody performed at the Granbury Opera House for years, and also appeared at Lyric Stage, Circle Theatre, Dallas Theater Center and WaterTower Theatre, among others. His adaptation A Lone Star Christmas Carol premiered at Circle Theatre in 2009.
"He was the most professional actor I ever knew," said Marty Van Kleeck, former artistic director at the Granbury Opera House and, until recently, manager of the Bath House Cultural Center. "He never expected a role. He always came prepared to auditions having read the script and studied the role. He had no sense of entitlement, even having performed for years at the Opera House. I could depend on him in whatever role he was cast to do his best."
Actress and friend Pam Dougherty notes that he was the first area liaison for Actors' Equity Association in Dallas, and worked on the original committee for National Representation for actors outside the cities in which there is an AEA office.
"There was a day," she said, "when it was truly 'taxation without representation' for professional actors living outside the [AEA] office cities, and Gary was a big part of the changes. He also remained a lifelong member and activist for SAG and AFTRA."
A memorial service for Moody will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 21, at the Dupree Theater at the Irving Arts Center, 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving.
Send your memories of Gary Moody to marklowry@theaterjones.com, and we'll include them on this file.
►From Donald Jordan, Founding Artistic Director of Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre:
"Gary was my friend from the day we met at the Dallas Theater Center in 1982, where we were in a production of The Three Penny Opera together. Always jovial and warm, and always an artist and a craftsman, I admired him personally and professionally. Our volunteer work together for Actor's Equity Association on behalf of our theatrical community was a big part of our friendship as well. His tireless efforts for the performing artists of North Texas leave behind a unique and significant legacy in addition to his admirable artistic body of work. He will be missed."
►From T.J. Walsh, associate professor of theater at Texas Christian University and artistic director of Trinity Shakespeare Festival:
"I worked with Gary in The Retreat from Moscow at Circle Theatre. His performance in that very British drama opposite Elizabeth Rothan was subtle, brimming with an inner life and just simply brilliant. I think FW Weekly selected his performance in the play as best of the year. While he is known for his larger than life musical and comedy performances, working with him on that play just filled me with admiration at his depth as a performer and a human being."
►From Mike Skipper, actor and producer:
"I first met Gary in the late seventies when Debbie Brown and I were touring in South Pacific. Gary had friends in the show and welcomed us with open arms when we returned. We've seen each other over the years and in my opinion, Dallas/ Fort Worth has lost one of its really great character actors."
►From Rose Pearson, Executive Director, Circle Theatre:
"I don't remember when I first met Gary...maybe it was in our Joy Wyse Talent Agency Days, who knows? He always seemed like a permanent fixture in the Dallas-Fort Worth talent scene. Like T.J. [Walsh, above], I was especially pleased to see his depth as an actor so beautifully showcased in Circle's production of The Retreat from Moscow. I enjoyed watching him patiently mentor the young actors featured in the Circle/TCU co-production of Bus Stop. And, finally, it was Circle Theatre's honor to work with him and his long time friend, Gary Taylor, on their musical adaptation, A Lone Star Christmas Carol. It was during this production we began to see hints of Gary's failing health and I worried about him. The doctors all said he was in reasonably good health, but that glorious twinkle never quite reappeared in his eyes. I keep wondering if things might have been different if he made it to the doctor's today, as planned. It doesn't seem fair, but the good thing is that he was here in our theatre community for the time he was given on earth. Break-a-leg in the after life, Gary!"
►From Mark Oristano, actor, sportcaster and photographer:
"I had the great pleasure of doing two shows with Gary: Fiorello! for Lyric Stage and Parade for WaterTower. He was the pro's pro. Always on the money. Always a delight to be around. For somebody like me, who constantly shows off his rough edges, Gary gave me something to aim for. I'll miss him."
►From Ric Spiegel:
"Like everyone, I am deeply saddened by the news of Gary Moody's passing. Friends and colleagues for many years, we shared the same profession, the same agent and many of the same jobs. Gary was the true thespian, working in more plays and musicals than one can count. Although stage was his his first love, Gary had certainly done his share of radio, TV and film. His credits are impressive. Just last week I was listening to radio spots we did together, some dating back to the early '80s, and on through 2008.
Gary was also a true professional; honoring his word was as important to him as knowing his lines, and he was well-known for both. Sometimes the quiet curmudgeon, more often the boisterous raconteur and always a good actor, Gary Moody will be missed by many casts, crews and friends."
