Thursday, April 17, 2008

Frisco theatre plans Plano performances

By Rick A. Elina of North Dallas Gazette

Word of Mouth Productions, a non-profit theatre company based in Frisco, Texas, is in the process of slating performances at Plano's own Art Centre Theatre in Historic downtown Plano. Becky McCants, Artistic Director for Word of Mouth, says, "Our mission is to provide the highest quality, family safe entertainment. Our first production, Smoke on the Mountain, debuted at a church in Frisco, in July of 2004." In fact, it is the lack of a viable performance space that brought Word of Mouth to Plano. Since its debut, Word of Mouth has produced many musical crowd pleasers such as All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Sander's Family Christmas, Schoolhouse Rock, Live! and Sleepy Hollow. They have also had great success with melodramas, such as The Saga of the Golden Horseshoe and Males Order Brides. It's not uncommon, in fact, it's almost required that these family-fun productions have audiences participating by booing, cheering and throwing popcorn at the actors. Kids of all ages love it!

Sarah VC Henderson, Artistic Director, of Teatro delle Muse, the resident company of the Art Centre Theatre, brokered and negotiated the deal that brought Word of Mouth to Plano. "It was my goal from the beginning, when we first took over this theatre, to offer something every weekend for the area residents. Word of Mouth brings a professionalism and quality to live theatre that complements our own mission. We are proud to have them in our space." Teatro delle Muse has just concluded its 2007-2008 season with Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, an all-African American production sponsored by The North Dallas Gazette.

Photo not provided by Word of Mouth Productions

Mrs. McCants recalls the steady growth of her theatre company over the last year. "Our third season has been a very exciting year of productions based on literary classics. From our mainstage productions of the musical adaptation of Sleepy Hollow to The Cricket on the Hearth, to our touring one act series including Rikki Tikki Tavi, The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Charlotte's Web, we have thoroughly enjoyed bringing to life the stories and characters from the books of Washington Irving, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, C.S. Lewis and E.B. White and hope that we have sparked incentives in children (and children at heart) to read, or re-read, these beloved tales."

The final production of their 2007-2008 season is Treasure Island: A Musical Adventure. Based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson, excitement is abundant in this high-stepping musical adaptation of a favorite childhood adventure story. Stevenson's thrilling tale of pirates, treasure maps, mutiny on the high seas has been a favorite for generations. The hero of the story, Jim Hawkins, is an ordinary youth drawn into a dangerous race for buried treasure against the treacherous Long John Silver. As the author himself wrote, "If this don't fetch the kids, why, they have gone rotten since my day." Mrs. McCants says this rip-snorting, rollicking, romp through a literary classic is sure to please audiences of all ages.

The Plano production starts on Friday, April 25, and features a talented cast of actors and technical crew from all parts of the Metroplex. The show is directed by Teresa Andrion of Frisco, with musical direction by Mike Terrill of Lewisville

Pegasus News content partner - North Dallas Gazette

Rick A. Elina is a playwright based in Plano, Texas and Theatre Critic for The North Dallas Gazette.

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Comments

Michael Schaefer Verified

Just want to send a shoutout to Becky's husband Gary. Whazzup?

Congrats to both of you on the success of the theater company. Keep up the good work.

1 year, 6 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )