Lakes Community Theatre: When I'm Wrong, I'm Wrong

The three performances are Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday, May 2, 2010, at 2:00 p.m., in the Lauridsen Performing Arts Theatre at the Pearson Lakes Art Center (PLAC) in Okoboji, www.lakesart.org.

Tickets, $12, can be reserved in advance by calling the PLAC Box Office, 712-332-7029, and are also available at the door. Excellent seats are still available for all three performances.

Here's a very brief description from the brochure for the LCT 23rd Season, 2009-2010...

<< Rosie and Aggie, the cleaning ladies [from "Music and Memories: A 30's and 40's Music Revue"], are back trying to save their beloved ballroom from the wrecking ball. Come listen to a new album of timeless classics that will set your toes to tappin'. >>

As the old saying goes, "When you're wrong, you're wrong." When I'm wrong, I try to admit it. A couple of years ago, I was definitely wrong regarding something to do with LCT.

Because the Okoboji Summer Theatre (OST), www.okobojisummertheatre.org, has the live theatre market tied up during the summer months, (for which I'm eternally grateful), LCT operates during what us residents of the Iowa Great Lakes and other summer vacation destinations call the "off season," which is autumn, winter and spring.

During my four and a half years as a member of the LCT Board of Directors, from February 2003 to August 2007, I used to help choose the productions for each season. I haven't sought to rejoin the LCT Board since my term ended in 2007 so, like most "Friends of LCT" sponsors, I have to wait until the season brochure comes out for confirmation of the upcoming season.

During the summer of 2008, when the brochure came out for the LCT 22nd Season, 2008-2009, I was disappointed to see that no musicals were included. I love almost all live theatre, but musicals tend to be my favorite.

There was a production listed "Music and Memories: A 30's and 40's Music Revue," May 1-3, 2009, with the following description...

<< If you like music, then you'll love "Music and Memories." A collection of songs from the 1930's and 1940's such as: "Blue Moon," "Isn't it Romantic," "As Time Goes By," "Tea for Two," "It Had to Be You," "Makin' Whoopie," and many others by George M. Cohan, Rodgers and Hart, Irving Berlin, and Cole Porter, just to name a few. So if you can't wait to hear the Big Band Music, put "Music and Memories" on your calendar! >>

Of the many different types of musicals, musical revues tend to be my least favorite. But that's like me, as a choco-holic, noting that of all types of chocolate, milk chocolate is my least favorite. I still love milk chocolate, and I still love most musical revues.

LCT has performed musical revues in recent years, including "Always... Patsy Cline" (2005), "Winter Wonderettes" (2007), and "Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming" (2008). The aforementioned OST has had a great deal of success with musical revues in recent years, including "Beehive" (2006), "The 1940's Radio Hour" (2008), and "Forever Plaid" (2009). However, these are all examples of musical revues written and initially performed by theatre professionals before becoming part of the public domain and being made available to community theatres and other non-professionals.

"Music and Memories," I learned soon after receiving the LCT 22nd Season brochure, had not started out as professional theatre. At the time the brochure was published and distributed, summer 2008, the musical review was being written by Iowa Great Lakes resident Bill Carpenter. Two members of the LCT Board, Jackie Carpenter (Bill's wife) and Barb Worth, were slated to direct the production.

Now please don't misread what I'm about to write next. I have nothing against any of these people. All three of them have been very valuable assets to LCT since the theatre company was established with a production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!" in 1987. However, after learning that "Music and Memories" was being written and directed by non-professionals, I had a couple of negative thoughts, including: "It's not really a musical!" And: "How good can it be?"

Which brings me back to the subtitle of this blog entry, "When I'm wrong, I'm wrong." And boy was I wrong about "Music and Memories."

When the performances dates finally came around, May 1-3, 2009, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that "Music and Memories" was a little gem of a production, one I thoroughly enjoyed.

The show featured some of the biggest hits of the 1930's and 40's ably performed by Lakes area singers accompanied by a band comprised of area musicians. Many of the songs featured area dancers in the background, behind the singers.

The silly but clever back-story featured two elderly cleaning ladies, co-directors Barb Worth as Aggie and Jackie Carpenter as Rosie, cleaning the Moonlight Ballroom after a rock concert and reminiscing about the bygone days of the ballroom. Their reminiscences brought to life an "Announcer," the voice of writer Bill Carpenter, who made the cleaning ladies happy by introducing musical numbers that were so popular during the women's youth and the ballroom's heyday.

Infinitely more important for LCT as an organization, "Music and Memories" was a very popular production. It was it by far the best-selling show of the LCT 22nd Season, 2008-2009. Other than the LCT production of "Disney High School Musical" (2007), it sold more tickets than any other LCT show in recent memory.

"Music and Memories" made a great deal of money for LCT not only because of solid ticket sales, but also because no royalties had to be paid to a theatre licensing company. The show was written by local LCT supporter Bill Carpenter, with help from his wife Jackie and their friend Barb, and all the songs performed were part of the public domain so no royalties could be charged. As such, it was a very inexpensive show for LCT to produce.

I think I can still make the argument that LCT hasn't done a "real" musical during the past couple of years, one originally written and produced by theatre professionals; however, I fully admit to being wrong, way back during summer 2008, when I thought to myself, "How good can it be?" "Music and Memories" was very good!

I'm pleased to report that "Music and Memories II: The Demolition," April 30 -- May 2, 2010, is every bit as good! I operated spotlight for the dress rehearsal on Sunday, April 25, so I'm know the show is good. Also, the sequel features several people both from within and outside of the Iowa Great Lakes who have never before been involved with LCT, including some very strong singers. It's well worth the $12 tickets.

I'm also pleased to report that Bill and Jackie Carpenter and Barb Worth are working on a "Music and Memories III" with plans to produce it during either the LCT 24th Season, 2010-2011, or the LCT 25th Season, 2011-2012. That's something to look forward to.

Thank you for your time! Please support the arts!