►From Gary Taylor:
"I first met Gary in 1979 at Country Dinner Playhouse. He was playing Doolittle in My Fair Lady and I was in the Heymakers, the pre-show group. I was working on a recording project and needed a narrator. I asked Gary to do the job. The result was incredible. Nobody, I mean, nobody, could have done a better job. The years passed and we fell out of touch. Then I decided to look him up and I found him in Granbury. his time he had a project started and asked me to write music for it. The project was A Lone Star Christmas Carol. Working with Gary on that project was pure joy. This past Christmas we had the great fortune of seeing the show produced at Circle Theatre in Fort Worth, and Gary and I both performed in the show. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I am now so thankful that Gary got a chance to see “our baby” (as he sometimes referred to it) take its first step. As Rose said, we could see hints of his failing health during the run of the show, but each night he turned in a wonderful, moving performance. Thanks to everyone at Circle Theatre and to all of the beautiful people in our production. But mostly, thanks to Gary, himself, for letting me be a part of his dream. I’ll miss him."
►From Mary Collins, agent:
I have been proud to be Gary’s broadcast/film agent for over 26 years, and in fact, he was one of the very first clients who signed with me when I opened in March 1984. There never was a more professional, ethical actor—thespian, character actor, voice actor—Gary could do it all. His passing has left a hole in our collective hearts.
►From John Rainone, actor:
Very few people outside of the ones who were there know this, but Gary Moody was the officiating parson when my first wife and I were married. We had gotten officially married a month before, at City Hall with a justice of the peace. However, our families wanted the church wedding.
So my bride and I went to Norcostco and rented a wedding gown, bride's maid dresses, gray tux with tails for me and the groomsmen, and a country preacher's outfit for Gary Moody. We looked like a bus-and-truck production of Mame!
We booked the church at Old City Park and I watched old movies on TV to write the script for Gary. He did the ceremony, read the vows and pronounced us “man and wife” to a full house―most of whom never knew he was an actor!
His greatest role! And it went unsung until now!
God let you rest in peace my old friend. Think about our parts in Shrew, you as Baptista and me as Old Gremio, and how it was my main motivation in our scene to crack you up! And how when you started to lose it, I’d start to lose it! The Tim Conway/Harvey Korman school of acting! And what fun we had on the tour bus! Coming off stage and heading straight for the beer! And how we all damn-near got thrown in jail for cavorting around the parking lot of that cheap motel in Uvalde, Texas.
Ah....those were the days.
►From Lisa Fairchild, actress:
I've known Gary my whole adult life. He was one of the first actors I met when I moved to Dallas after college and he was welcoming and encouraging to a very naive and wide-eyed 22-year-old actor. The following year we went on tour with the Texas Shakespeare Theatre and he played my dad (Baptista) to my Bianca in Taming of the Shrew. Tours are a unique acting experience and togetherness can breed some grouchy folks, but Gary was never one of them. He greeted each day with a smile and that wonderful deep chuckle and told me, "Lisa, every day you can say you are a working actor is a great day." When Gary said it, it didn't sound like a cliché. He taught me how to play poker on that tour. He taught me really well. But, he never forgave me in 30 years for the royal flush hand I beat him with during my third poker game. “#%**#?in' beginner's luck, Miss Fairchild!" was how he greeted me every time, with a bear hug, all these years. I am sad and I will miss him. He was truly one of the good guys.
►From Doug Jackson, actor:
May I add my memories of the Shrew tour to John Rainone's. Sadly, that cast is being re-assembled on another plane. Lynn Mathis preceded Gary there. In the Dallas paper, the show was referred to as "cultural Philistine-ism" and Gary, Matt Posey and others reveled in the description, getting T-shirts made for the cast to wear from town to town. We were the Cultural Philistines, and we loved it.
I got to know Gary on that tour and my career as an actor owes him more than I can say. Working alongside him in Shrew, and as he played Doolittle at Casa Mañana (among many other times I had the honor) taught me much more about comedic acting than any class I ever took: undergrad, grad, workshop—you name it (meaning no slight to those teachers; as long as there have been players, players have learned from the playing of the more experienced onstage).
