Category Archives: Tributes

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A Year in Review…

PC: Fig Columbia

As we reflect on 2022, we are filled with gratitude. After a few years of walking very carefully across the footlights, we were so excited to sing, dance and act our hearts out.

We were fortunate to add capacity to our technical team with additional assistants. Doing so allowed us not only to enhance our set, lighting and sound elements but also promoted introducing new people to the world of technical theatre.

Early in the year, we hosted a one-of-a-kind front-of-house volunteer appreciation event in conjunction with The Red Velvet Cake War where we created “to-go” boxes like you would get at your own family reunion ~ full of surprises that fit the theme of the Southern comedy. Just a fun way to say “thanks” to our ushers, house managers and box office volunteers without whom we could not survive.

Last spring brought warmer weather and two beautiful shows to the stage ~ Bright Star and Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical. Audiences commented on how moving these musical productions were, each in their own unique way.

We rock-n-rolled this summer with 11 full sessions of summer camp, including our unique “Theatre in a Box” camps introducing students to the many elements of musical theatre. Our blockbuster show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat had audiences yelling for more.

In the fall we partnered with the City of Forest Acres for our third round of Picnics in the Park. Great music in a great neighborhood for three consecutive Friday evenings made for a nice change of scenery outside of the walls of Town. We appreciate the City’s support of this concert series.

We opened the 103rd season with The Music Man and just wrapped A Christmas Story: The Musical. Both big musicals were well received and a fantastic duo of shows to start another season at Town.

Our youth theatre fall show, When Christmas Comes to TOWN, brought even more holiday to our hearts as our traditional youth theatre students were joined by our auditioned troupes, the Town Tweens and the Town Teens, to present an original holiday musical featuring ALL students in very special ways.

And, that’s not all ~ we filled our stage during the holiday but we also spent time in our community spreading cheer for all to hear! Visit here to read about the exciting performances experienced during the month of December thanks to so many talented musicians and students.

After a long winter’s nap, we’ll be ready to kick off 2023 with The Play That Goes Wrong… one of Broadway’s funniest shows in years!

Thank you for being a part of Town Theatre. We are fortunate to have such great audience members, faculty, staff, actors, students and families who continue to join us. We’re excited about the rest of the 103rd season and want to be sure that we are working hard to bring you the very best in quality theatre and entertainment. So, if the time is right, we’d be honored to have your support with a year-end gift. Your gift to Town Theatre will help the spotlight shine brightly into 2023.

Tributes

Honoring Milena

Milena Herring passed away on October 4, 2022. In her youth, Milena spent time as an actress on the Town Theatre stage. In her later life, we were honored to have her as one of our stage directors. She will be missed. The first show Milena directed for us was A Christmas Story in 2015. From then she took the reins to bring us You Can’t Take It With You and The Game’s Afoot. She was slated to direct Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville for the 101st season but had to decline as the complications from MS made it too difficult. At that time, we held a special evening to honor Milena’s work and requested donations which we shared with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

As we embark on the musical version of this same show Milena first directed at Town Theatre, we felt it would be fitting to do something to honor her life and her contributions to our theatre community. Her obituary noted that contributions may be sent to Town Theatre. We are so grateful for that designation and wanted to share with you what we plan to do with any gifts sent our way. We will establish a seat in our historic theatre in her name; create a playbill wall plaque commemorating her directorial debut at Town and support efforts to make the theatre more accessible.

From her obituary ~

“But it was her work in the theatre that sustained her throughout her life, and she directed local plays as long as the MS symptoms permitted her to do so. She was all-in on the process: From auditions to the final curtain. There were never any shortcuts. No mercy when it came to forgetting lines or missing a mark. The theatre process was her greatest love – as an actor and a director. And it broke her heart when MS took away her ability to keep pace with its demands. Directing and the theatre didn’t always pay the bills, but it was where she was her best self and the most at home. Milena spent a lifetime entertaining people.”

