Tag Archives: Lee Martin

Picnics in the Park with Forest Acres

Be sure to join Town Theatre for its fourth concert series ~ Picnics in the Park ~ Fridays, October 13, 27 and November 3 starting at 5:45 PM. Each concert, lasting roughly one hour and concluding before the setting sun, will feature different performers in an evening of song providing the perfect backdrop for a family picnic.

The series kicks off on Friday, October 13 with some of Town’s long-time performers – Rebecca Goodrich Seezen, Shannon Willis Scruggs, Billy Bishop and Scott Vaughan. Rebecca and Shannon literally “grew up” on the Town Theatre stage and, between the two of them, have played some iconic roles including Fantine, Patsy Cline, The Lady of the Lake, Annie Oakley and more! Both Rebecca and Shannon are Forest Acres residents and are proud to sing for the neighborhood! Scott is well known for his appearances in both Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Music Man. By day he is the drama teacher at Satchel Ford Elementary School, in the heart of Forest Acres. Joining our Forest Acres trio is Billy Bishop. By day he is the Pastor at Northside Memorial Baptist in Sumter. His most recent Town performance was as both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The group will be accompanied by Jeremy Hansard.

On Friday, October 27, the concert series will welcome home some Town performers. What a pleasure to have Lee Martin back in Columbia after her recent move to Kentucky. Lee has crooned away in Town’s productions of Hello, Dolly!, Hairspray, The Buddy Holly Story, The All Night Strut! and Newsies. Also coming home is the talented Kerri Roberts. Though she is just down the road in Summerville, SC, audiences will enjoy the return of this performer who is well known for her many roles at Town including Marian Paroo, Mary Poppins, Eliza Doolittle and many Marias (West Side Story and The Sound of Music). The third performer of the homecoming is Jeremy Hansard. Jeremy’s Town stage performances have included Bert in Mary Poppins, Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady and Grandpa Jo in Willy Wonka. He not only is coming home for this concert but is now on staff at Town Theatre.  

Our final concert of the series will be Friday, November 3 featuring our Town Theatre voice faculty and youth theatre director. David LaTorre has been seen on stage in The Music Man, Bright Star and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. By day, he leads the youth theatre program at Town and has the pleasure of working alongside his fellow picnic performers. Katie Gatch has served as a Town musical director and is one of our private voice instructors. She is well known for her opera performances at USC. Amanda Wrona got her start as a musical director at Town and has also appeared on the stage in Les Mis and Beauty and the Beast. She is the primary vocal instructor for our Town Teen Troupe. Jane Cato recently directed The Sound of Music and was also on stage in Bright Star. She is the primary vocal coach for the Town Tween Troupe and also offers private voice lessons. Our faculty concert singers will be accompanied by Michael Simmons.  

Tickets for each concert are $5 and you may purchase online HERE. You may also purchase your ticket on-site at the park. In true picnic fashion, be sure to grab dinner from your favorite Forest Acres restaurant. Please also bring your own seating in the way of tailgate chairs and/or blankets. There is plenty of room at the park to spread out and enjoy the fantastic entertainment.

Pinetree Park is in the triangle between Coker Street and Wofford/Winthrop Avenues in Forest Acres. Coker runs perpendicular to Trenholm Road near Trenholm Plaza. In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be held indoors at St. Martin’s in the Fields at 5220 Clemson Avenue. Town Theatre thanks Forest Acres for their support of this partnership. If you have questions, please call Town Theatre at 803-799-2510 or email town@towntheatre.com.

On Becoming Dolly…

We invited our two leading ladies… Kathy Hartzog and Lee Martin… to share a few thoughts on their road to Yonkers and what it meant to play such an iconic role.

Lee: “Dolly Levi, that’s right Mrs. Dolly Levi born Gallagher ~ social introductions, ladies and gentlemen, of excellent family!” This is how we are first introduced to the one and only DOLLY LEVI! What an introduction! Playing Dolly has always been a role that I always wanted after I saw THE Barbara Streisand portray her in the movie as a child. As I began studying Dolly, I realized that she is one amazing woman. She is a hustler, a nurturer, a puppet master, a devoted widow and an all-around woman who wants to be whole again. The loss of her husband changed her life completely. She had to figure things out on her own which led her to become a jack of all trades.”

Kathy: “Well, where to start? Late in June, I auditioned for this show and what I consider the role of a lifetime. I researched the character extensively but ultimately came to the realization that the actresses who came before me must have come to the same conclusion as I did. I had to find my own voice. Carol Channing, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Betty Buckley and numerous other big names who performed the role of Dolly through the years were completely different and fresh in their interpretations. Not one was the same as the other! Channing was brash and delightful, Bette Midler was larger than life, Betty Buckley was charming and decided to focus on Dolly’s Irish background by using a soft Irish brogue in her performance, whereas Barbra Streisand was decidedly well, Barbra Streisand, using a strong Jewish characterization and New York accent. All of this helped me immensely in knowing what I had to do. I had to be true to myself as an actress but find the sweetness and vulnerability and quiet determination that was inherent in Dolly.”

Lee: “I found myself really relating to Dolly in the sense of feeling unease if something were to happen to my spouse. I can also relate to learning how to figure things out on your own. I stopped working to stay home and raise my children. My husband’s job is very demanding and has caused us to move around the country more often than most. It has also had us rethink our career paths a few times. That being said, Dolly’s acknowledgment of just being tired of constantly being worried about money can be heard in several of her intimate monologues to her deceased husband Ephraim. Although he has passed, he is still very present in her life. She constantly refers to his sayings and asks for him to let her live again!” “Dolly has learned to figure things out the hard way. In that time, she found that she was not necessarily enjoying life and was just living to survive while giving of herself to everyone. In the end, she realizes that is no way to live and so she “decides to rejoin the human race.” As a woman and an actor, I admire Dolly’s spunk, tenacity and vigor!

Kathy Hartzog as Dolly Levi ~ GoFlashWin.com

Kathy: “One song that spoke volumes to me that I immediately had an emotional attachment to ‘Before the Parade Passes By.’ Dolly sings, ‘I’ve got to get in step while there is still time left before the parade passes by.’ Wow! That sums up the character so completely and spoke to me on a personal level as well. It’s the one time in the entire show that you really see and hear Dolly’s vulnerability and see her tenacity. I can absolutely relate to this sentiment on so many levels and I hope that my interpretation of that song carries over the footlights to the audience because, for me, that is the pinnacle of everything I do on stage and in life.”

Lee: “I agree with Kathy on the importance of the song, ‘Before the Parade Passes By.’ I consider it Dolly’s moment of enlightenment, her anthem. It articulates all the emotions she has been feeling since the loss of her husband and her desire to live life again. It provides a picture of what she believes life could be if she ‘rejoined the human race.’ The song is preceded by a monologue she gives to Ephraim begging for him to let her go but she also asks for him to give her away. The song begins as a slow melancholy acknowledgment of what she wants. As the song continues Dolly’s excitement grows as she pictures all the wonderful things that can happen with her new take on life. I love this song because it is an anthem for anyone who does not want life to pass them by anymore!

Kathy: “I feel so fortunate to have a someone like Lee Martin share the role with. To have that sisterhood and to share the same challenges and moments of self-doubt with someone who was going through the exact same things I was more than I could have hoped for. Lee said it in an interview once, that it could have felt like an ongoing “call back” or competition  but it didn’t because we’re both in it together to produce the best show possible and for each of us to find our Dolly voice in our own unique way.”