Dallas Summer Musicals News Room

For information and a primer about RSS, click here.

7/3/2008 12:00AM CST
The Dallas Morning News
'High School Musical' the class favorite at Fair Park Music Hall
By JOY TIPPING
jtipping@dallasnews.com

Whatever its artistic merits, Disney's High School Musical has accomplished something special at the Music Hall at Fair Park: throngs of children and teens lined up, giddy with excitement over live theater. We're talking jumping up and down with glee.

The kids even got into a "dress for the theater" spirit – cute sundresses with matching tights and color-coordinated sneakers for the girls, nice pants and shirts for the boys. Frankly, I've rarely seen adults dressed that well for Dallas theater, or that well-behaved.

HSM takes its spot in the pantheon of musical theater as the place where theater geekdom becomes the epitome of cool. It's the theatrical version of the fair midway: full of flash and frivolity, color and movement, with all the substance of cotton candy. But honestly, when you're having that much sheer fun, who needs substance?

For those who've been watching only HBO for the last couple of years, HSM (which began as a movie on the Disney Channel) tells the story of "freaky math girl" Gabriella Montez (played by Arielle Jacobs) and "playmaker dude" basketball star Troy Bolton (John Jeffrey Martin). They bond over a summer-break karaoke session and then meet again when Gabriella transfers to Troy's digs, Albuquerque's East High School.

Much to the disdain of their respective cliques, Gabriella and Troy both secretly long for stardom of a different sort: the title roles in the winter musical, Juliet and Romeo, a "delicious neofeminist adaptation ... with three tap numbers!" as drama teacher Ms. Darbus (a wickedly funny Ellen Harvey) describes it.

Tension, trauma and many musical numbers ensue, and of course everything works out in the end for the big finale of "We're All in This Together."

This is a true ensemble show, with no breakout star roles, although Ms. Jacobs and Mr. Martin show warmth, charisma and decent voices as Gabriella and Troy. Heléne Yorke also stands out as the irritating Sharpay, the school's drama queen – in more ways than one – who has a tinny, screechy voice that perfectly matches the bark of her namesake dog.

This isn't Les Misérables, or even Grease (which it resembles somewhat). But it's a genuinely sweet-spirited, infectiously enjoyable reason for the whole family to see theater together – without once making the parents cringe.Plan your life

Through July 13 at Fair Park Music Hall, $18.50 to $78.50. 214-631-2787, www.dallassummermusicals.org.

View article on their website here

6/25/2008 12:00AM CST
The Dallas Morning News
'Hairspray' keeps its bounce at Fair Park Music Hall
by Lawson Taitte
ltaitte@dallasnews.com

Nearly six years after it debuted on Broadway, Hairspray is turning out to be the most influential musical of the decade. To figure out why, check out the touring version that the Dallas Summer Musicals opened Tuesday.

Three things make Hairspray special: The stage adaptation of John Waters' cult movie adds just the right dash of sincerity so that the formerly tongue-in-cheek story about an overweight teen determined to integrate 1962 Baltimore taps into a deep American mythos, the pursuit of happiness. The score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman forges 1960s pop styles into beautifully crafted Broadway songs, and Jerry Mitchell's choreography (lovingly re-created here by Danny James Austin) keeps the fizz in the phosphate for all 2 ½ hours.

Here's the plot: Plus-size Tracy Turnblad (Brooklynn Pulver) tries out for a local TV dance show but is rejected by the evil producer. In detention, she picks up new steps from some black kids. Her new routine catches the TV host's eye and gets her a berth on the show, where the heartthrob, Link (Taylor Frey), eventually realizes he likes Tracy better than the producer's haughty daughter. But when Tracy insists that the black kids should be able to appear on the tube more than the one day a month to which they've been consigned, trouble erupts.

The big gimmick, carried over from the film, is that Tracy's mom, Edna, is played by a man in drag. Edna is so sensitive about her weight that she hasn't left the house in years, but Tracy fixes that, too. The point of the show is the people who've been discriminated against win out in the end.

Although this tour features a young, non-Equity cast, it maintains standards. Ms. Pulver seems so competent and practiced that she skirts falling into routine, but her singing is exceptional. In fact, most of the performers show off strong voices. It's a good thing, though, that a lot of the audience has already seen the musical movie remake, because the lyrics are even harder to understand than usual in the intractable Music Hall acoustics.

The performers zip through all the dance numbers as if their shoes were filled with helium, too.

For me, the most memorable aspect of this edition of Hairspray is Jerry O'Boyle's Edna. More than anyone else I've seen do the role, he really acts it. He never affects a self-consciously feminine gesture, but you believe him as a woman. He's got great comic timing, too – and his big number with his stage husband, Wilbur (Dan Ferretti) – "(You're) Timeless to Me" – brings down the house.

Even though the incessant, smarmy double-entendres clash with the musical's intrinsic sweetness and social conscience, Hairspray is beginning to feel pretty timeless itself.

Plan your life

Through Sunday at Fair Park Music Hall. 155 mins. $18 to $80. 214-631- 2787, www .ticketmaster.com

View article on their website here

6/15/2008
Dallas Summer Musicals
Dallas Summer Musicals garners two more Tonys®!
posted by Steven Hall

2 MORE TONY AWARDS® FOR Dallas Summer Musicals:
BOEING - BOEING!
PRODUCED IN PART BY DALLAS SUMMER MUSICALS

"BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY"
WINNER!

"BEST PERFORMANCE by a LEADING ACTOR in a PLAY"
WINNER!

Michael Jenkins, President & Managing Director of
Dallas Summer Musicals, pictured at the left of the group.

6/2007
WRR 101.1 FM Radio
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE interview with Michael A. Jenkins
Interviewed by Christopher Hackett

Audio recording of President and Managing Director Michael Jenkins interview about THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, running June 3 - 15, 2008 at the Music Hall at Fair Park. Click the picture below to listen.

06/05/2008 CST
The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
'Chaperone' brings bygone stage musicals back to life
by Mark Lowry
mlowry@star-telegram.com

DALLAS -- On its champagne-fizzy surface, The Drowsy Chaperone is a homage to the kind of musicals they just don't make anymore.

But if you're a true musical theater buff -- you wouldn't think of trading your vinyl copy of Pal Joey for 100 special-edition CDs of Wicked -- then this love letter to the theater is so much more. And the vibrant, tremendously good tour at Fair Park Music Hall is bound to tickle you every shade of pink.

The show won five Tonys in 2006, and it's easy to see why. It spoofs the broadly comic situations and sometimes perplexing lyrics of Jazz Age shows, and sets it up ingeniously.

A narrator, simply called Man in Chair (Jonathan Crombie), is home alone, about to play his double LP of one of his favorite musicals, a fictional one called The Drowsy Chaperone. As he does, the 1928 characters come to life in his apartment. He frequently pauses for asides about musicals, theater, intermissions and overly silly comic relief. And the more he drinks, the more he gets into it. And so do we.

The confection he loves so much centers on the decidedly uncomplicated plot of actress Janet Van De Graaff (Andrea Chamberlain), who will give up her career to marry the rich and dashing Robert (Mark Ledbetter). Satellite roles include the ditzy Mrs. Tottendale (Georgia Engle from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, reprising the role she played on Broadway), a tap-dancing best man (Richard Vida), the stereotypical Latin lover Adolpho (James Moye) and the tipsy-but-wise title character (Nancy Opel). They're all fantastic, capturing that 1920s spirit.

Crombie is funny, sad and utterly real, immersing himself in the role of a man who would be lonely if not for his collection of cast recordings. If you've ever caught yourself singing along in the car -- and in various character voices -- to, say, A Little Night Music, then you'll identify.

I, of course, know no one like that.

The Drowsy Chaperone
Through June 15
8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and June 8; 2 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and June 12
Fair Park Music Hall, 909 First Ave., Dallas
$18-$84
817-467-2787 or 214-631-2787; www.dallassummermusicals.org

Be advised: Nothing offensive
Runtime: 90 minutes, no intermission

Best reason to go: The show itself and this cast. Funny, energetic and moving.
Mark Lowry, 817-390-7747
mlowry@star-telegram.com

View article on their website here

6/4/2008 3:51PM CST
overthetopblog.dallasnews.com
Superiority of the Drowsy Chaperone tour
by Lawson Taitte
ltaitte@dallasnews.com

I get kidded sometimes for maintaining that something we see here in Dallas -- either a tour or a local production -- is often superior to the original Broadway show. I don't think I've ever seen such a marked difference, though, as in The Drowsy Chaperone, which the Dallas Summer Musicals opened last night.

In my review, I detailed some of the cast members I think genuinely superior to the Broadway originals. I left out the specifics of the female lead role, Janet, though I praised the current performer, Andrea Chamberlain. But you wouldn't believe how much better she is than Sutton Foster -- who first came to Broadway stardom by winning a Tony Award for the lead in Thoroughly Modern Millie. In that role, and every role since, Ms. Foster has projected a brassy, knowing professionalism that lacks a spark of sincere feeling or charm. The one time I have liked her is in the current Young Frankenstein, which doesn't need feeling or charm.

It has been very hurtful to Broadway in recent years that producers hire the same people over and over because they believe the performers have a following. Some of those performers just aren't very good, I'm afraid.