Want to participate? Visit this link. https://bit.ly/3GhKzyU

Technical Theatre, Tributes

Theatre therapy

Post by David Wilson with an intro by Town Theatre

The most special parts of Town Theatre are her people. Many of us have Town Theatre stories – and we love to hear them! When we happen upon one that touches our hearts, we like to share. This story does just that. Thanks, David, for being willing to document just what this experience has meant to you.

“Howdy, let me make the first of two introductions. My name is David Wilson. I am 39 years old, married with two young children. I am a transplant from… yup, you guessed it, Ohio. In Ohio, I was a Field Technician for a major telecommunications company. In 2016 I developed an auto-immune disorder that attacked my joints. This not only made my daily life difficult, but I was also no longer able to climb telephone poles and ultimately ended up on disability. My condition is made worse by the cold. After several pain-filled Ohio winters, we made the decision to relocate to Columbia last summer.

The second introduction is for my Grandpa Sam. He passed in March of this year. He was a pastor for 55 years. He was highly educated with two doctorates. I have witnessed him many times go without so that others could eat or be warm. He was quiet, yet he had presence. He was also a skilled craftsman. When my grandparents bought their house it was 1,100 sq. ft. When they moved out it was 1,700 sq. ft. with a 2,000 sq. ft. workshop in the backyard. As a kid, I spent many summers with him in said workshop.

After getting established with doctors in Columbia, I was put on a medication that makes me feel 80% better on most days. Better enough to start enjoying my life again. In a chance encounter at my church’s Easter breakfast, I happened to sit at the same table as a former director of Town Theatre. My previous theatre experience came up, and I was encouraged to audition for Town’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I was interested. I hesitated, though, because although the medication was making me feel better, I had spent the past six years being sedentary. I needed to rebuild my strength and stamina. The choreography of Joseph… was helpful for that. Over time, I got to know Town’s staff and the current director. I guess I had made enough of an impression so that when the new technical director needed an extra hand building The Music Man set, she reached out to me to help.

During my first week working with the technical director, I was horribly rusty.

The skills I had cultivated during those summers with my grandfather had gone unused over the last six years.  As I was getting back into the swing of things, I consistently had the voice of my Grandfather in the back of my head. Every time I turned on the table saw it was his checklist running through my head. He had dyslexia, so he was compulsive about checking measurements, a habit I picked up. Even though the Miter saw has a LASER guide on it, I still used his method of gauging where the cut should be. And a lot of other small things that you only get from gentle mentoring.

The first I thing I helped the technical director with was a huge brick wall. In The Music Man, the brick wall is the exterior of the library where Marian Paroo works. The wall also serves as a tool for scene transition. It is heavy and comes in and out frequently throughout the show. I am also on the crew for The Music Man and the primary operator of the wall. I jokingly requested to the Town director that I be listed under cast in the playbill as “Brick Wall.” She laughed but then offered to let me name it.

After looking back on my time helping with the set building, I realized that there is a little bit of my grandfather in everything I touched on that set. When I took the job offer to help the technical director, I thought of it as a litmus test to see if I could get off of disability and return to full-time work someday. I didn’t think it would help me work through my grandfather’s passing, but that’s exactly what it did. I can’t think of a better moniker for that wall than “Sam.” Besides my fond memories of being in his workshop, the wall represents him in many other ways. Like him, it has presence. As he held two doctorates, he was frequently at a library. The level of craftsmanship and dedication that has been put into not only the wall but this show is something he would appreciate. My involvement with Town Theatre has come at an interesting time in my life. I have rediscovered a part of myself I thought had been lost. Not only am I acting again, but I am also learning to sing and play an instrument. Grandpa was very musical as well. It’s interesting to me that a theatre could act as a form of therapy both physically and mentally.

There are seven more shows that I will be lifting and lowering “Sam.”

