An American Ensemble for the Old Lyric Company season
The Old Lyric Repertory Company announces the 2005 summer season at the historic Caine Lyric Theatre in downtown Logan. The company’s 39th season begins June 16 and runs through Aug. 6, with four productions taking the stage in repertory. This year, the OLRC’s production theme is “An American Ensemble.” Mixed in with “the ensemble,” the group is introducing a few new twists to the summer, including a new box office, promotions and events and two visiting actors with impressive resumes.
The Old Lyric Repertory Company is an advanced production program operated by the department of theatre in association with the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Utah State University.
OLRC Artistic Director Colin Johnson has chosen productions that aim to please a wide variety of theatre patrons.
“This year the OLRC entitles its season ‘An American Ensemble,’ a group of favorite works written by some of our most popular playwrights,” Johnson said. “These plays share in common an endearing and sometimes critical look at the eccentricities of the American family. The season is packed with something for everyone.”
The company opens with “You Can’t Take It With You” by the famous team of Kaufman and Hart, followed by one of the longest running musicals ever, “The Fantasticks.” A standard of the American stage, “Arsenic and Old Lace,” fills the third slot, followed with the classic Tennessee Williams drama “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.”
“With choices like these, we hope to give our patrons a special and evocative night of theatre all summer,” Johnson said. “Our two special guests should create a stir at the theatre. We are eager to welcome Glenn Shadix and Bart Williams to the stage this season. The two professionals from California will help create some very special moments at the Lyric, I am sure.”
In addition, 2005 introduces the first year of the Caine Lyric Box Office. Heading the conversion is Jeremy Gordon, marketing director for the OLRC.
“We hope patrons will appreciate the effort to provide superior customer service, convenience and a full-service ticket office,” Gordon said. We think the change will benefit everyone and will create an atmosphere that patrons will enjoy. We have acquired the tools, hired a box office manager and have worked with other theatre box offices to ensure that we do this right. Keep in mind that there will be a learning curve, and we ask that patrons have patience as we take the process on.”
Gordon emphasized that if any patron has a concern or a problem, the OLRC is ready help.
“The goal is to give our patrons excellent service and convenience,” he said. “If I can answer a question or solve a problem, don’t hesitate to call.”
The new box office will be fully functional on May 16.
“We are moving operations to the Lyric in May, following some training and technicalities,” Gordon said. “The Ellen Eccles Box Office is also partnering with us this summer in selling tickets. With the Caine Lyric and the Eccles around the corner from each other, no one should have trouble getting tickets.”
The OLRC box office opens Monday, May 16, and will operate noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, May 16 to June 11, and noon to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, June 13 through Aug. 13. The Caine Lyric box office number is (435) 752-1500. The Ellen Eccles box office number is (435) 752-0026, extension 14. Ticket prices range from $8 to $17. Season subscriptions are available at discounted rates in a number of different options. For more information on tickets, call (435) 797-1500 or visit the OLRC Web site at www.usu.edu/lyric.
Old Lyric Repertory Company patrons can also see two visiting artists take the stage at the Lyric.
Glenn Shadix, a veteran of stage and screen, returns to live theatre after a successful run of cinema. Roles in “Planet of the Apes,” “Demolition Man,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and the cult classic “Beetlejuice” have made Shadix a recognizable face. He has appeared on television shows, including “Cheers,” “Seinfeld” and “E.R.”
“Having begun my career as an actor on the stage, working a season of repertory theater at the Caine Lyric offers me an opportunity to concentrate on creating characters with an ensemble of talented actors without the pressures and distractions of my Los Angeles life, which is filled with auditions for film, television and voice-over work,” Shadix said. “The theater offers the luxury of true rehearsal. Film, television and voice-over work offers almost none. There is some rehearsal time in situation-comedy television but nothing like the time you have for character development in a stage production.
Shadix said another plus is the proven quality of the productions chosen for this 2005 season.
“I am delighted with all three roles I will be performing, but I have a special affinity for Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams’s ‘Cat On A Hot Tin Roof,'” he said. “Having grown up in the Delta region of Alabama, I believe I understand this man and I certainly love the play. My brief, but memorable, association with Williams in New York in 1977 also adds to the satisfaction of creating my interpretation of Big Daddy, which is the one major role of all the magnificent characters Williams gave us that I feel I am best suited to portray.
Shadix said that working with director Lynda Linford 30 years after she directed him in his first dramatic play (Jean Anouilh’s “The Rehearsal” at Birmingham Southern) adds to his joy in tackling the role. He also looks forward to meeting the directors of “You Can’t Take It With You” and “Arsenic and Old Lace” as well.
“The real magic in the theater is that wonderfully mysterious collaboration of those on the stage and those in the audience,” Shadix said. “My dear friend, Bart Williams, and everyone else involved in these projects will be giving all we have in hopes of a summer of memorable moments at the Caine Lyric.”
Bart Williams, another veteran from California, partners with Shadix as the summer’s guest talent. Williams has done it all. Film credits include “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Hello Dolly!,” “Tunnelvision,” “An Enemy of the People,” “Hadley’s Rebellion” and “The Doomsday Clock.” On television, he has been seen on “General Hospital,” “Good Grief,” “The Richard Simmons Show,” “America’s Funniest People,” “Totally Hidden Video,” “Weird Science” and “Mad T.V.” He did burlesque comedy with Jerry Sienfeld in “Abbot and Costello Meet Sienfeld,” and was co-host of the children’s show “Stanley’s Smogless Steamer.”
Over the years Williams has been featured in comedy sketches on both the Oscar and Emmy telecasts and on the 72nd Academy Awards Show, where he sang and danced with Robin Williams to the nominated song “Blame Canada.” He has done commercials for Jack in the Box, Cadillac, Welch’s Grape Juice, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Mitsubishi. He has completed additional legitimate stage work in national tours and regional productions, and he entertained troops, touring with the U.S.O. during the Vietnam era. At New York’s famed Radio City Music Hall, Williams played the title role in “The Wizard of Oz,” a role he has played more than any other. In fact, it was the last role he played in Logan in 1993. No stranger to Logan audiences, Williams has been a guest artist at the Utah Festival Opera Company for five seasons.
“I hope the patrons will be very happy with the four shows selected for the season,” Williams said. “I think they represent a solid gathering of classic American Theatre. They are all tremendous hits that played for long runs in New York and that have been constantly revived and toured since they were first produced.”
The Old Lyric Repertory Company’s promotional events for the summer include “Senior Date Night,” which provides two-for-one pricing for senior citizens for all Tuesday and Wednesday evening performances. “Student Rush” gives current Utah State University students the opportunity to purchase half-price tickets 15 minutes prior to curtain every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening performances. The “OLRC Promo Jeep” also returns with special promotional opportunities and giveaways.
New this season is the inaugural OLRC Benefit Gala. The gala includes the opportunity to meet and mingle with OLRC members, a catered dinner at Hamilton’s Steak and Seafood, a cabaret-style evening of entertainment by OLRC members and a ticket to a 2005 production. Tickets for the gala are $50. Inquiries and reservations can be made at (435) 797-1500.
Complete details for the 2005 season, including the production schedule, are available online at www.usu.edu/lyric. For a free brochure, and to be added to the mailing list, call (435) 797-3046. For general and ticket inquiries call (435) 797-1500.
The OLRC is supported by grants and gifts from the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation, the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, the College of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences at Utah State University, the Cache County Restaurant/RAPZ Tax, the Utah Arts Council and the Bridgerland Travel Council.