And that is only the beginning. His wisdom and calmness made serving on the Equity Liaison Committee a joy. His was among the recommendations of me to Mary Collins that got me professional representation. His knowledge and ability to cope with the "irregularities" of film work during our time on Mississippi Burning helped me immensely as I got my start in that business. Working with him onstage was a constant reminder of how to do it right—I wish I could have followed his example more closely. Finian's Rainbow and Fiorello! at Lyric Stage were my last two shows with him, and I wish there could have been a hundred more. My Doolittle at T3 was to me a pale shadow of the performance he gave in the role.
And I will never forget the day he won the contest to see who could insert a selected word into iambic pentameter, on that fated tour of Shrew for Texas Shakespeare: "We shall want no bev-naps at the feast!!" His like will not be seen again. I miss you, old pal.
►From actress Janis Roeton:
I had been out of the theater for several years when in 1999 I happily found myself cast in a lovely musical production of It's a Wonderful Life at the Granbury Opera House. I was absolutely amazed at the talented and professional actor in Granbury, Texas, playing Old Man Potter; of course, it was Gary Moody, acting, singing and dancing in a wheelchair across the tiny Granbury stage. Whenever Gary walked (or rolled) upon any stage, it came alive with his energy, his dedication and his consistently good work. He became my inspiration, my musical theater husband, and my dear friend; an amazingly talented genius and a dear, kind and generous individual. He was my Tevye, my Noah, my Mr. Scrooge, my Alonzo Smith, and so many fabulous characters for so many audiences upon so many stages through out the metroplex and USA. I miss him. I love him. He is gone far too soon.
Teco Theatrical Productions, which has a terrific theater space in Oak Cliff, at the Bishop Arts Theater Center, has announced its 2010-'11 season. The lineup includes what could become a holiday staple for the troupe, Langston Hughes' Black Nativity, as well as its popular new playwriting contest, in which local writers can win fab prices (first place is a grand and airline tickets) for new, short plays.
Here's the full season:
- There's No Business IN Show Business, by Teresa Coleman Wash, a world premiere thriller. Oct. 21-31.
- Black Nativity by Langston Hughes, directed by Cynthia Navarette and featuring New Arts Six. Dec. 9-19.
- 9th Annual New Play Competition. Submission guidelines: Length: 15-20 minutes. Author must be a resident of metro Dallas. The production should require a cast of no more than four actors, with no scene changes and mobile set. Material must be unoptioned, unproduced, and unpublished. Send script, SASE, e-mail submissions not accepted. Must be postmarked by Dec. 1, 2010. Productions run Feb. 10-27, 2011.
- Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, featuring TeCo's T-An-T (Teenagers and Theater) apprenticeship students. April 15-17
Call 214-948-0716 for more package deals or click here for individual tickets.
Mark Lowry, the editor and co-founder of TheaterJones.com, will be a guest on Good Morning, Texas, on Friday, Sept. 3.
The morning show on WFAA/Channel 8 will feature a segment with GMT host Rob McCollum and Lowry discussing the local theater scene, and Lowry will offer some highlights for the 2010 Fall theater season.
If you missed it, you can view the segment online.
PFamily Arts, the north Plano theater located in a swank spot in the Lakeside Market shopping center, has announced its 2010-'11 season. The organization, which is dedicated to musicals, also has a school and educational programs, an art gallery and will be launching a jazz series in 2011.
The theater productions will be:
- Cotton Patch Gospel, the bluegrass musical by Tom Key and Russell Treyz, with music and lyrics written by Harry Chapin. Nov. 4-13, 2010
- Home for the Holidays Dec. 2-11
- The 1940s Radio Hour, a play with music by Walton Jones, Feb. 10-19, 2011
- Baby, the musical about three couple expecting a baby, with book by Sybille Pearson, music by David Shire and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. April 7-16
For subscriptions and more info, call 972-378-1234 or visit www.pfamilyarts.org.
Uptown Players held its 2011 season announcement party on Tuesday, at its new home at the Kalita Humphreys Theater. The season has six slots, five of which will be productions at the Kalita (with one using multiple venues in the Kalita). The first show of the year, a parody of The Golden Girls, will be held in the Rose Room at the nightclub S4 on Cedar Springs (the Dallas Theater Center will be back in the KHT during February, with its revival of Arsenic and Old Lace).
The Uptown roster is most notable for a new event, the Dallas Pride Performing Arts Festival, in September, which will bring together plays, cabaret and other performances. The headlining show will be the world premiere of the musical Crazy Just Like Me. And, as was previously announced, Uptown will also participate in the area-wide Horton Foote Festival, with the area premiere of Foote's Pultizer Prize-winning play The Young Man From Atlanta.