When the curtain falls for the final time on The Music Man, a team of dedicated people will dismantle “Sam” and its components will be stored for future use. For me, when I see those brick pieces used on a future set, it will bring back fond memories of building something with my Grandpa all those summers ago. Everyone else will be unknowing bystanders of his talent, skill and mentoring. That is the way of things. We all have our heroes that we learn and grow from. I am fortunate that a piece of my hero will be a part of something that will bring hundreds of people joy.”

Special Events, Tributes

Honoring Milena Herring

Photo courtesy of Facebook.

As you may know, our upcoming show was slated to be directed by Milena Herring. She was thrilled to be back in the director’s chair at Town after taking last season off for knee surgery. Regretfully, she had to withdraw from directing the production due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis.

Milena has lived with MS for almost 20 years. Things have been even more challenging this past year. More physical therapy and new medications have not helped. However, she is not giving up and neither are we!

We invite you to join us on Thursday, Jan. 16 for a special preview performance of Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville. The show begins at 7:30 PM and the cost of admission is a donation ($10 minimum suggested) which will go directly to the National MS Society. Milena has been a long-time fundraiser for MS research through the Walk MS Columbia event with her team the Drama Queens. We’re excited to support our dear friend Milena and are thrilled that she will be our guest of honor on the 16th.

To RSVP, please e-mail us at town@towntheatre.com with the number in your party OR give us a call at 803-799-2510. Want to participate but cannot be with us on the 16th? Send your check to Town Theatre and note MILENA on the memo line OR visit here.

Special Events, Tributes

My Kind of Town ~ Al McNeely

al town t 300

“My love/love relationship with Town Theatre goes way back to the dark ages: 1964. That’s when my wife Pat and an old high school girlfriend joined forces to force me to a tryout. I hadn’t been on the stage for seven years, but shockingly got the part, the lead and later the laughs. I was totally hooked. Now, 54 years later, my total is 28 productions. They cover everything from heavy drama to second tenor in a Sha Na Na line (twice!). From warbling an Irish lullaby solo in Guys and Dolls to a not-too-bad W.C. Fields impersonation. From opening one play by falling over dead, and two others that co-starred a 6-foot invisible rabbit.

It has been a wondrous ride. Six decades of laughter and hard work.

Learning all those lines. I even wrote scenes for two plays. Offstage, there were two terms on the Board of Governors, one term as president of the Players Club, and countless hours spent in such committees as play reading. I loved it all. Rehearsals were a kick. With each new production I made new friends, and as the years rolled by, they became old friends. Other McNeelys wound up on stage and we sometimes did shows together.

It all culminated in seeing my daughter Allison morph from a kid who once crawled around under the conference table upstairs to become the theatre’s Resident Director. As such, she has directed me in three shows so far, neatly turning our relationship upside down and proving that she has forgotten more stagecraft than I ever knew.

Today, at the precarious age of 83, it’s the people I remember more than the shows, people like my good friend John Wrisley. John and I played Holmes and Watson twice and did essentially the same two characters for My Fair Lady. At one time or another, my talented niece Leah, my comedy-improv son Alan, and of course my awesome daughter Allison were in shows. Many of our rehearsals were more like parties and some of the cast parties were held at our house. Occasionally, even today, someone in a restaurant or grocery store will call out “How’s Harvey?” and I have been “made” as Elwood P. Dowd, the angelic friend of Harvey the Rabbit. I played Elwood twice, 15 years apart, and a portrait of Harvey and myself, paw on shoulder, hangs on our bedroom wall. I can still use lines from that play anywhere I need to kill some time. Only the remnants of other lines from other plays are still in my feeble memory bank today, remarkable when you consider the sweat and tears once necessary to pound them in.

There were other plays that came under the “Heavy Lifting” category. Doing Sleuth with Bill Arvay as a two-actor grind wore us down to the nub every night. I thought about walking away from my TT hobby/habit. But new plays came along with roles I liked, so I was still moderately hooked. In 1999 Allison tricked me into doing a very long role in Over My Dead Body. It proved to be my swan song for retentive memory. I did two more walk-ons and am sneakingly searching for another. Three years ago, at age 80, I played the one-scene one-laugh cop in Singin’ in the Rain. By all the evidence I can conscientiously collect, that makes me the oldest actor ever to appear in a TT show. I’m proud of that.