View article on their website here

6/4/2008 1:10PM CST
The Column
The Drowsy Chaperone
by John Garcia

*THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (National Tour)
Music & Lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar

Dallas Summer Musicals
Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
Costume Design by Gregg Barnes
Scenic Design by David Gallo
Lighting Design by Ken Billington and Brian Monahan

*REVIEWED 06/04/08 PERFORMANCE

______________________THE DROWSY CHAPERONE______________________

Musical theater is a unique, fickle, and engrossing art form. It runs the gamut in regards to emotion, originality, structure, and whether a certain musical is "art" or "commerce". Suffice to say history has shown us both in abundance. Broadway and out of town tryouts is littered with the failures and successes in regards to putting a story set to music and dance, call it art, and make a buck in the process.

But then to create that special musical that is lavished with critical praise, awards, and sold out houses-well that takes a miracle. Many fail, so few succeed.

Personally I can sit through a dark, emotional piece like SPRING AWAKENING and savor the power of its message and painful, brutal raw honesty. But I can also sit back and enjoy the colorful fluff of LEGALLY BLONDE. The snooty naysayers will thrust their noses so high up into the air and with a cold response dismiss some musicals as "Pure dribble. It's not art." Jeez, loosen up those panties and just sit back and enjoy the fluff. What's so wrong with that?

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE may be fluff-but oh what a delicious, scrumptious, and glorious piece of musical theater confection it is!

TDC opened at the Marquis Theater in May 2006, where it sipped champagne and tapped away for 674 performances, closing in December 2007. It would go on to receive 12 Tony nominations, winning five awards- including Best Book and Score. It would lose the Best Musical trophy to JERSEY BOYS.

The musical opens to reveal a man in his New York apartment, ready to cozy up to his record player and enjoy one of his favorite cast recordings ever-"The Drowsy Chaperone". Serving as commentator and narrator, he takes the audience along a hilarious journey into the musical as well as provides wicked bon-bons of backstage stories and gossip of the various stars within the production. It's a musical within a musical.

This is by no means an "internal" musical, everything is grand and over the top-which fits the piece beautifully. They play to the back of the house, wringing every last drop of laughter they can squeeze out of the material.

The book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar is full of wacky, zany set ups, outlandish subplots, and loaded with never ending jokes. Sure some of the punch lines and set ups are groaners, but you groan with a huge smile on your face. And yet so many of the tongue in cheek, "wink wink" jokes are absolutely hysterical and provide so much dazzling comedy to the piece. I will not spoil the riches of side splitting laughter here for you. But suffice to say you will leave with your face aching from laughing so much. Martin and McKellar even add towards the very end a wonderfully touching moment that does tug at the heart. It's a solid book that pays off big time within the framework of this musical.

The loopy, toe tapping score is provided by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. Some songs work better than others. But many of the big, splashy company numbers are a sublime homage to those wild and over the top musical numbers from roadway's golden age. Some of the best songs include "Cold Feets"; "Show Off"; "As We Stumble Along"; "I Am Aldolpho"; "Message from a Nightingale"; and "Bride's Lament".

Casey Nicholaw's direction and choreography are spectacular in both areas. He knows when to allow the over the top wackiness go at full throttle, and then pull back for a heart warming moment. His marvelous choreography is full of eye popping dancing, from some grand tap numbers to delightful jazz flavored ones. The staging & choreography really glow brightly here.

From the design elements, it is David Gallo's delightful sets and Gregg Barnes gorgeous costumes that serve as yummy eye candy. The main set is the New York apartment, but throughout the evening Gallo brings it set pieces, furniture, back drops, staircases, and so on to bring to life the musical within the musical theme. Barnes drapes his cast in magnificent, 1920s period costumes that are dripping in layers of beads, sequins, and rhinestones. His color palette is an array of blinding colors that actually add another level of energy to the stage. I did notice that some costumes have been designed differently for some characters. Such as the costume worn by the Drowsy Chaperone for her big solo. Nonetheless, these costumes are ravishing and will leave you drooling in your seats from its splendor.

The entire cast delivers outlandish, side splitting performances, with some who chew the scenery like famished wolves, with the audience savoring along with them every morsel.

Within the large company providing crowd pleasing performances include Georgia Engel (Mrs. Tottendale); Robert Dorfman (Underling); George (Richard Vida); twins Paul & Peter Riopelle as the Gangsters disguised as pastry chefs; and Fran Jaye as "Trix", the female pilot.

Andrea Chamberlain gives the ingénue role of "Janet" equal amounts of sass and purity. "Janet" is a famous star who is willing to give it all up for marriage, and is wondering if her groom truly does love her. Chamberlain brings to the stage a sweet disposition with a lilting nightingale soprano that can belt with the best of them. Her facial expressions are priceless during some of the mad cap comedic scenes that's she involved in. If you saw Sutton Foster (who originated the role on Broadway) on the Tony telecast perform Janet's big solo "Show Off", let me tell you that Ms. Chamberlain will make you forget that performance in a heartbeat with her hilarious characterization and divine singing voice.

As the groom to be "Robert Martin", Mark Ledbetter taps like there's no tomorrow in his big, show stopping number "Cold Feets". His interpretation of his character's voice reminds you a little of Dudley DoRight, which works perfectly within the framework of his hysterical characterization. A tall, handsome redhead, he sings beautifully and has wonderful chemistry with Ms. Chamberlain.

James Moye gives such a hilarious, scene stealing performance that he should be arrested! He portrays the Latin star "Aldolpho", using a Spanish dialect that is just so, so bad, it has the audience rolling in the aisles. A tall, swarthy fellow who wears a pepe Le Pew skunk like hairdo, he commands and devours the stage with his comedic brilliance. I wish though his character had more than one song, because Moye's performance is so downright hysterical, you want even more of him on stage.

Jonathan Crombie just wins the audience's heart with his hilarious, yet moving performance as the "Man in Chair". Sadly he has no major solo, but he serves as our guide into the musical. Crombie's sublime comedic delivery, timing, and pace is jaw dropping amazing from beginning to end. Even the throw away lines create loud laughter from his hypnotic performance. Throughout the evening he glides in and out within the musical providing comments, quips, and gossip revolving around the stars and the show-which result in ear splitting laughter. But then towards the end, he touches the heart with a soft, melancholy approach to musical theater in regards to his life. Crombie is outstanding in this tour.

My first exposure to Nancy Opel was in the Broadway production of URINETOWN. The production had its entire original cast still intact, but it had a very special and significant position in my life. For you see I saw it in November 2001, less than two months after that horrific tragedy we know as 9/11.

It was on a cold, rainy, and grey matinee that I attended along with a friend. The previous day we went down to where the World Trade Center once stood. It was overwhelming emotionally to say the least. So quiet.

URINETOWN opened on September 20th, the first musical to open since 9/11. They thought about postponing the opening because of the tragedy, but New York would not allow that. The show must go on. So when I saw it, this cast gave it their all, leaving the audience laughing from beginning to end. Ms. Opel portrayed "Pennywise", and had me crossing my legs to prevent me from peeing on myself from laughing so hard because of her comedic riot of a performance. She would go on to earn a Tony nomination for this role.

So when I opened my program last night and saw Ms. Opel's name, I felt a soft ache in my heart, and I quickly wiped a tear from my face so that my friend who came along did not see me. The emotions of actually seeing ground zero when it was still so fresh (the outer skeletal frame of one of the towers was still there) and watching Ms. Opel give such a great performance all came back to memory for me right then and there.

Opel portrays the title role and walks-no- runs away with the show! She again brings to the table that magnificent comedic timing, delivery, and pace that radiates from her talents like blinding gold. She is one of those true talents that even when she is standing there, doing nothing but reacting, she still generates ear shattering laughter. The role requires her to be a grand diva of the stage, even though she brings her own liquor cabinet (fully stocked!). Her big solo "As We Stumble Along" is a sublime, comedic, tour de force gem that sparkles exquisitely thanks to this comic firestorm of a lady. Opel gets some of the loudest laughs of the night and rightfully so! She is superb from the second her bejeweled pump touches the stage boards.

If you work in musical theater or if you love musical theater-this glittery bauble of a musical was created just for you! You will be kicking yourself non-stop if you miss this spectacular touring production. It is fresh, exciting, hysterical, dazzling, and fills
your heart with song and laughter.

The man in chair says something that is so, so, so true. Musicals that are full of color, song, and dance allow us to forget the world outside, if just for a brief two hours.

We are in the midst of an ugly war, soaring gas prices, food is now costing more, airfares are through the roof, constant politics on the news, earthquakes, tornados, and so forth.

Take it from me: Go NOW to the Music Hall, buy a ticket for THE DROWSY CHAPERONE and let this dynamic company take you away from all that for two hours. Trust me; it is worth every dollar of that ticket!

GRADE: A+

View article on their website here

6/4/2008 12:00AM CST
The Dallas Morning News
National tour of 'The Drowsy Chaperone' outdoes Broadway version for charm, poignancy
by Lawson Taitte
ltaitte@dallasnews.com

If you fret that they don't make comedies like they used to, The Drowsy Chaperone will ease your pain. And give you a laugh or two.

This musical about a fictitious old musical won more Tony Awards than any other Broadway show in 2006. I was a naysayer back then, but I have repented. The national tour that the Dallas Summer Musicals brought to town on Tuesday is the reason for my conversion.

It's not just a matter of affection growing on closer acquaintance. Role for role, the road version is much better cast than the New York original. Charm – a scarce commodity on Broadway – now abounds.

Take the central role, Man in Chair. Even before the lights go up, this namby-pamby narrator is talking to the audience. He has invited us into his living room, where he's about to play a beloved old LP of a 1920s musical named, naturally, The Drowsy Chaperone. He sets the scene and puts on the overture – as the show comes to life behind him.

Bob Martin, who co-wrote the book with Don McKellar, performed the part himself originally. Here it is his old friend and fellow Canadian Jonathan Crombie, familiar to American audiences as Gilbert Blythe on the TV version of Anne of Green Gables. Mr. Crombie makes Man in Chair lovable in spite of, or perhaps because of, his theater-obsessed neuroses. He's realer and more poignant than Mr. Martin was.

I found several of the principal performers on Broadway downright annoying, but that doesn't happen with the touring cast. Andrea Chamberlain projects a lovely 1920s quality as Janet, the stage star ostentatiously giving up her career to marry the heir to a petroleum fortune, Robert (Mark Ledbetter). Wistful and glamorous by turns, Ms. Chamberlain reminds you of Betty Boop as interpreted by a young Bernadette Peters.

Georgia Engel, the one New York performer carrying over on the tour, gently sells the songs Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison wrote for the show. As her comic butler, Dallas favorite Robert Dorfman clowns it up magnificently and displays an unsuspected talent for tap dancing. James Moye even makes the nearly insufferable fake-Italian lover boy, Adolpho, entertaining.

Best of all, one of Broadway's top comedians, Nancy Opel, plays the title role with a broad insouciance that takes us into her confidence. The chaperone – whose sole function is to make sure the bride doesn't see the groom before the wedding – brings along her own liquor cabinet. It's Prohibition, after all. Ms. Opel can belt and croon and mug hilariously while doing one of the best drunk acts you'll ever see. The original performer in this role won a Tony; if there were any justice, Ms. Opel would be given a pair of them to balance on her mantelpiece.

Die-hard musical theater fans must not miss The Drowsy Chaperone. This touring version is so good you can have a good time even if you couldn't tell Cole Porter from Stephen Sondheim in a crowd of two.

View article on their website here

5/2007
WRR 101.1 FM Radio
CATS interview with Michael A. Jenkins
Interviewed by Christopher Hackett

Audio recording of President and Managing Director Michael Jenkins interview about the Andrew Lloyd Webber show CATS, which opens Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at the Music Hall at Fair Park. Click the picture below to listen.

2/22/2008 12:00AM CST
Edge Dallas
Love, Janis
by Alexandra Bonifield
EDGE Contributor

The main problem with a biopic is that everyone already knows how the story ends. There’s no suspense or dramatic conflict to resolve. Case in point is the national Columbia Artists Theatricals’ touring show Love, Janis playing through February 24 at the Majestic Theatre under the auspices of Comerica Bank and Dallas Summer Musicals. The music is beyond fabulous. The additional stuff is, well, stuff.

Randal Myler, director/co-author of the award-winning "Hank Williams: Lost Highway" biopic conceived of and directed this musical, drawing inspiration from Laura Joplin’s biography of her sister, "Love, Janis." The program states that the "entire spoken text comes directly from Janis, herself", gleaned from family correspondence and media interviews. What comes across is the disparity between the average, insecure, small town girl desperate for love and approval that Janis was and the consummate blues/rock singer she became, an ideal disaffected, drug-addicted icon for the late 60’s era.

The audience is initially lulled to attention by black and white family photos from Janis’ childhood projected in muted tones across a huge scrim behind the stage, accompanied without explanation by a recording of Odetta singing "I Know Where I’m Going". Without pause the frenetic, psychedelic rock show launches in full force, The lights come up bright and full on a rockin’ out four piece band and there she is-- it’s Janis in signature 60’s garb, large as life, pouring everything she’s got into "Piece of My Heart" on a downstage mike. Psychedelic-inspired patterns swirl and gyrate across the upstage scrim. All that’s missing is the odor of stale, cheap beer mixed with the heady perfume of marijuana smoke wafting through the crowd. And the singing Janis is breath taking.

She’s precisely what everyone came for, to catch a glimpse of a memory, a sense of what it must have been to experience the genius of Janis Joplin in all her earthy, heartfelt, rough-edged glory. Stomping, swaying, clapping, on their feet, cheering-the audience welcomes her rebirth. Tuesday night’s performance featured accomplished blues, rock and soul singer Mary Bridget Davies as the singing Janis, fresh from performing the role in San Francisco and Houston. Her sustained re-creation of Janis’ style, tone and unique delivery is a masterful feat of interpretation and mimicry. To spend an entire evening basking in her performance as Janis makes a fantastic experience indeed. Unfortunately, this biopic follows a different path.

Inexplicably, there are two Janis Joplins in Love, Janis: the singing Janis and a speaking one, portrayed by New Yorker Marisa Ryan. The wear identical costumes and frequently share the stage at the same time, awkward audience to respective spoken or sung scenes. Near the end they huddle together downstage and singing Janis croons to speaking Janis, followed by a shamelessly schmaltzy hug. Two Janises might work very well if speaking Janis revealed all aspects of the offstage life while singing Janis enlivened the larger than life rock star aspect, an intriguing dramatic dichotomy. Costuming them like twins destroys the dual persona effect and detracts from the play. One woman is petite, while the other is full-figured. Matching colorful velvet bell-bottoms with flashy white trim and fringe make the larger woman appear grotesquely large standing next to the petite "twin", while the matching pastel feather hairpieces worn by both performers later in the show overwhelm the petite performer’s face and make her look silly.

Speaking Janis reveals a lonely, intellectual, pensive woman, one who loves her pets and writes longingly to her mother in Texas, ever seeking approval and attempting to justify her West Coast existence. It’s not the wild, party girl Janis her fans know, the one the media creates and hounds. She doesn’t fit wearing the garish garb, which belongs solely as a planned effect on Janis’ rock star persona.

The on-stage band grows from four pieces (two guitars, bass, drums) to include keyboards and a two-piece horn section. Listed musicians in the program are: Mark Alexander, Ben Nieves, Eric Massimino, Jim Wall and Tim Brawn. They definitely know their rock and blues. The sound mix is excellent, loud enough to give the sense of a rock show but not so blaring as to injure eardrums or drown out singing Janis. The band plays seventeen numbers, providing rousing accompaniment to singing Janis’ dynamic performance. The tunes gain daring, raw edginess as the show unfolds. High musical point comes at Act One’s conclusion, with a tantalizing rendition of Willie Mae Thornton’s "Ball and Chain".

There’s curiously scant reference to Janis’ long history of drug abuse; neither performer ever exhibits the ravages of besotted, drug-induced behavior. Asked about Jimi Hendrix’s death by overdose, speaking Janis comments, " Some people die and some are survivors. People like their blues singers miserable and drunk." Self-justification, apology? No apology needed for the musical performance part of Love, Janis. Go to thrill to the inner light and sound of a super energized rock icon or experience her musical mastery for the first time. It’s impossible to not love Janis

View article on their website here

2/20/2008 12:00AM CST
The Dallas Morning News
Janis times two is one terrific theater experience
by Lawson Taitte
ltaitte@dallasnews.com

Love, Janis gives you two Janis Joplins for the price of one. Both terrific.

Randal Myler (Hank Williams: Lost Highway) conceived, adapted and directed the show, which the Dallas Summer Musicals' Broadway Contemporary Series brought to the Majestic Theatre Tuesday for a week's run. Inspired by the book of the same name by Janis' sister Laura, it alternates spoken excerpts from the singer's letters to her family and from interviews with dynamic renditions of the songs that made her famous.

Joplin's shooting-star career in the 1960s, as her strong cadre of fans well knows, took her from Texas to San Francisco as the acid-rock scene in the California city was jelling. Within a few months of her arrival, she was a nationally known recording star. Love, Janis tells us the story in her own witty, vulnerable, frequently apologetic words.

Marisa Ryan speaks them as if she were the tragically short-lived singer reborn. As the play develops, we worry for this psychologically fragile waif. But we aren't asked to pity her. Rather, we participate in her exultation as she tells her folks how Paul McCartney showed up at one of her concerts, or as she tells an interviewer that money has always been what she had a little of in her pocket – "So what's that stuff in the bank?"

It's a bit of a shock when the singing Janis joins the speaking one in some of the scenes – but the device helps the piece from seeming too schematic in its back-and forth patterns. Mary Bridget Davies, who performed the singing role on Tuesday, alternates with Katrina Chester. I can't vouch for Ms. Chester, but Ms. Davies nails Joplin's idiosyncratic style and physical mannerisms. The illusion is all the more remarkable because Joplin and Ms. Chester are such different physical types.

Back in the day, I never fully gave into that unique Joplin sound, based on classic blues. I succumbed completely to Ms. Davies, perhaps because there's more honey in her tone, less of Joplin's anger and aggression. Ms. Davies does screech and wail passionately, though – in the precise way that the show's heroine could sound like an electric guitar played with lots of rough feedback.

It's both a bad thing and a good thing that Love, Janis is all in the singer's own words. The limitation is that the show can't really have a controlling theme or give us an interpretation of just why the star was so tortured and self-destructive. The benefit is that we don't feel we're being manipulated or that the subject is being betrayed. We like Janis Joplin a lot more – maybe even give her the love she so strongly missed – after seeing Love, Janis.

It's terribly sad that she's not around to see it herself.