Uptown will also bring back its popular fundraiser, Broadway Our Way, except it will happen in May, as opposed to the usual January slot. The production after BOW is the regional premiere of a Tony Award-winning musical, but the title can't be announced until February 2011. We have some pretty good guesses, though.
Here's the complete lineup for 2011. Unless noted, all shows are at the Kalita Humphreys Theater:
- Thank You For Being a Friend, a parody of The Golden Girls, by Nick Brennan, music and lyrics by Luke Jones and Jeff Thompson. It'll be in the vein of Uptown's previous Rose Room camp-fests, The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode and Mommie Queerest. In case you're unclear, the golden gals won't be played by real women. And in this scenario, their lives are turned upside down when Lance Bass moves in next door. Can we get Betty White to come in for this, considering she's hot again? (Not to mention the only Golden Girl who's still alive?) — Feb. 4-27 (at the Rose Room Theater at S4)
- The regional premiere of Horton Foote's The Young Man From Atlanta, about a middle-aged couple whose American dream takes a detour when the husband finds out about the mysterious character of the play's title. — April 1-17
- Broadway Our Way, the popular revue in which the men sing showtunes written for women, and vice-versa. — May 6-15
- Musical, to be announced. According to the news release, it's "so exciting that we can't tell you the name of it until February 1." That means it's probably still on tour, and that tour will end by February 1. It's a regional premiere, and a Tony-winner. Our two best guesses: Xanadu or Spring Awakening. Both have toured here (the latter will have a two-day stop at Bass Hall in November), but neither has been locally produced yet. — June 10-July 2
- The musical Victor/Victoria, based on the 1982 movie about a cross-dressing soprano and a struggling gay impresario. — July 29-Aug. 2
- Dallas Pride Performing Arts Festival. The complete lineup for this event won't be announced until February 1, but the big show is a new musical called Crazy Just Like Me, by Louis Sacco and Drew Gasparini. There will be other plays, musicals, cabaret acts and more, happening in various spaces in the Kalita Humphreys Theater. — Sept. 9-17
- The Temperamentals, a play by Jon Marans that premiered off-Broadway in March 2010, about two men in the early 1950s—a communist and a Viennese refugee—who fall in love. The off-Broadway production starred Michael Urie, the Plano native who is best known as Marc in the ABC series Ugly Betty. — Oct. 7-23
Tickets for all shows, except Broadway Our Way and the Dallas Pride Performing Arts Festival, are $25-$40. For subscription prices and more info, call 214-219-2718 or visit www.uptownplayers.org.
School has already started for collegiate types, and that means for the drama department kids, auditions and rehearsals will soon be mixed in with the studying and fraternizing.
For the non-student, seeing theater at the area universities and colleges has multiple rewards. For one, it's cheaper than the local professional groups, by a big margin. And for that cheap price, you typically get bigger, better sets and costumes, constructed by organizations with the luxury of all that student labor. It's also a chance to see shows—classics and newer works—that you might not find on the seasons at the professional theaters, which have to think about their bottom line a bit more. (Miller, O'Neill and Chekhov are hot this season, but then again, they always are in educational theater.)
Here's a look at the major universities in North Texas, and what's on their 2010-'11 theater seasons.
Southern Methodist University, Dalllas
- Thornton Wilder's Our Town , which is happening at the same time as WaterTower Theatre's revival of the same show — Sept. 29-Oct. 3
- Three Repertory Shows: Sarah Ruhl's Melancholy Play, Stephen Adly Guirgis' In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings, and The Secretaries by Five Lesbian Brothers — Oct. 19-31
- Chekhov's Uncle Vanya — Nov. 16-21
- Shaw's You Never Can Tell — Feb. 23-27
- New Visions, New Voices (student plays) — March 2-6
- New Play, to be announced, directed by Stan Wojewodski, Jr. — April 6-17
- Lorca's Yerma — April 27-May 1
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — Sept. 28-Oct 3
- Gurney's The Dining Room — Oct. 28-30
- Miller's The Crucible — Nov. 16-21
- The anti-capital punishment docu-drama The Exonerated — Dec. 2-4
- Guare's The House of Blue Leaves — Feb. 22-27
- Oklahoma! — March 30-April 3
- Spike Heels by Theresa Rebeck — April 14-16
Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth
- Dr. Chekhov's Vaudevilles — Oct. 7-17
- Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart — Nov. 11-21
- Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman — Feb. 18-28
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — April 14-17
Texas Woman's University, Denton
- Private Lives by Noel Coward — Oct. 14-17
- The Panther's Scream and Other Texas Tales, an original show — Nov. 18-21
- She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith — Feb. 24-27
- Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca — March 3-6
- Boy Gets Girl by Rebecca Gilman — April 14-17
University of Dallas, Irving
- The Fall production is Machinal by Sophie Treadwell, which was on Broadway in 1928. There's a show you won't see anywhere else. — Nov. 3-13
- Fall Senior Studios: Everyman by Anonymus, Where the Cross is Made by Eugene O'Neill and The Dwarfs by Howard Pinter
- Spring Senior Studios: Scapino by Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale, A Way Out by Robert Frost, The Well of the Saints by John Millington Synge
University of North Texas, Denton
- Hellman's The Little Foxes — Sept. 20-Oct 10
- Eugene O'Neill's Ah! Wilderness — Nov. 4-14
- Suzan-Lori Parks' In the Blood — Feb. 25-27
- Godspell — March 31-April 10
University of Texas at Arlington
- Cabaret — Oct. 15-24
- Will Eno's Tragedy: a tragedy — Nov. 12-21
- The Trouble Begins at Eight: An Evening With Mark Twain, featuring faculty member Dennis Maher as Twain — Feb. 12-20
- The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice — Feb. 25-March 6
- Doubt, a parable by John Patrick Shanley — April 14-17
- Spring Theatrefest — April 27-30
University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson
- Miller's All My Sons — Oct. 7-9
- Best of Broadway III — Nov. 11-13
- Thomas Gibbons' Permanent Collection — Feb. 17-19
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — April 7-16
- The musical revue I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change! — April 28-30
Since January 17, Tonja Bigelow-Brown has died three times. She died first on an operating table at Medical City Dallas, where surgeons cut her open to find the source of an E.coli bacterial infection that caused her fallopian tubes to rupture. She was revived that night, waking briefly out of anesthesia to see doctors peering down into her bleeding gut.
Her heart stopped two more times after that and when she came to days later in ICU, she was told bluntly that she had two weeks to live. A smiling intern shoved a bill into her hand for $37,000 and asked if she could write a check right then, seeing as how she was about to die and all. Then the chaplain appeared.
Bigelow-Brown, 40, was for six years the House Manager at the Dallas Theater Center. She is still alive, telling her story in a surprisingly offhand manner over Frappuccinos at a North Dallas Starbucks. She has a big laugh, which she tries to hold back because laughing too hard exacerbates stomach and back pains that haven’t let up since she first fell ill in January. Seven months since that initial and still-mysterious bout of infection, she’s not fully recovered. E.coli acts like an acid, eating through internal organs, she tells me. She’s been back in the hospital for complications, including tumors that have appeared on her ovaries and intestines. More than once, doctors have told her there’s nothing more they can do and that she should “get her affairs in order.”
The cost of hospital stays and the expensive medications she now has to take has topped $200,000, far outstripping Bigelow-Brown’s health insurance caps. On Monday, Aug. 23, friends are hosting a fundraiser for her at the Dallas “Castle” of Medieval Times, where her husband Brutus MacGreggor once worked as the “King.” (He’s now the door manager at Ghost Bar, with two other jobs on the side.) There’ll be a silent auction, a raffle, and a poker tourney, with sale items including artwork, autographed footballs from the Cowboys and theater-related memorabilia. Family friend Amber Campisi, of pizza and Playboy fame, will be there to sign photos. There’ll be food, drink and live entertainment from the Dallas theater community, including performances by “Dallas Divas” Liz Mikel and Denise Lee. Admission is $5 and is open to the public.
Theatergoers remember Bigelow-Brown as the boisterous, friendly force who ruled the “front of house” at DTC from 2001 to 2007, when the company was still in its original home at Kalita Humphreys Theater on Turtle Creek. Working 80-hour weeks during the theater season, she welcomed patrons into the lobby for every show, making sure the box office and ushers were organized and dealing with ticket mix-ups. She was the frontline ambassador for the place and grew used to calming older customers who’d burst into the lobby during shows, upset with profanity or sexual scenes in DTC’s productions. “The worst was Topdog/Underdog. I got screamed at a lot during that show. People would throw their programs in my face,” she recalls.
She once ran down the aisle and tackled a female stalker who was trying to get onstage to do who knows what to actress Julie White during the run of Bad Dates. When she was let go in the changeover to the new regime under artistic director Kevin Moriarty, she received more than 100 letters, she says, from patrons who said they missed her and wished she were working at the new Wyly Theatre. (If only. House management in that shiny steel box currently is a disaster.)
After a short stint in the media department at Cathedral of Hope, Bigelow-Brown got sick. She can’t work right now. Can’t do much of anything but try to cope with “pills and bills,” she says.
There’ve been a lot of changes in her life, mostly for the worst, as a result of her ordeal, but she says she also had something dramatic happen during those three near-death experiences. A lifelong atheist, Tonja Bigelow-Brown returned from “the other side” a devout believer in…something. “I don’t want to talk about it too much because I’ll sound like a kook,” she says. “But when I died, it felt like taking off a wet wool jacket. All the pain went away. I went toward these balls of light, these orbs of energy. They talked to me. I said, `Are you God?’ and they said, `That’s a human word. We are love.’ And I felt complete peace and love all around me. So I’m not afraid to die anymore. It’s just that I’m not ready to yet.”
All donations and proceeds from the event at Medieval Times will go toward Tonja Bigelow-Brown’s medical bills. Donations are also accepted by check to The Art of Living Foundation, C/O Bank of America (any branch), routing no. 111000025, account no. 488026941231.
►You can also read this post on the Dallas Observer blog, Unfair Park
The Dallas Theater Center is taking the audition process into the social networking world. It was only a matter of time.
The organization is looking for children, ages 5-13, for its annual production of A Christmas Carol, and is casting through its Facebook page. Deadline for entries is Sept. 7. The show runs Dec. 1-27 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.
Here's how you do it:
- Go to the Dallas Theater Center Facebook page
- Upload your audition video onto the DTC Facebook page wall
What to put in your video:
- First name only
- Age
- Your city
- A one-minute monologue
- A one-minute song
Then, the Dallas Theater Center staff will watch your video and contact you through a private Facebook message if they need to see you for a callback.
If you can't upload a video on Facebook, e-mail auditions@dallastheatercenter.org with your contact info and someone will be in touch with you about coming in for an audition!
Note that all videos will be posted on the DTC Facebook page's wall, and no negative comments will be allowed. Oh, and ask your parents for permission first.
And in case you need more help on how to do it, here's a handy how-to guide, featured Dallas Theater Center's casting director and Hal and Diane Brierley Resident Acting Company member Lee Trull. Even if you're not going to audition, or don't have kids, this video is worth watching. LOL. OMG.
To see more fine work from Trull, catch Stage West's upcoming production of The 39 Steps, in which he stars.
Fort Worth's Stolen Shakespeare Guild has announced its 2011 season, its fifth.
Most notable in the lineup is one of the "lost" plays, Double Falsehood. The play was first produced in 1727 by Lewis Theobald, who said it was a work by Shakespeare. That claim was debunked, but it is now thought to be the same play as The History of Cardenio, which was a lost work some believe was co-written by Shakespeare and John Fletcher. That's the claim put forth by Shakespeare scholar John Casson in his 2009 book Enter Pursued by a Bear.
The play will appear in SSG's summer festival. For the past four years, that event has been called the Condensed Shakespeare Festival. In 2011, there will be two full productions, performed in repertory. Along with Double Falsehood, the other is Henry V. Yay for Bard works we haven't seen two million times already.
Here's the SSG 2011 schedule:
- Love's Labour's Lost Shakespeare's classic love story. A king and his lords swear to avoid women but can't keep their oaths. A play full of disguises, poetry, hilarity and romance. Feb. 11-20, 2011.
- Hay Fever by Noel Coward. This classic comedy is set in the 1920s at the county home of the eccentric Bliss family. Judith, a recently retired stage actress, David, a self-absorbed novelist, and their two equally bohemian children, all live in their own world where the boundaries between reality and fiction are blurred. Upon entering this domain, their unsuspecting weekend guests are repeatedly thrown into wildly melodramatic situations by their hosts. April 1-10.
- Stolen Shakespeare Festival, featuring full productions of Henry V and Double Falsehood. June 10-26.
- Anything Goes, music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The S.S. American, sailing from New York to England, carries an unusual group of passengers. Included among them are a gangster, a wealthy debutante and her mother, a nightclub owner, and a wealthy New York businessman and his stowaway assistant. It's filled with love triangles, tap dancing and Cole Porter classics, including "Anything Goes" and "I Get a Kick Out of You." Aug. 19-Sept. 4.
- An adaptation of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Sisters Elinor and Marianne find themselves captivated by two very different men. Sensible Elinor is charmed by the quiet, bumbling goodness of Edward, while passionate Marianne is swept off of her feet by the dashing and mysterious Willoughby. When complications arise, the sisters are forced to rely upon one another to weather their heartache and learn that when sense and sensibility meet, love can't be far behind. Oct. 14-23.
Season tickets are $54, which gets you six tickets for any performance in the season. You can also buy an opening night pass for $30, which gets you into the six opening nights, and any performance of Double Falsehood. Individual tickets are $15-$17.
Stage West is accepting art portfolio submissions for its 32nd Season gallery spaces. Selected artists’ work will be displayed between October 2010 and September 2011. One to three artists will be featured per show in the Stage West 32nd season.
The organization is looking for paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, quilts, 3-D wall-friendly art, etc. All work should be framed and/or finished and presented in a professional manor. Six to 18 artists will be selected to be featured throughout the season.
Submit 3-5 images, including sizes and mediums, to dana@stagewest.org with “32nd Season Art” in the subject line. Deadline for submission is September 15, no exceptions.
Information about Stage West? Please visit www.stagewest.org or call Dana Schultes at 817-338-1777.
Meanwhile, Elaine Liner writes about what you can nosh on while looking at the art in Stage West's Old Vic cafe, on the Dallas Observer's City of Ate blog. Plan to eat there before you catch the next show, Alfred Hitchcock's 39 Steps.
The 11th season for Rover Dramawerks in Plano has been announced, and in keeping with Rover's mission, the lineup is heavy on under-produced playwrights and neglected works. The season begins with the return of Katherine Burger's Morphic Resonance, which Rover staged previously, and includes a revival of the musical Little Mary Sunshine, a Peter Shaffer farce and two installments of the group's popular One Day Only! series.
Most of the shows are performed in the Cox Building Playhouse, on the campus of the Courtyard Theatre. A few shows, though, are in the Courtyard.
Here's Rover's 2010-'11 season:
- Morphic Resonance by Katherine Burger. Cleome, an acerbic New York writer, finds banter easier than love, whether with her father or her noncommittal lover, Wallace. While Cleome’s and Wallace's relationship flounders, their best friends Alice and Jim fall head over heels. Alice's diagnosis with cancer sets in sharp contrast the things we fear and the things we fear to lose. Oct. 28-Nov. 20, 2010, at the Cox Building Playhouse.
- Sunday in New York by Norman Krasna. Eileen has discovered that being a "good girl" makes it hard to get a man. But when she becomes literally attached to one on a crowded Fifth Avenue bus, and the two of them are caught in a downpour, how does she explain the two of them lounging in bathrobes to her would-be fiancé? This show had a Broadway run in the 1961-'62 season. Jan 20-Feb. 12, 2011, at the Cox Building Playhouse.
- One Day Only 16! Seven short plays make it to the stage, going from concept to curtain in just 24 hours. Feb. 20 at the Courtyard Theater.
- The regional premiere of The Crowd You’re in With by Rebecca Gilman (Spinning Into Butter, Boy Gets Girl). At a Fourth of July backyard barbeque, three couples and a single friend discuss the pros and cons of starting a family. The play explores both the surface interactions and deeper undercurrents of contemporary life—and whether or not to bring a baby into it. March 24-April 9 at the Cox Building Playhouse.
- Murder at the Orient Burlesque, a world premiere comedy/mystery by Rover co-founder and artistic director Carol M. Rice. May 19-June 11 at the Cox Building Playhouse.
- One Day Only 17! June 25 at the Courtyard Theater.
- Little Mary Sunshine, the 1959 parody of operettas with book, music and lyrics by Ray Besoyan. July 14-30 at the Courtyard Theater.
- Black Comedy, a farce by Peter Shaffer (Amadeus, Equus). Lovesick and desperate, sculptor Brindsley Miller has embellished his apartment with furniture and objects d’arte "borrowed" from the absent antique collector next door, hoping to impress his fiancée’s pompous father and a wealthy art dealer. The catch? A blown fuse has plunged the apartment into darkness, just as said neighbor arrives home. Sept. 1-24 at the Cox Building Playhouse.