I was lucky enough to do shows in both the 50th and the 75th anniversary seasons. So if anybody desperately needs a walk-on for the 100th, I’m your man.

Or the rabbit.”

Main Stage, Tributes

Moonlighting Math Teachers

Guest blog by Hans Boeschen
Director of The Buddy Holly Story

In 2011, three years after moving to Columbia from Nebraska, I walked into my first ever community theatre audition. I had been involved in school productions since the second grade, was just shy of a minor in theatre, and had, at that time, been teaching high school theatre for three years. I had never tread the boards in a community production, however. That first audition, almost eight years ago, would change my life.

That was when I met Lou. Boeschens

Since that time, either Lou or I have been involved with 25 productions ~ on the stage or on the production team. (I am well aware of Lou’s extensive involvement in Columbia community theatre long before we met. I will forever be trying to catch up.) In seven of these 25 shows, we were lucky enough to be working together.

This production of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is not only my first time directing for Town Theatre, but it is also the first time Lou and I have joined up as director/musical director. It has been such a joy to have Lou by my side throughout the process. Many times our dinner conversation has been about the show. To be able to ask her about a directing choice or work through a transition has been such a wonderful resource. She has been my biggest supporter, my rock, and my sounding board (pun intended). Not to mention, she is an amazing musical director.

I believe the true power of the theatre is in the connections it builds. Whether those connections be amongst the cast working together for months, the audience who see the raw emotions of each actor, or within the community at large as we examine what life is about through the stage, theatre unites us. I consider myself extremely lucky that the theatre brought Lou and me together and that I get to be a part of such a vibrant community theatre environment.

I am continually thankful for Town for providing a safe space for two math teachers to moonlight as thespians.

Special Events, Tributes

My Kind of Town ~ Gabe Flores

gfloresheadshot“My only performance with Town Theatre was as Jerry, the drummer for The Crickets in Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story during the 2008-2009 season. This was a pivotal moment in my life and, looking back, I can see how that time was so formative. Having extensive performance experience in the rock and roll and marching band worlds, I had a minor interest in live theatre. On a whim, I decided to show up to an audition and try something new. I decided to audition for the drummer and rest, as they say, is history.

In a previous life, I was dragged to the theatre unwillingly. I begrudgingly sat with arms crossed and barely allowed myself to enjoy the show. During my brief residence in South Carolina, I had a hard time finding a home or community to call my own. Little did
I know it was going to be in the theatre. My fondest experience of Town Theatre was realizing I was part of something wildly different than I had ever expected. One of my favorite memories of our show was the first time I was told we were sold out. To me, that validated my choice to spend time in the theatre. Another memorable time was finishing the show to a standing ovation that lasted long after the curtain had dropped. It only got louder when we returned for the curtain call.

After returning to my native Florida, theatre became a borderline obsession. I spent years as a theatre reviewer and used that time to “educate” myself about all types of shows. I have since directed multiple plays and musicals for schools and theatre festivals. I also
started writing my own plays and eventually wrote a musical. Shows I have been associated with as director, playwright, composer, musical director, actor and stage manager have been seen in New York, Florida and Kansas City.

My time at Town reinforced my drive and desire to work in collaboration. It also taught me the magic of the theatre. Many of life’s problems can be solved, or at least examined, in some sort of way by the theatre. Whether it’s a series of solving problems, relating to strangers with similar interests or just turning off the world for a couple of hours, these are skills I learned in the theatre. I now put art and passion first. Thanks to my time at Town Theatre, I live a very fulfilling life. I look forward to an opportunity to return and repay my debt someday, somehow.”crickets

Main Stage, Tributes

Reflections on West Side Story – Take Three

Editor’s Note: In our current production of West Side Story – we have three “veterans” of Town’s 1998 production. David Swicegood (Director) and Tom Baldwin (Doc) penned their thoughts earlier in the series. TAKE THREE is courtesy of Kerri Roberts who is playing the role of Maria. 