•Through Sunday at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. Runs 145 mins. $15 to $67. 214-631-2787, www.ticketmaster.com.

View article on their website here

2/20/2008 12:00AM CST
D Magazine Online
Calendar Listing

We are legitimately excited about this production. There’s nothing like the portrait of an artist’s struggle with alcohol and drugs to warm the cockles of our jaded heart. Told through Joplin’s interviews and letters to her family, Love, Janis, tells the story of the iconic singer’s rise to fame. Songs performed include “Piece of My Heart,” “Me and Bobby MGee” and “Mercedes Benz,” to name a few.

•Through Sunday at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. Runs 145 mins. $15 to $67. 214-631-2787, www.ticketmaster.com.

View article on their website here

1/16/2008 12:00AM CST
The Dallas Morning News
Leading lady's performance delicious to the last bite in 'Sweeney Todd'
by Lawson Taitte
ltaitte@dallasnews.com

THEATER REVIEW: Kaye cooks up humor, passion in 'Sweeney Todd'

Judy Kaye is a wonder as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. She's all the reason you need to run downtown to the Majestic Theatre.

Otherwise, the touring version of the recent Broadway revival, which the Dallas Summer Musicals' Broadway Contemporary Series brought to town on Tuesday, has its issues. But, as I always say, pretty much any Sweeney Todd is a good Sweeney Todd.

Stephen Sondheim's 1979 masterpiece, subtitled The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, recounts an old horror story. A barber, deported for a crime he didn't commit, returns to Victorian London to get his revenge. After the first man whose throat he slits, Sweeney's girlfriend, Mrs. Lovett, gets the bright idea of using the meat from the carcasses in the meat pies she sells.

The tale is gruesome, but onstage the bloody bits are a great deal less bothersome than in Tim Burton's current Golden Globe-winning movie version. Mr. Sondheim's witty lyrics keep the mind amused, while his nearly operatic score accumulates overwhelming momentum and power.

The British revival by John Doyle, imported to Broadway two seasons ago, cuts the epic musical down to size. Only 10 actors play all the roles, and they double as the orchestra. Ms. Kaye, for instance, plays the bright percussion instruments and occasionally wanders in with a tuba. The compression is all very clever, but it smacks more of thrift than of inspiration.

Setting the whole action in an insane asylum doesn't really work, either. The locale is all too obviously a metaphor; we don't believe for an instant that this is a cooperative production by the staff and the inmates. Unfortunately, the gimmick encourages the actors to go off the deep end. The young lovers, Johanna and Anthony, sometimes seem as loony as the truly crazy old beggar woman.

Frankly, all this doesn't matter much. The material is so strong, and the performers sufficiently competent, that Sweeney Todd survives in all its glory. I did find David Hess' performance of the title character somewhat problematical, in that he lacks the obsidian voice the part needs. He's also among the worst offenders in the acting-loony department. Yeah, Sweeney is more than slightly off his rocker. But the story does require him to be able to pass for normal.

But ah, Ms. Kaye. The first requirement for a Mrs. Lovett is a quirky sense of humor, and Ms. Kaye is as funny as they come. Her vocal technique has held up as well, so she can warble daintily or go as deep as her tuba, as required. This whole cast manages to make its words heard in the often intractable Majestic, but no one else uses language like Ms. Kaye. Every rhyme in the remarkably clever "A Little Priest" gets a laugh. But you also believe in the woman's passion for her lover and in her absolute determination to give him what he wants.

Since Helena Bonham Carter's Mrs. Lovett is the Sweeney Todd film's biggest problem, seeing Ms. Kaye is an ideal supplement – or antidote – for the film. It's a great performance by one of the great ladies of the American theater.

• Through Sunday at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. Runs 150 mins. $16 to $72. Ticketmaster at 214-631-2787, www.ticketmaster.com.

View article on their website here

1/16/2008 12:00AM CST
The Dallas Morning News
Stage revival promises to be even better than the movie
by Lawson Taitte
ltaitte@dallasnews.com

Sweeney Todd: You've seen the movie. Now see the real thing.

Actually, Tim Burton's screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's bloody musical masterpiece was faithful to the 1979 stage original, in its fashion. But it left quite a bit out. And a musical almost always works better when it's being performed by genuine singing actors rather than by well-coached but essentially voiceless movie stars.

The stage version that the Dallas Summer Musicals' Broadway Contemporary Series brings to the Majestic Theatre on Tuesday has considerably more going for it than mere completeness. This is the production by director John Doyle that won plaudits first in London and then a 2006 Tony Award in New York.

Its eccentricities have become famous. All the onstage performers play musical instruments. In fact, they're the only band there is. The show is apparently taking place in an insane asylum, and the inmates are the actors. A certain amount of blood is part of the action – although even Mr. Doyle's production can't rival the film in the gore department.

The story, of course, remains the same. A mysterious man, Sweeney Todd, returns to London from abroad in search of vengeance. His new ladylove, Mrs. Lovett, owns a pie shop near the barbershop where Sweeney once worked. The two find a new supply of meat for the pies – in the bodies of the men whose throats Sweeney cuts in his quest for revenge.

Five performers from the New York revival are part of the tour. The live cast is strongest, however, in the role that suffers most in the movie. Helena Bonham Carter is too glamorous, and not nearly dotty enough, to make a credible Mrs. Lovett. The tour stars one of Broadway's most talented performers, Judy Kaye, in the role. Ms. Kaye won a Tony Award as Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera and was nominated for another as one of the female sidekicks in Mamma Mia! Those roles didn't begin to show her real powers as a performer. Mrs. Lovett is a perfect fit.

Opens Tuesday at 8 p.m. and runs through Jan. 20 at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. Continues Wednesday through Jan. 18 at

8 p.m., Jan. 19-20 at 2 and 8 p.m. Ticketmaster. www.dallassummermusicals.org.

{TriRight} $17 to $62.

View article on their website here

12/13/2007
Pegasus News Wire
Theater Spotlight of the Week: Judy Kaye
By Shawn Parikh
Email Shawn here

The live touring production of Sweeney Todd could not come at a better time with the hype surrounding the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp film releasing on Christmas. Dallas Summer Musicals' Broadway Contemporary Series is bringing the musical to the Majestic Theatre from January 15-20 with Judy Kaye as Mrs. Lovett and David Hess as Sweeney Todd.

Judy Kaye has won a Tony Award for her role as Carlotta Giudicelli in The Phantom of the Opera, and was nominated as Best Featured Actress in Mamma Mia!. I start off the interview by asking her how she got her start in musical theatre, and how she decided this is what she would do for the rest of her life.

Since she has played Mrs. Lovett five times, I ask her what her attraction to the role is and how she manages to keep it fresh for every performance. Also, I ask her about her views on the movie version and what the audience can expect out of the live production.

I ask her whether she prefers touring over a one-venue production. We end by talking about her dream role(s) and whether she has been able to play them.

Tickets to Sweeney Todd can be purchased online or by calling 214-217-1536.

View article on their website here

12/12/2007 12:22PM CST
The Dallas Morning News
Cirque Eloize's 'Rain' twists into the imagination
by Lawson Taitte
ltaitte@dallasnews.com

If you've been waiting for the new-style circus to blossom into high art, check out Cirque Éloize's Rain. If there's a circus in heaven, and Federico Fellini and Merce Cunningham got together to stage it, this might be the one.

Every time I see Cirque du Soleil or one of its offspring, I'm tantalized by the hints of something beyond. The elaborate sets and costumes and the sketchy story line arouse hope that the show will break through the boundaries of technique and routine to become a new kind of epic.

The show that the Dallas Summer Musicals' Broadway Contemporary Series opened at the Majestic Theatre on Tuesday doesn't quite do that. Much more modest in scale, it's more like modern dance or vaudeville or performance art. But it never lapses into automatic drive; it's full of imagination and poetry throughout.

Daniele Finzi Pasca wrote and directed this piece, which begins with a spoken prologue about memories of childhood freedom. A later, hugely funny, monologue questions the pretensions of these new circuses, asking why they so pretentiously explore the unconscious only to end in a virtual pratfall.

Of course, these French-Canadian circuses don't have elephants or tigers. This one dispenses with painted clowns, as well – but that doesn't mean it lacks humor. Even the most virtuosic acrobatic flips involve a joke or two. The cast is always acting, always dancing, always delightfully human.

The Majestic turns out to be a superb place to watch these high-flying trapeze and tumbling acts. That ironically pretentious prologue soon gets a counterpoint – a woman bouncing from stage to proscenium height behind a scrim. It's a simple enough trick, but seeing the speed and vertiginous motion in such an intimate setting gave me intense butterflies each time the woman defied gravity, only to be pulled back to earth again.

In one number, a man lyrically spins around and around inside a hoop to the strains of strings and accordion (no nasty electronic sounds here). Several bits involve a live pianist: First, some of the strongmen hoist the piano player to a horizontal position, then revolve both player and instrument together. In the second act, the music, lighting and subtle performances turn what might have been conventional trapeze and balancing acts into a waking dream.

Unearthly beauty touched with wit and charm: Rain is fantastical. And fantastic.

"Unearthly beauty touched with wit and charm: Rain is fantastical. And fantastic."

Through Sunday at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm. Runs 130 mins. $15 to $67. Ticketmaster at 214-373-8000 or 972-647-5700, www.ticketmaster.com.

