The glory of live theatre is coming to town!
October 23rd, 2007, 11:25 am · Post a Comment · posted by Brian
As a kid growing up on a mountaintop in rural northwest New Jersey (yes, New Jersey really does have rural areas!), the big city of New York was still only an hour’s drive away. Still, it was a mighty big border to cross, especially for a small country boy easily intimidated by its in-your-face hustle and bustle.
Since moving south, all my friends imagine I used to spend nearly every weekend in what we simply called “The City” (as if there were no other cities worth mentioning). On the contrary, during my childhood, we’d only venture into New York two or three times a year. Generally it was to see the circus, attend the Royal Scots Tattoo, or to see the shows at Radio City Music Hall.
But when I was really little, Mom belonged to a Broadway matinee club. Four or so times a year, she’d bundle me up in my going-to-The-City finery (those were the days when people dressed up smart to go into town), and we’d take the bus into Manhattan. Soon we’d be in a large, darkened auditorium. And I’d be entranced.
My memories are a kaleidoscope of lights and sets and music and actors. The main thing that struck me were that the performers were real, live people! They weren’t images on a movie screen or on the TV. And to a little person, despite the throngs of theatergoers seated around me, I still felt they were performing just for me. It was a magical experience, and live theater remains one of my passions.
Years later, having seen a local production, I’d report home to Mom about the experience. “Mom, last night I saw the greatest production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” I’d say. “Oh,” Mom would reply, “you saw that on Broadway with Bobby Morse.” Or I’d call up and say, “Mom, let me tell you about this great local production of Cabaret I saw last night.” Mom would say, “Oh, you saw that on Broadway with Jill Haworth!”
I saw Cabaret with Jill Haworth? Yikes! The original Sally Bowles! And I saw it? But alas, with those tender young childhood memories all glittering in that wondrous kaleidoscope, there were few specifics. (Which is why I have no recollection of seeing Julie Andrews and Richard Burton in Camelot.)
Years later, when I lived in New Orleans, I could indulge in live stage productions to my heart’s content. Though not well known outside of town (and even sometimes within the Crescent City), New Orleans boasts one of the nation’s liveliest, most active theater communities. More than a dozen companies citywide produce scores of productions annually. For two years I had the rare treat of being a theater critic for Gambit Weekly, the city’s premier arts, entertainment and politics newsmagazine.
For 19 years, I hosted “Stage & Screen,” a 2-hour radio program on listener-sponsored WTUL-FM on which my co-host, Derek Toten, and I spun tunes from the musical theater, film and television. (I still contribute pre-recorded half-hour “Sets of the Week” to the show.) We’d frequently conduct live interviews with members of the theater community as part of our weekly program. During that time I sat on the local “Big Easy” Entertainment Awards theatre nominating committee, which meant I got to see even more productions.
But then came that fateful day at the end of August 2005, and the beginning of my citizenship in Crestview.
While I have nothing but praise and gratitude for the people of Crestview, particularly for those who have been so kind and generous to my fellow Hurricane Katrina refugees and myself, and while I love the peace and serenity I have found here in the north end of the county, one thing I do miss (apart from my New Orleans friends) is the glory of live theatre.
But, I just learned, it’s something for which I won’t be pining very much longer. Shirley Cadle, a former drama and music teacher at Crestview High School (and wife of our mayor, David Cadle), and Thomas Hood, a local theater enthusiast with a performance degree in stage and opera from Stetson University, among others, founded at the end of September the Crestview Community Theatre.
I can’t wait to get involved with their laudable effort to bring the magic, the thrill, the laughs, the tears and the joys of live theater to the Hub City, and urge those who also love the art to plunge in and support this new effort as well. If you’re at all a theatre enthusiast, whether from out in the audience, on the stage or behind the scenes, I encourage you to join them (their next meeting is at the Coach-N-Four Steak House on U.S. Hwy. 90 on Thursday, 25 October, at 6:30 p.m.). I can hardly wait for the curtain to rise on their first production in February!
A New Orleans theatre friend had a great T-shirt that read, “Theatre is life, film is art, television is furniture.” Truer words were never worn on a person’s chest.