In the summer of 1998 I was 21 years old, preparing to start my senior year of college, and engaged to be married. I was privileged to study voice at Columbia College with the incomparable Lanny Palmer, who encouraged me to go and audition for West Side Story at Town Theatre. I was not a Columbia native and had not been involved in any theatre outside of Columbia College where I was active in opera, and Columbia Classical Ballet where I danced for four years during college. I had absolutely no idea about the community theatre scene in Columbia. I remember being so nervous about auditioning, but so excited about the potential of doing something new. To be honest, I don’t remember much about the audition process except the director, David Swicegood saying to me, “I’m SO glad you could sing!” I immediately felt welcomed and right at home in that little old theatre! It’s been that way ever since.

I genuinely have no negative memories associated with the 1998 production. It was, in fact,  truly ground-breaking in my life. I had been a singer. I had been a ballerina. I had been in operatic productions. For me, West Side Story was the first time that I experienced the thrill of doing all the things I loved – singing, dancing and acting – all in one medium.  I came alive with it! That was when I first discovered my passion for musical theatre. David was such an easy, kind, inspiring director, who truly loved what he was doing, and the environment of the show was always positive in my memory. I remember the week of intense choreography sessions when Maurice Brandon Curry came to teach us the whole show! Maria doesn’t dance all that much, but it was still so fun to learn from Maurice and to watch the rest of the cast, many of whom would not have called themselves dancers, come together and nail these iconic dances! Christopher McCroskey was our music director and working with him was also a pleasure. This production team, along with Janet Kile as the costumer, worked together so well to create a show that was truly a joy to be a part of. I felt nothing but encouragement!

For sure, the best part of West Side Story 1998 was the people. David, Christopher, and Janet are all still very dear to me and I treasure any chance I get to see them and/or work with them. Brian Childers was so talented and such an easy stage partner as Tony. It has been so great to watch him go on to have a successful career! That was when I met Shannon Scruggs, who has become a friend, a director and a colleague for whom I am very grateful! Agnes Babb and Lou Boeschen are also “Town family” that I first met in West Side Story! I have such fond (and funny) memories as stories of all the Jet and Shark guys and girls, some of whom actually came to my wedding a few months after this show closed. I’ll never forget the connection with Robby Sweet (Chino) during the last scene of the show and the tears in his eyes almost every time.

When I learned that Debra Bricker Brewer would play the role of Anita, I remember feeling very intimidated. She had been a ballet teacher, known for her sharpness and demand for excellence. But she embraced me as a sister rather than a student and we had the best time playing these roles together. She killed it as Anita! We still squeal out “Querida!!!” whenever we see each other!

Tom Baldwin was just as precious as Doc the first time around. And although Maria and Doc are only ever on stage together in the very last scene, Tom was always encouraging to me and kind. He only ever called me Maria after that! Who would have thought that 20 years later we would serve the same church in worship each week and be getting to reprise our roles in West Side Story 2018?! The first time he was technically too young to play Doc and this time I am technically too old to play Maria, but we’re making it work!

Will and KerriOf course, I could never leave out Will Moreau.  West Side Story 1998 was also his first show at Town Theatre, so we were “newbies” together.  Will played the role of Bernardo, Maria’s protective older brother. He was much more experienced and mature in his craft than I was, but he quickly came alongside me and encouraged me.  He saw my potential and never missed an opportunity to tell me what he thought about it.  After this show, we didn’t work together in the theatre for 18 years! BUT we reconnected through the world of social media while my family was living on the mission field in Zambia, Africa. I didn’t know that much about Will and his personal passion and work in 1998. But I got to know him over the years by watching and reading about his life online! And he did the same with me.  We developed a true respect and affection for one another over the years.