View article on their website here

6/10/2007 11:28am CST
YouTube.com
Jay Johnson wins Tony Award for "Best Theatrical Experience"

Here is the footage of the acceptance speech for Jay Johnson. The award is presented by comedian Eddie Izzard.

11/28/2007 8:12am CST
The Dallas Morning News
Jay Johnson and his 'wooden Americans' bring new vigor to a nostalgic art form
by Michael Granberry
mgranberry@dallasnews.com

As a shy, dyslexic kid growing up in Abernathy, Texas, Jay Johnson had trouble fitting in. He didn't like sports and was hardly the most outgoing kid in the vast, lonely expanse of West Texas.

So at age 6, when he found a broken Jerry Mahoney doll in his cousin's closet and proved he could make it talk, it didn't take long to figure out he had also found a career.

Now 57, Mr. Johnson is the star of The Two and Only!, his Broadway tour de force that earlier this year won a Tony Award. It opened Tuesday night at the Majestic Theatre.

It's tempting to say it's a one-person show, but that feels so wrong and so utterly unfair to the puppets that steal more than their share of moments during a 95-minute adventure. Who knew that even a disembodied wooden head (Long John La Feat) could draw belly laughs from humans?

What Mr. Johnson takes you on is nothing less than a spiritual journey. Surrounded by trunks and boxes, out of which appear his alter egos, he also indulges you in a Discovery Channel-like odyssey about the bizarre history of ventriloquism itself.

It's an art form that means everything to this man, who moved to the Dallas area when he was 16 and who graduated from Richardson High School.

Ventriloquism even got him into trouble during his college years at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). There, he was confronted by representatives of the Campus Crusade for Christ, who told him to stop doing ventriloquism – or he would go to hell.

Thank goodness Mr. Johnson didn't listen. Ventriloquism carried him to a regular role on the sitcom Soap during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It's wild, years later, to watch him dazzle a crowd with the back-and-forth pingpong match between ventriloquist and "dummy" – a term he abhors, by the way. He prefers the politically correct "wooden Americans."

Like fellow ventriloquist Terry Fator, Mr. Johnson can sing without moving his lips.

But more than anything, he's a gifted storyteller capable of carrying a Broadway show alone (sorry, puppets). The most moving part of the evening is a story that unfolds like a singer's heartbreak ballad. It's about meeting Arthur Sieving, a ventriloquist 60 years his senior who became his mentor and friend. Mr. Sieving was a master carver of puppets and agreed to carve one more after his retirement – Squeaky, who became the centerpiece of Mr. Johnson's act.

It would be heresy in a review to say what happened to Mr. Sieving and the role he played in Mr. Johnson's life, even after their last meeting. That alone is reason enough to see The Two and Only!

Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! runs through Sunday at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. Performances at 8 tonight, Thursday and Friday, and at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $17 to $65. 214-631-2787, Ticketmaster.com.

View article on their website here

11/28/2007 CST
The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
'The Two and Only' is one-of-a-kind fun
by Mark Lowry
mlowry@star-telegram.com

DALLAS -- In this age of countless forms of electronic entertainment, Jay Johnson's one-man, multidummy show The Two and Only! isn't likely to persuade any youngsters to carry on the craft he has been doing for so long: ventriloquism. (Probably not even fellow ventriloquist Terry Fator, who reached millions more than Johnson has thanks to the reality show America's Got Talent, can accomplish the feat of popularizing an antiquated art.)

But in exploring ventriloquism's history and telling his own, with the help of several very animated friends, Johnson does convince us that the talent is rare and special. The show almost feels like his own way of convincing himself that he's not crazy, as some have concluded about practitioners of this craft.

Johnson's show, which won a Tony Award this year and is directed by Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel, played its first of eight performances at Dallas' Majestic Theatre on Tuesday. Big D kicks off its national tour, fitting for a West Texas guy who went to the University of North Texas and spent many years performing here.

On a striking set (by Beowulf Boritt) of stacked trunks, suitcases and baskets on the horizontal and a swooped-up vertical floor, Johnson spends time with several of his pals, including a tennis ball named Spaulding, a loud, wiry monkey named Darwin, Nethernore the vulture, Amigo the snake and the disembodied head of Long John La Feat. Their voices are thrown by Johnson, some with superfast repartee between human and creation, and each is amazing.

His most special "wooden Americans" are his first major dummy, Squeaky, handcrafted by ventriloquism legend Arthur Sieving, and Bob, who was his puppet when he played a ventriloquist in the TV series Soap. Squeaky's response when Johnson tells him that he wasn't cast in Soap because he's too sweet-looking is one of the show's many priceless moments.

Johnson gets that misty-eyed, shaky voice when speaking nostalgically of Sieving, and in these segments the show almost becomes overly sentimental. But at the same time, it's a sweet love letter to the art form. And by the end of The Two and Only!, we are convinced that what Johnson does is exactly that.

Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!
8 p.m. through Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St., Dallas
$15-$67
817-467-2787 or 214-631-2787
www.dallassummermusicals.org
Be advised: Some strong language
Run time: One hour, 35 minutes with no intermission
Best reason to go: The one and only Johnson

View article on their website here

11/20/2007 12am CST
The Dallas Morning News
'Oswald's Ghost' looks at JFK assassination's lasting grip
by Michael Granberry
mgranberry@dallasnews.com

The newly renovated Texas Theatre was home Monday night to a gripping new movie, by a director named Stone, about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

But not that Stone. The writer-producer-director in this case is Robert Stone, whose terrific documentary Oswald's Ghost was shown to an admiring audience in a setting that was both breathtaking and slightly bizarre.

It marked the Southwest premiere of Mr. Stone's film, which will be shown Jan. 14 on PBS. It's in the midst of a limited theatrical release, with openings scheduled for Nov. 30 in New York and Dec. 7 in Los Angeles. But no future dates have been set for Dallas.

That's a shame. It may well be one of the best movies ever offered about the assassination, and it took on an eerie power being shown in a handsomely renovated theater that will forever be central to the darkest moment in Dallas history.

Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested Nov. 22, 1963, in the Texas Theatre, on Jefferson Street in Oak Cliff, moments after investigators say he gunned down Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit and about an hour after he killed Mr. Kennedy in Dealey Plaza.

By the end of his movie, Mr. Stone comes to his own dramatic conclusion about who killed the president. But it's the getting there that's remarkable.

In an interview before the screening, he said the trigger for him was seeing that other Stone's movie in 1992 and watching the firestorm it created.

"This in itself is an interesting story" is how he characterized his reaction to Oliver Stone's JFK. "Why, after all these years, are we still fighting over this? What is it about the story that keeps us so passionate, so engaged?"

What he didn't want to make was a movie putting forth yet another conspiracy theory or a debunking of all previous conspiracy theories. Rather, he longed to examine something deeper and far more psychological about the American character.

"Nobody had stepped back and told the story of the debate itself," he says. "How did these ideas come about? Who propagated them and why were they so widely believed? And what had they done to this country? Seventy percent of Americans still believe the government was involved in the Kennedy assassination or has worked to cover it up. And that's had a huge impact."

In the end, a seemingly disparate chorus of voices – including the late Norman Mailer – accomplish the filmmaker's objective.

As he says, Oswald's Ghost is "a way of explaining the '60s. We're not arguing anymore about what happened in Dealey Plaza. It's an argument about explaining what came after ... and how did everything go so wrong."

View article on their website here

11/14/2007
General Release
Public Invited to Screening of Oswald’s Ghost
November 19 at Texas Theatre
Free Event Includes Discussion with Film Director Robert Stone

Commemorating the 44th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza has joined WGBH Educational Foundation, Oak Cliff Foundation, and Dallas Summer Musicals to stage a free public screening of Oswald’s Ghost Monday, November 19, 7:00 p.m. at the Texas Theatre. Produced by acclaimed director Robert Stone (Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst, Radio Bikini) for American Experience in association with the BBC, the documentary film blends historical footage and contemporary interviews to create a thorough account of the Kennedy assassination and aftermath, while examining why this event continues to haunt the nation. After the screening, the Museum’s curator, Gary Mack, moderates a question-and-answer session with Stone, American Experience executive producer Mark Samels, author Josiah Thompson, and journalist Hugh Aynesworth.

“We are honored to present this extraordinary program to the citizens of Dallas,” says Nicola Longford, executive director of the Museum. “This event is an unprecedented collaboration of historic sites, public television, civic organizations, and the private sector, committed to examining one of the most significant events in 20th century history.”

Beginning Monday, October 15, the public will be offered a limited number of tickets to the first official event to be held at the historic movie house since renovation efforts began in 2002. A maximum of four tickets per person may be picked up between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Museum, 411 Elm at Houston, and between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the DSM box office located at 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center. Tickets are available on a first-come basis.

The 90-minute film features interviews with authors Norman Mailer and Edward J. Epstein, politician Gary Hart, news anchor Dan Rather, activist Tom Hayden, historian Robert Dallek, attorney Mark Lane, and others. Using a wealth of archival material, much of it never before publicly seen or heard, Stone chronicles America’s forty-plus year obsession with the pivotal event of a generation. Quietly implicit throughout the film is a haunting parallel to 9/11 and its aftermath.

“This is a film about how we absorbed and responded to the trauma and shock of being inexplicably—and repeatedly—robbed of our sense idealism, optimism and security,” says Stone. “In the past six years, we’ve watched a new generation of Americans experience that same trauma.”

For more information about the free public screening of Oswald’s Ghost, visit www.jfk.org or call the Museum at 214-747-6660. For more information about American Experience, visit www.pbs.org/americanexperience.

About The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
Chronicling the life, death, and legacy of President John F. Kennedy, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza opened in 1989 as a response to those seeking information about the assassination of the 35th U.S. president. Located in the former Texas School Book Depository, the Museum is managed by the non-profit Dallas County Historical Foundation. Consisting of a permanent historical exhibition on the sixth floor and special exhibits, events, and programs on the seventh floor, the Museum draws over 325,000 visitors annually and possesses over 24,000 items in its collections.

About American Experience
Television’s most-watched history series, American Experience brings to life the characters and epic stories that have shaped America’s past and present. American Experience documentaries have been honored with every major broadcast award, including twenty-four Emmy Awards, four duPont-Columbia Awards, and fourteen George Foster Peabody Awards. Major funding is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. National cor¬porate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual and The Scotts Company. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.

About WGBH Boston
WGBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcasting producer. More than one-third of PBS’s prime-time lineup and companion Web content as well as many public radio favorites are produced by WGBH. The station also is a pioneer in educational multimedia and in access technologies for people with disabilities.

About Oak Cliff Foundation
The Oak Cliff Foundation was founded in 1973 as the philanthropic arm of the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce. Created to improve life in Oak Cliff through economic development, beautification, and education, the foundation took a big step in 2001 by purchasing the historic Texas Theatre on Jefferson Boulevard, where assassination suspect Lee Harvey Oswald was captured by Dallas police on November 22, 1963. The vision of the foundation is to see a cleaner, safer and diverse series of businesses along Jefferson Boulevard. The revitalization of the Texas Theatre will create a new destination for the performing arts and movies in Oak Cliff.

About Dallas Summer Musicals
Beginning as outdoor opera productions in 1941, Dallas Summer Musicals today produces a traditional summer season of Broadway musicals at the Music Hall at Fair Park and the Broadway Contemporary Series, a winter season of cutting-edge stage plays and musical shows, primarily held at the Majestic Theatre. Managing these theaters for the City of Dallas, DSM also operates a school and plans to assume management of the Texas Theatre when renovation is complete.

11/04/2007
WFAA-TV
Grand re-opening set for Texas Theatre
By Dan Ronan

DALLAS — The historic Texas Theatre has a brand-new look.

The movie house will forever be remembered as the place where Lee Harvey Oswald was captured, 90 minutes after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Oswald also shot and killed Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit before seeking refuge in the darkened auditorium.

For years, the icon on Jefferson Boulevard in the heart of Oak Cliff has been in a state of disrepair—but no longer. The Texas Theatre reopens Nov. 19 with a screening of the PBS movie Oswald's Ghost.

The Texas Theatre re-opens Nov. 19 with a screening of the PBS movie Oswald's Ghost.

Standing just a few feet from the seat where Lee Harvey Oswald was captured, Oak Cliff Foundation Chairman Monte Anderson said the nine-year, $3.5 million renovation is nearly complete. "This blighted theater what it was, back in action, is very important for the culture of this neighborhood and the restoration of this neighborhood," Anderson said.

The Oak Cliff Foundation says a professional management company hopes to book the Texas Theatre 200 dates a year, with concerts, movies and other events—even Broadway showson tour. "When you come to a theater, you're coming there for fun and excitement, enthusiasm, and Jefferson Boulevard needs that," Anderson said. "It's already on its way up."

The Texas Theatre was built by Howard Hughes during the depths of the Depression. It was the first air conditioned theater in Dallas, and one of the biggest. Now its 665 seats have been restored; the cushions will be installed in a few days. New carpeting is also on the way.

Restoring the balcony and adding those 400 seats is the next big project. The movie theater with a rich legacy is getting another chance to entertain a new generation. "It can't ever be torn down, so we've saved it from that," Anderson said. "It kind of gives me goose bumps to think about it a little bit."

View article on their website here.

11/01/2007
Oak Cliff Tribune
Texas Theatre Air Conditioning units Airlifted by Helicopter
By Jo Ann Holt, Columnist

Oak Cliff residents and early morning commuters were treated to an air show last Tuesday Oct. 23, when a helicopter airlifted a 60 ton AC unit and two 20 ton AC units to the Texas Theatre between 7:30-8:30 a.m. The AC units were too heavy to be delivered via flatbed, so the alternative is to airlift them directly to the Texas Theatre, 231 West Jefferson Boulevard, which has been undergoing an extensive renovation and restoration process since 2002.
When the Texas Theatre was built in 1931, its systems were state of the art. The cooling and ventilation system, which blew 200,000 cubic feet of air per minute through a water-cooled system pumped from a 4,000-gallon tank, made “The Texas” the first theater in Dallas with air conditioning.

Since that time, the theater has had many owners and somehow escaped the wrecking ball after falling into disrepair in the late 1990’s.

In the latter part of 2000, Dallas Summer Musicals Management Group, a division of Dallas Summer Musicals, made a proposal to the City of Dallas to develop the theater into a critically needed community performing arts center. Preferring to stay in the theater management business as opposed to theater ownership, Dallas Summer Musicals Management Group, along with the City of Dallas approached the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce and its philanthropic arm, the Oak Cliff Foundation, with a plan to manage the theater if the foundation would purchase it.

In 2001, the Oak Cliff Foundation was awarded $1.6 million from the City of Dallas Neighborhood Renaissance Partnership Program to purchase and renovate the theater. The foundation agreed to raise additional funds to complete the renovation and contract Dallas Summer Musicals Management Group to manage the performing arts center.

An extensive renovation and restoration project began in 2002 and continues today.

On November 22, 1963 at approximately 1:45 p.m., nearly 15 Dallas police officers converged on the Texas Theatre in search of a man who had entered without paying. That man was Lee Harvey Oswald—President John F. Kennedy’s accused lone assassin.

Commemorating the 44th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza has joined WGBH Educational Foundation, Oak Cliff Foundation, and Dallas Summer Musicals to stage a free public screening of Oswald’s Ghost Monday, at 7 p.m. November 19 at the Texas Theatre.

Produced by acclaimed director Robert Stone (Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst, Radio Bikini) for American Experience in association with the BBC, the documentary film blends historical footage and contemporary interviews to create a thorough account of the Kennedy assassination and aftermath, while examining why this event continues to haunt the nation. After the screening, the Museum’s curator, Gary Mack, moderates a question-and-answer session with Stone, American Experience executive producer Mark Samels, author Josiah Thompson, and journalist Hugh Aynesworth.
For more information about the free public screening of Oswald’s Ghost, visit www.jfk.org or call the Museum at 214-747-6660. For more information about American Experience, visit www.pbs.org/americanexperience.

Photo credits: Oak Cliff native MK Semos and Hugo Garcia.

1. Dallas Summer Musicals President and Managing Director Michael A. Jenkins and Oak Cliff Foundation’s Ninette McDonald were all smiles as they watched the early morning air show.
2. AC airlift as seen from Jefferson Blvd.
3. Crew “pulling the strings” behind the Texas Theatre.
4. NBC cameraman interviews one of the workmen.
5. Inside the Texas Theatre, another crew hard at work.
6. Oak Cliff residents Hugo Garcia and MK Semos were on hand to take photos of the historic event.

11/01/2007
The Drowsy Chaperone [in St. Louis]
POST-DISPATCH THEATER CRITIC
By Judith Newmark

Even though "The Drowsy Chaperone" spoofs musical comedies of the 1920s, it has one quality that really shines on today's Broadway scene: originality.

It isn't based on a movie. It wasn't built around a star. And it's certainly not a revival.

This witty romp began as a skit at a bachelor party. By now it's won five Tony awards and hit the road complete with big dance numbers, a complicated set and gorgeous Roaring '20s costumes. But it still enjoys the breezy feel of an in-joke shared among good friends.

Written by Bob Martin (the groom-to-be at that party) and Don McKellar, with songs by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, "The Drowsy Chaperone" opens in a run-down apartment where the Man in Chair is feeling blue. (So would you, if you had to live there.) Because he's feeling blue, he puts on an old record. ("Yes," he snaps, "a RECORD.") It's his favorite Broadway musical, the 1928 hit "The Drowsy Chaperone."

Let's be clear: There's really no such musical. But the one that miraculously comes to life, transforming the dingy dwelling and filling it with comical characters, feels like all of those old shows rolled up into one.

A famous entertainer is giving up Broadway to marry the man she loves. But her producer, in debt to singing-and-dancing gangsters, doesn't want her to quit. In the meantime, the entertainer's drunken chaperone is supposed to keep the bride and groom apart. When she fails, the bride spies her blindfolded groom roller-skating, which leads to a mix-up. Then …

Confusing? Not really. The Man explains it all, spicing up the idiotic story with "true" tales of backstage gossip. Jonathan Crombie, who plays our guide to the past, delivers a sweet, wounded take on a lonely man.

There are also delicious performances from Nancy Opel as the world-weary chaperone, twins Paul Riopelle and Peter Riopelle as the talented thugs disguised as bakers (or maybe the Two Stooges) and Andrea Chamberlain as the bride. In her big number "Show Off," Chamberlain turns herself into a one-woman fireworks show, avidly demonstrating all the show-biz fun she swears to give up for love.

Even the little touches are smart. "Ignore the lyrics," the man advises us before the "Bride's Lament," excellent advice for many numbers in many different shows. The tiny digs at recent musicals hit home; the relationship between rich Mrs. Tottendale (Georgia Engel, of the old "Mary Tyler Moore" show) and her underling, called Underling (Robert Dorfman), echoes all the Jeeves jokes that once delighted people who didn't have servants themselves.

10/24/2007
Media Release
Single Ticket Announcement
By Jo Ann Holt, DSM Publicist

Single Tickets for Broadway Contemporary Series Shows
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only and Cirque Eloize: Rain
Go on Sale at 10 a.m. Monday, October 29, 2007

Dallas, Texas…Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, has announced that single tickets for two Broadway Contemporary Series shows, Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! and Cirque Eloize: Rain, priced from $15-$67, go on sale Monday, Oct. 29, 2007 at 10 a.m. at The Box Office, 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center, and all Ticketmaster outlets including The Majestic Theatre. Tickets are also available by calling 214-631-ARTS (2787) or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For groups of 20 or more, please call 214-426-GROUP.

North Texas native Jay Johnson will perform his 2007 Tony® Award-winning show, JAY JOHNSON: THE TWO AND ONLY!, at The Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm Street, November 27-December 2, presented by Dallas Summer Musicals’ Broadway Contemporary Series. The critically-acclaimed show, which won a 2007 Tony® Award for Best Special Theatrical Event, features Johnson as he brings to life a dozen or more wildly varied characters, including a boa, a chimpanzee, a vulture and a tennis ball in a script he wrote. Michael A. Jenkins, President and Managing Director of Dallas Summer Musicals, also received a Tony® Award for producing the show on Broadway.

CIRQUE ELOIZE: RAIN, written and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, will be presented by Dallas Summer Musicals’ Broadway Contemporary Series at The Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm Street. Unexpected things can come from the sky--messages, signs, promises. On stage, not only rain will fall, surprises will pour down as well. There's a certain kind of feeling in CIRQUE ELOIZE: RAIN, almost a sense of nostalgia, like a strange need to go back to the house you came from, the house where a family once lived, where your roots are. In our house we call this kind of beautiful, sweet sadness that you feel when you look at a sunset, "rain in your eyes.”

Season sponsors for Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, are The Dallas Morning News, WFAA TV Channel 8, and American Airlines.

Now celebrating its 68th season, Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM) is the largest producer of live theatrical entertainment in the Southwest, the second oldest summer theater organization in the United States, and the sixth largest non-profit theater company. DSM has been entertaining North Texas audiences with the finest in live, musical theatre entertainment since 1941.

In addition to presenting national Broadway tours, DSM also produces shows on Broadway, presents and tours local productions, and is involved in developing new works. Dallas Summer Musicals’ affiliates include DSM Management Group, Inc. (DSMMGI), which manages the Music Hall at Fair Park and the historical Majestic Theatre. In addition, DSM has its own school of musical theatre, which provides quality education and outreach to the youth of Dallas.

October 12, 2007
Oak Cliff People
Texas Theatre Set To Reopen
by Chuck Cox
Staff Writer

One of the most famous landmarks in Dallas is about to be open for business for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Final preparations are being made for the Texas Theatre to be ready to open Nov. 18 for a screening of the Public Broadcasting Service’s documentary Oswald’s Ghost.

Staff photo: Allison Slomowitz
The renovated Texas Theatre is set to open Nov. 18.
The film will be presented by the Sixth Floor Museum as part of this year’s 44th anniversary remembrance of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested at the theater Nov. 22, 1963, and charged with the assassination.

The theater’s reopening comes after six years of efforts by the Oak Cliff Foundation, which is taking out a $600,000 loan to have the building ready to go next month.

Hosting the movie helped the foundation decide to take out the loan.

“We’ve been working toward that slowly for about six months,” said Oak Cliff Foundation board member Ninette McDonald. “This just escalated things and boosted us into getting the job done.

“The situation with our foundation is that every board member is also an employed person in a fairly highly-placed position, so they only have a certain amount of time to add to this theater,” she said.

“The fact that funding has also been very slow — there are so many needy causes out there that it’s difficult to get the finish-out work — that’s why we opted to do the loan.”

Once the theater opens, McDonald expects funding to pick up steam quickly.

The foundation has spent $1.6 million in federal grant money to restore the theater but still needed between $400,000 and $500,000 to complete phase one of the project.

After Oswald’s Ghost is shown, the Texas Theatre, which opened in 1931, will host live performances run by Dallas Summer Musicals Management, which will also handle the day-to-day operations.

The Texas Theatre, which opened in 1931, will host live performances run by Dallas Summer Musicals Management.

“We’re hoping to generate interest and generate donations that will hopefully retire that loan sooner than we planned, as well as operating capital to do the performances and the further enhancements that will be necessary to get this into a full-blown live performance theater,” McDonald said.

“Right now, it will be a rented sound system and lighting, which is coming over by way of DSM Management. We will also need to purchase a curtain.”

Once the theater is open again, it will also be available for weddings and other special events within the community.

McDonald also hopes to have tours available, especially around the anniversary date of the assassination.

“It’s our mandate to not only do the live performances ... but we’re also obligated through our loan from the federal government to open the theater to non-profit organizations, local entities, special events, and that sort of thing — full usage,” McDonald said.

“It’s exciting as well as kind of a relief. The burden will shift more toward Dallas Summer Musicals, which will leave us to do what we need to do and put a face out there and raising money.”

Several Oak Cliff residents are thrilled by the reopening.

Alice Reece, for example, grew up in Oak Cliff and was a regular at Saturday matinees.

“It was an all-day mix of cowboy movies, serials, cartoons, and on-stage events,” Reece said. “It looked like snow with balcony dwellers tossing popcorn over the balcony edge.

“On the Texas stage were yo-yo contests sponsored by the Cheerio or Duncan Yo-Yo companies. The most memorable were the personal appearances of cowboy movie stars including Alan ‘Rocky’ Lane [who scared everyone by firing his six-shooter], Sunset Carson, and even ‘Hopalong’ Cassidy. Lash Larue gave a demonstration with his whip …

“I’m very pleased that the theater is re-opening, and I plan to check out the renovated Oak Cliff landmark,” she said.

E-mail chuck.cox@peoplenewspapers.com

View article on their website here

10/11/2007 8:47pm CT
CBS 11 / TXA21 TV
Season Announcement Interview with Sandi Newton
By Sandi Newton

Video interview (at right) airing on CBS News on the above date. Includes show clips, brief interview with President and Managing Director Michael Jenkins, as well as introductory information regarding our new sponsorship with Comerica Bank. Click on picture at right to view video in a new browser window.

10/10/2007
KLUV 98.7 Radio
KLUV Interview with Jody Dean
By Jody Dean

Audio recording of KLUV personality Jody Dean interviewing Michael Jenkins. Topics include the recent winning of DSM's first Tony® Award, and brief discussion of the newly announced shows. Please use the following links to listen to the interview, presented in two parts. When clicked, the links will open in a new page.

Jody Dean Interview, Part 1
Jody Dean Interview,Part 2

10/7/2007
Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
Musical season gets supersized
By Mark Lowry, Staff Writer

Everything is bigger in Texas -- at least at Dallas Summer Musicals.

For its 2007-08 season, the organization will merge its two series, Broadway Contemporary Series and Dallas Summer Musicals, into one huge roster of 17 titles. The shows are still divided into three categories for box-office purposes -- BCS shows at the Majestic Theatre, DSM shows at the Fair Park Music Hall, and subscriber specials sprinkled throughout.

The largest season in the group's 68-year history includes newer Broadway hits, revivals and the North Texas premiere of the official Disney tour of High School Musical.

View article on their website here.

Friday, October 5, 2007
Pegasus News Wire
Dallas Summer Musicals announces 2007-08 season and a new sponsor
By Pegasus

Dallas Summer Musicals, the largest producer of live musical theatrical entertainment in the Southwest, announced a multi-year agreement that makes Comerica Bank the official presenting sponsor for Dallas Summer Musicals. Under the agreement, Comerica Bank’s logo will be incorporated into Dallas Summer Musicals logo, and will appear extensively inside and outside the Music Hall at Fair Park, as well as DSM performances at The Majestic Theatre, The Texas Theatre and any other venues in which DSM may present in the future. The “Name-In-Title” logo will be included in all marketing and promotional materials for the next four years.

Today's announcement is a key milestone for the non-profit organization, as the 4-year agreement marks the first presenting sponsor agreement for Dallas Summer Musicals. The announcement was made by Michael A. Jenkins, President and Managing Director of Dallas Summer Musicals presented by Comerica Bank, at a luncheon at the Crescent Club.

Now, Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, announces that an unprecedented 17 shows will be offered to subscribers for their 2007-2008 season, featuring more shows than have ever been offered in the company’s history. They are celebrating their 68th season of entertaining North Texas audiences with the finest in live theatre entertainment.

Season tickets will go on sale Thursday, October 4 at noon at The Box Office, 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center, priced from $104 to $513 for DSM 7-show season; and from $76-$344 for the Broadway Contemporary Series (BCS) 5-show season. Single tickets for the six specials range from $11-$85. Renewals and new orders may be faxed to 214-691-7386 for credit card charges; for telephone orders, call 214-217-1536. For more information about the BCS or DSM season, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.dallassummermusicals.org. There is a handling fee for orders placed by phone or internet. For groups of 20 or more please call 214-426-GROUP.

Michael A. Jenkins, President and Managing Director of DSM, said, “We are very pleased to have Comerica Bank as our first presenting sponsor. Thanks to their assistance, we are able to offer an extremely diverse schedule of top quality entertainment to North Texas audiences for 2007-2008. From award-winning blockbuster musicals still playing to sold-out audiences on Broadway, such as JERSEY BOYS and THE COLOR PURPLE, to the Southwestern premiere of our own Tony® Award-winning production, JAY JOHNSON: THE TWO AND ONLY!, this is going to be a season for the record books.”

View article on their website here.

03:20 PM CDT on Thursday, October 4, 2007
Dallas Morning News/Guidelive
Dallas Summer Musicals announces new sponsor, schedule
By LAWSON TAITTE / Theater Critic

The Dallas Summer Musicals now have a new corporate sponsor. At least for the next four years, the organization's logo will read "Presented by Comerica Bank" — the large Michigan corporation still in the process of moving its national headquarters to downtown Dallas.

The Summer Musicals also announced Thursday that it is in the process of merging its summer and winter seasons. It announced both slates for 2007-2008 simultaneously — a record-breaking total of 17 shows. Summer Musicals president Michael A. Jenkins said the two series are being sold separately this year, but next year the shows at both the Fair Park Music Hall and the Majestic Theatre will be marketed in several packages.

For the coming season, the seven main summer shows are all new to the market. The 2005 and 2006 Tony Award-winning musicals, Jersey Boys and The Drowsy Chaperone, top the list, and The Color Purple will be next fall's State Fair attraction.

On the winter roster, John Doyle's innovative revival of Sweeney Todd will star Broadway legend Judy Kaye. The Two and Only, which won the Summer Musicals and Mr. Jenkins a Tony for best special theatrical event last June, will also play at the Majestic next month.

View article on their website here.

October 04, 2007: 06:53 PM EST
CNN Money
Dallas Summer Musicals Announces Comerica Bank as Presenting Sponsor
PR Newswire
Announcement marks unprecedented event in Dallas Summer Musicals' 68 Year History

DALLAS, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM), the largest producer of live musical theatrical entertainment in the Southwest, announced today a multi-year agreement that makes Comerica Bank the official presenting sponsor for Dallas Summer Musicals.

Under the agreement, Comerica Bank's logo will be incorporated into Dallas Summer Musicals logo, and will appear extensively inside and outside the Music Hall at Fair Park, as well as DSM performances at The Majestic Theatre, The Texas Theatre and any other venues in which DSM may present in the future. The "Name-In-Title" logo will be included in all marketing and promotional materials for the next four years.

Today's announcement is a key milestone for the non-profit organization, as the 4-year agreement marks the first presenting sponsor agreement for Dallas Summer Musicals. The announcement was made by Michael A. Jenkins, President and Managing Director of Dallas Summer Musicals presented by Comerica Bank, at a luncheon at the Crescent Club.

Comerica is now the presenting sponsor for the Dallas Summer Musicals

At the news conference, DSM's Chairman of the Board, Kit Williams, also announced that as part of the agreement, Comerica Bank will be the presenting sponsor of the Curtain Call Gala, a spectacular evening of entertainment preceded by an elegant seated dinner. This year, Grammy-nominated performer, composer, and arranger Michael Feinstein and Jekyll & Hyde Broadway star Linda Eder will be the featured entertainment on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Williams said, "This partnership underscores Comerica's philosophy of community involvement and volunteerism, as well as their commitment to giving back through innovative philanthropy programs and partnerships. Comerica's generosity and community spirit are to be commended. Their donations of time, talent and funds are setting an example of philanthropy throughout Dallas."

Jenkins said, "We are honored to acknowledge Comerica Bank as Dallas Summer Musicals' first official presenting sponsor. This level of corporate recognition has been unprecedented in our 68 year history. For many years, Comerica Bank has generously supported Dallas Summer Musicals and our programs for low income, at-risk and special needs children. We have had a solid, longstanding relationship, and anytime we can continue to reinforce an established bond with greater support from and recognition for a company that is committed to our organization and the Dallas area, it makes the agreement that much sweeter." Jenkins continues, "As a non-profit organization, DSM relies on funding from the community to bridge the gap between ticket revenue and rising production costs. The corporate support of community-minded organizations, like Comerica, makes it possible for us to bring the Best of Broadway to Dallas at affordable prices and to continue to grow our educational and community outreach programs." Jenkins adds, "Comerica is a first-class organization that is enriching our local community through their contributions, and we are grateful to be their partner."

Ralph W. Babb, Jr., Comerica Incorporated Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Comerica's involvement with the Dallas Summer Musicals spans many years, thanks in large part to the vision and leadership of Chuck Gummer. Comerica has a strong commitment to the communities in which we live and work, and our presenting sponsorship of the Dallas Summer Musicals reinforces that commitment."

"Comerica is proud to partner with the Dallas Summer Musicals, which has an impressive 68 year history of providing quality theatrical entertainment to our community," said Charles L. "Chuck" Gummer, Comerica Texas market president. "We believe the Dallas Summer Musicals' community outreach efforts are important in making it possible for many in our community to appreciate and experience the performing arts."

About Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated , a financial services company headquartered in Dallas and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Michigan, California, Arizona and Florida, with select businesses operating in several other states, Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $58.6 billion at June 30, 2007. To receive e-mail alerts of breaking Comerica news, go to http://www.comerica.com/newsalerts.

View article on their website here.

July 27, 2007: 06:53 PM EST
Oak Cliff People
Texas Theatre Renovation Needs More Funding
by Chuck Cox
Staff Writer
Organizers to seek another $500,000

Renovations are currently taking place inside the Texas Theatre.
After six long years of planning, fundraising, and elbow grease by the Oak Cliff Foundation, the historic Texas Theatre is close to re-opening its doors.

The site of the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, the venue on Jefferson Boulevard is most likely looking at a November reopening.

The remade version of the famous sign spelling out T-E-X-A-S in large letters is set to go up in about a week.

After the sign is installed, there will be another fundraiser to try to secure the final $500,000 needed to get the theater up and running.

When it does reopen, the theater, which was first opened in 1931 by late Houston native and billionaire movie producer Howard Hughes and closed down in 1989, will host plays, rather than movies.

Until recently, there was a model of the famous sign outside the theater dating from director Oliver Stone’s filming of part of the movie “JFK,” which was released in 1991.

The foundation was approached in 2001 by the city of Dallas and Dallas Summer Musicals Management Group to purchase and renovate the theater.

With the help of $1.6 million from the city’s Neighborhood Renaissance Partnership Program, the foundation agreed to take on the task, while the musicals group, which also manages Music Hall at Fair Park and Majestic Theatre, agreed that it would handle bookings and day-to-day operations of the theater.

“We looked into it and felt this was such a historic structure for Oak Cliff,” said Ninette McDonald, a foundation board member. “It was in danger of possibly being demolished or forever modified to the point where it would no longer have its historic look, so our board decided that — yes, we would take on this project.”

But it became apparent early on that what the foundation originally believed would be a two-year project, costing $1.6 million, would take a lot longer and need a lot more money, partly because some of the money was redirected following 9/11.

That was when the foundation began to phase in the project and raise money in order to ensure it would eventually be completed.

To date, approximately $3.1 million has been raised and spent on the renovation.

“We’re in the final part of phase one that will get the doors open and performances going on here,” McDonald said. “Then that opens up a whole new revenue source when you’re in operation, and then we should be able to upgrade everything that we need to do. Right now it’s going to be basically cosmetic.”

The theater now has a large, new stage, which, along with requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act, will prevent balcony seating from being open initially.

“This will help kind of give us another theater to rent,” said Ben Perrin, general manager of the musicals group. “It’s also the perfect size. Fair Park holds 3,420, the Majestic holds 1,704, and the Texas Theatre will hold around 665 or 667.

“It just helps to have additional space to give our tenants options,” Perrin said. “And it’s in the perfect area. The business owners around the Texas Theatre are excited about it.”

McDonald is one of five foundation board members who have been with the project since its inception. The other four are chairman Monte Anderson, treasurer Danell Lichtenwalter, and board members Lena Liles and Jason Morahan. All but Morahan were born and raised in Oak Cliff, giving them additional passion for the project.

“[The Texas Theatre] had air-conditioning and all-day features of monster flicks and that sort of thing,” McDonald said. “It was really hot, so you’d usually find us Oak Cliff kids over here all day Saturday.”

One of the first events in the works for Texas Theatre is the screening of a documentary in conjunction with the 44th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination, according to Sixth Floor Museum spokeswoman Deborah Marine.

The foundation will continue to raise money for the renovation, which includes paying back to the city $400,000 from the initial $1.6 million.

The other $1.2 million was part of a forgivable grant when certain benchmarks, all of which have been met, were reached.

“This really is a grassroots project,” McDonald said. “We continue to seek and hope for contributions.”

McDonald also said the group is offering naming rights to larger donors.

“We’ll put your name on anything except for the outside of the building,” he said. “It is the Texas Theatre.”

On the Web: oakclifffoundation.org, jfk.org, dsmmanagementgroup.org

E-mail chuck.cox@peoplenewspapers.com

View article on their website here

Dallas Summer Musicals
P.O. Box 710336 :: Dallas, TX 75371 :: 214.421.5678

Copyright © 1998-2007 Dallas Summer Musicals ™ | Contact Us | Privacy
Hosting provided by