For season tickets and other information, visit www.roverdramawerks.com.
The 2010-'11 season for the Dallas Black Dance Theatre has been announced. Titled "A Season of Strength, Intensity, and Seduction," the group's 34th season will feature performances at its new home at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, as well as at its old home at the Majestic Theatre, plus at the Latino Cultural Center and Fort Worth's Scott Theatre.
Some of those choreographers include Hope Boykin, Christopher Huggins and Bruce Wood, who's stilling getting opportunities to get his work out there despite that his dance company folded years ago.
Here is the DBDT season schedule:
- DanceAfrica Festival, From African Roots...Modern Moves The weekend will be packed with dance, music, art and food celebrating the history and spirit of Africa. Guest artists Illstlye and Peace Productions, the Philadelphia-based hip-hop dance group that blends an eclectic mix of dance and performance disciplines including tap, ballet, DJ-ing, beat boxing and African dance; Bandon Koro, one of Dallas’s premiere African Drum and Dance Ensembles; The African American Dance Ensemble of Booker T. Washington High School, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre II (DBDT II). Oct. 8 and 9 at the Majestic Theatre.
- Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Winter Series Audiences will experience the elegance of a company of dancers as they perform a new work from Broadway choreographer Francesca Harper. Dallas Black Dance Theatre welcomes back New York choreographer Hope Boykin with her work, Eventually, Two. Based on the themes, ideas and movement inspired by the sculpture and architecture of the Nasher Sculpture Center, Nathan Trice's work Verses completes the featured works of the Winter Series. Dec. 8-12 at the Wyly Theatre.
- The annual Cultural Awareness Series includes audience favorites, such as Bruce Wood's Smoke, Darryl Sneed’s ...And Now Marvin and the return of the spiritual suite, Beams from Heaven, by Christopher Huggins. The series also includes student matinee performances hosting K-12 students from across the Metroplex. Feb. 23-27, 2011 at the Wyly Theatre.
- Dallas Black Dance Theatre II's 11th Annual Spring Fiesta Series Performing new choreography from Millicent Johnnie, plus exciting new works set by new DBDT II Director Nycole Ray. March 4-5 at the Latino Cultural Center.
- Dancing Beyond Borders, featuring works from nationally recognized choreographers. March 11-12, 2011 at Fort Worth's Scott Theater.
- Spring Celebration Series Under the direction of Bernard Gaddis, former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Principal Dancer, Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater will bring their dancers' power and prestige to Dallas. DBDT wraps up the 2010-2011 season with a finale performance featuring a new work from pioneer dance artists and choreographer Diane McIntyre on the life and works of Nina Simone. May 25-29 at the Wyly Theatre.
The Dallas Symphony Blog published some interesting news about the search to replace Concertmaster Emanuel Borok today. His retirement has opened this all-important chair for the first time in 25 years. Auditions will be held on November 15, and you can expect that some of the top violin talent in the world will play for the selection committee and conductor Jaap Van Zweden.
Since a decision will not be reached quickly, the DSO has invited guest concertmasters to sit in the chair for the 2010-'11 season. The list has some important local connections. One is the return of David Kim, now Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, who also served as Associate Principal Concertmaster with the DSO until 1999. Another is Stephen Rose, who was impressive in his recent appearances at the Mimir Chamber Music Festival in Fort Worth. Yuan-Qing Yu, Assistant Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1996, is a graduate of Southern Methodist University.
Others who will fill in include David Taylor, Assistant Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; William Preucil, Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra; Andres Cardenes, Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Alexander Kerr, currently a professor of music at Indiana University, who followed Jaap Van Zweden as concertmaster of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
New Season: Undermain Theatre
New Season: Stage West
New Season: Texas Dance Theatre
New Season: Upstart Productions
Wyly Brothers Accused of Insider Trading
Dead Horse? Plucked Swan?
Nerenhausen Out
Opera America Lands Big Fish
New Season: Cara Mía Theatre Company
Tickets Given Away: Joseph... Dreamcoat
Tickets Given Away: Beauty and the Beast
Cassidy Out for 2 Nights at DTC
New Home for Level Ground Arts
New Season: MBS Productions
Clang Clang Clang
Get Your Modern On
New Seasons: More 'burbs
What's up with Richardson Symphony Orchestra?
New Season: Bass Hall
New Season: ICT MainstageThis section only
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