When I came back to the States and got reconnected with my theatre family at Town, Will was one of the people I was most excited to see! Everyone loved being around Will! We would chat whenever we would see each other around the theatre. Then when the audition announcement came out for My Fair Lady we giddily talked about auditioning! He was SO excited about the possibility of playing the role of Alfred P. Doolittle, as was I about playing the dream role of Eliza Doolittle! The day that we got the call offering us the roles of Alfred and Eliza we both happened to be at the theatre.  Will came running to the lobby to find me and we hugged and jumped around squealing! I will always treasure having that show together. It gave us the opportunity to spend time talking about life and faith over coffee, to play family again on stage (however dysfunctional), and to share in the comradery of a fantastic cast.

Last fall, just a couple of weeks after Will had actually gone to share about Native American culture with my youngest daughter’s class, we lost him so suddenly. One of the kindest, most genuinely loving people I’ve never known. I am grateful to have called him a friend. To have played his daughter on stage, but first to have played his little sister back in 1998. Thank you West Side Story for not only being a catalyst for discussions on love, racism, bigotry and violence but also for being the place in my own life where passions and treasured relationships were born! I’m so grateful!

Main Stage, Tributes

REFLECTIONS ON WEST SIDE STORY – TAKE TWO

Editor’s Note: In our current production of West Side Story – we have three “veterans” of Town’s 1998 production. David Swicegood (Director) penned his thoughts earlier this week. TAKE TWO is courtesy of the one and only Doc, Tom Baldwin. 

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Tom Baldwin as Doc, 2018. PC: Go Flash Win.

Doc’s Memories of 1998:

West Side Story (1998) was my first show at Town Theatre after an eight-year absence. I had just played Senex in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Workshop the year before and was just starting to get the “theatre bug” again. I remember going to the open audition where I sang my eight bars (of something) and tried to dance. Jennifer Austin (who became a lovely friend) was the dance captain. She started giving out a lot of dance commands to a lot of experienced dancers (and me) and, needless to say to anyone who knows me…I didn’t shine. Well, the cast was going to be doing Maurice Curry’s choreography so, as also holds true for Joy’s current wonderful choreography, they were going to need some pretty good dancers. That’s the kind of show it is. Now don’t get me wrong, I knew I was in over my head. I had made a pretty good Freddie Eynsford-Hill, i.e. sings pretty but don’t move too much, but I knew I was no Tony. And, I was 40. What was I thinking?! All I knew was that there were all of those great Leonard Bernstein songs and I wanted to be part of them and the twenty-somethings (that includes you too, Ag and Candice!) who cherish this classic work. This thing, West Side Story, builds a bridge across generations. So, I went home, despondent, thinking I wouldn’t get a call back from David. I popped my VHS tape of the movie into my VCR and started listing to the opening overture. When it gets to “Maria,” tears start streaming down my face. I made a decision to do something that I would never recommend to anyone who auditions for shows (but, it merely worked for me). I decided to crash callbacks. The night of callbacks, I was sitting down front with my sheet music in my hand ready to sing again and then David touches my shoulder. I look up and he says, “I don’t need to hear you sing again, but I want you to hang around”. So, I did. Apparently, “Doc” had been cast, but whoever was going to do it had to drop out (probably Bubba Fulmer J).  I read for “Doc.” I was cast as “Doc.” The rest of the experience was just funny, touching, exhilarating and one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had.

