The West Side Civic Theatre Story
Every great thing starts with an idea, a vision, a dream. It is in these pearls from our souls that grow life-changing notions and the seeds of the future. Pretty deep, I know. But, on one warm, summer evening, while walking around the square, one such idea popped into my head.
On this special night, something was different. The air was just right, or the sun was setting in such a way as to throw theatrical effects against the bricks surrounding the gazebo. But, as I walked and looked, I envisioned a musical going full-steam in the gazebo, while a throng of people gathered in lawn chairs, and upon blankets to enjoy this theatre under the stars.
Not long after, I was having lunch with Ginger Newberry, who was then Parks and Recreation coordinator for the town, and discussing the possibilities. She was interested from the start, and asked me if I would be willing to submit a budget, and we could take it from there. Of course, that budget was small, and I called upon friends and family to help pull off that first show, knowing that if we could prove ourselves, we could have the start of something. That first production was Oklahoma!, and we couldn't have picked a better show to start with. A show dedicated to the pioneer spirit of our country, a show about staring out in life, a show about beating the odds and the elements to build something.
We only did two performances of Oklahoma!, and we put it together in under 4 weeks. But we had some seasoned veterans in the cast, as well as some determined newcomers, and the turnout was amazing. Almost 3,000 people saw those two shows, and the foundation was laid for the future.
Our second and third shows, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and The Music Man were sponsored by the Lewisville Civic Club, when the Town of Lewisville was unable to do so. That exceptional group of very special people kept the dream alive, and we will never forget them for it. That is the reason we added Civic to what was The West Side Theatre. It seemed only fitting and a fine tribute to a great group. Plus, it added sort of an uptown sound, don't you think? Record crowds came out for these two fabulous productions and they left us all with a feeling of satisfaction and wonder, fulfillment and great expectations!
The Town of Lewisville picked back up with the highly successful and beautiful Brigadoon, and has been with us ever since, through fabulous productions of Guys and Dolls, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, Into the Woods, The King and I, Camelot, The Battle of Shallowford, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Annie, Carousel, Scrooge, South Pacific, Oliver!, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and West Side Story. Then came the amazing season of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and The Wizard of Oz; the two shows that raised the professional bar and set a new standard for our theatre by adding a second successful weekend and inviting our first Actor's Equity Guest Artist, Jim Ballard to perform with us. We followed the huge successes of those two shows with Seussical and Jesus Christ Superstar, followed by our special TENTH SEASON featuring Oklahoma, the show that started it all and our next exciting production, Hello Dolly! Then came the smash hit, Peter Pan and our first operetta, the rollicking Pirates of Penzance, followed by the magical Cinderella and the moving, Children of Eden. This year, we rocked the house with one of the are's first productions of Hairspray, and are now in rehearsal for our encore presentation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!
We have realized our dream of becoming a non-profit organization, and have ventured forth with the second phase of our development. This summer, we are again producing our summer theatre camp, featuring Beauty and the Beast, Jr. It's our 5th Summer Youth Drama Production and follows last year's Getting to Know You, Cinderella. Our other productions have been Seussical, Jr, Getting to Know You, The King and I, and our first show, Getting to Know You, Oklahoma!. Since it was our first show on the main stage, it was only fitting that it be their first show, too. We have ongoing dramatic classes for young and older alike and will soon start producing year-round productions, which feature non-musical dramatic presentations as well.
In short, The West Side Civic Theatre is the perfect community theatre. Abe would have been proud. It is a theatre of the people, by the people and for the people. Performances are free of charge thanks to the generosity and foresight of the Town of Lewisville, who use Parks and Recreation funds to provide this wonderful service to the citizens of their town. What a great gift! And, what a great idea! However, town funding will not support us in our year round endeavors or provide us with a home, storage facilities, equipment and pay for our staff. We have been volunteering most of our services from the very beginning, and it's time to grow to our full potential. Please, if you haven't already, consider becoming a family member.
If you haven't seen one of our productions, come on out, bring a lawn chair, and bring it early. During The Sound of Music the chairs started arriving at midnight, and they have been arriving that way ever since.
Thanks to everyone who's been involved! You are the best! And thanks to our wonderful supporters. We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have.