Here is a list of fond memories from the show:

  • True, real life brothers, “Womb-to-tomb”, “Sperm-to-worm”, Brian and Mark Childers (“Tony” and “Riff”).
  • The night that Jonathan Monk (“Baby John”) and Will Moreau (“Bernardo”) couldn’t spin Doc’s combo back staircase/storefront for the last scene with Tony and Doc. Will said, “Doc! The latch is stuck!” LOL
  • Baby John, Chino and Doc singing the “Maria” echo from the wings.
  • Brian (“Tony”) letting out an “Ow!!…Ow!!!!” one night when I clocked him real good!
  • Lee Reynolds (“Glad Hand”), during a rehearsal, standing in the circle looking serious in the Tony death scene in a tweed coat and heart-covered boxer shorts.
  • Debra Bricker (“Anita”) thinking I was shy. Ha!
  • Robbie Sweet (“Chino”) – An all-around good guy and a good friend.
  • Kati Baldwin – My seven-year-old daughter standing in a chair on the front row, applauding during a curtain call with a look of wonder on her face.
  • David Swicegood – How do you make it look so easy when it obviously ain’t? Grace in the face of adversity should be his middle name.
  • Shannon Willis (Scruggs) – You grew up to be quite a woman from the little teenager that I once knew.
  • Kerry Grimsley (Roberts) – Wow! You’re still here! Still brilliant and beautiful. I get déjà vu all over again when you turn the gun on the crowd. It’s good to see that some things haven’t changed.

 

Main Stage, Tributes

Reflections on West Side Story – Take One

Editor’s Note: In our current production of West Side Story – we have three “veterans” of the show one being the director, David Swicegood. David directed Town’s 1998 production and it was stellar. Here are some of his memories of that show that you may enjoy.

“One of my fondest memories of West Side Story in ’98 was, having David Swicegoodcast almost the whole show {at least in my mind}, but I still hadn’t seen a Maria. The last person to audition was a lovely young dark-haired girl who looked EXACTLY how Maria should look. I closed my eyes and said “Please God. let her be able to sing!” Well, her name was Kerri Grimsley {now Roberts} and when she began singing I literally cried! Her voice still takes my breath away, and I couldn’t be happier to have her play Maria again, as beautiful as ever and a voice possibly better than it was 20 years ago.

I also had a “youngish” man named Tom Baldwin who auditioned for the role of Doc, a non-singing but important character role. The script described the character as being in his 60s and Tom was much younger than that! I had a good feeling about Tom however and cast him as Doc. He was so good! I thought about him when I found out I would be directing the show again and, to my surprise, he came to auditions! And now he’s the right age to play Doc! He actually wrote on his audition form “I am the ONLY Doc!” And he is.

My long-time friend Maurice Curry came down from New York to collaborate with me as the choreographer for the show in ’98 and did an amazing job! We tried to get him to come back and do it again, but due to his responsibilities as the Executive Artistic Director of the Eglevsky Ballet Company in New York, was unable to commit to it this time. The wonderful Joy Alexander took the helm as Choreographer and has been AMAZING!! Things DO work out!

During the ’98 show, I also got to work with a very talented young lady named Shannon Louise Willis, whom I had directed in The All Night Strut, my first directorial job at Town Theatre. She was Rosalia in ’98 and was fantastic, as she always is! I directed her again the next year in Sweet Charity, and you probably know that, in addition to singing, directing and choreographing at Town, she is now the Executive Director of the theatre. Just shows you that when theatre is in your blood, it’s there forever.

I also would like to mention that several of my ’98 cast have gone to professional careers in theatre, film and television including Brian Childers, Mark Childers, Melinda Schmidt {now Wrenn Schmidt professionally} and Jennifer Austin. I’d really like to think I played a small part in instilling in them {and all the cast, then and now!} a love of performing and especially the joy of live theatre.

One last memory to share ~ I had finished casting the show in ’98 except the role of Bernardo. I got a call from Sandra Willis, Town’s Executive Director at the time, and she sort of whispered: “Bernardo is in my office!” I asked her to see if he could wait a few minutes and I raced to the theatre and met Will Moreau who, of course, became Bernardo. It was his first show in Columbia and Will became a household name and mainstay of Columbia theatre. Not only was he a good actor but also a great friend and tireless advocate for many causes until his untimely passing last year. He is greatly missed and will long be remembered for his contributions to our city. Rest in peace, friend.”

~David SwicegoodWSS will