LYRIC STAGE PRESENTS WEST SIDE STORY
SEPTEMBER 5-14, 2008
Carpenter Performance Hall
Lyric
Stage, Dallas County's only locally produced professional musical
theater company, opens its sixteenth season with WEST SIDE STORY,
September 5-14, 2008. Performances are Thursday-Saturday evenings
@ 8:00 PM with matinees on Sundays @ 2:30 PM. Performances are
in the Irving Arts Center's Carpenter Performance Hall, 3333
N. MacArthur Blvd. Irving, TX. Tickets can be Ordered
Online by Clicking Here or by calling the box office
at 972-252-2787.
Lyric Stage Founding Producer Steven Jones wanted a director
with a direct connection to Jerome Robbins to stage WEST SIDE
STORY, so he contacted Tony Award winning director and original
WEST SIDE STORY cast member Grover Dale. "When I first
spoke with Grover, he had just returned from Japan, where he
had seen a production of WEST SIDE STORY. He was excited about
the prospect of staging the show with many of the subtleties
and nuances of the original Broadway production on a large stage
with a full orchestra," Jones said. "Opportunities
to witness an American classic musical supported by a 32-piece
orchestra," claims Dale, "are rare to come by. The
brilliance of Leonard Bernstein / Stephen Sondheim's score as
well as Jerome Robbins' choreography will definitely get its
chance to shine."
Jay Dias, music director of last seasons' CAROUSEL, returns
to Lyric Stage as music director for WEST SIDE STORY. Kate Swan
will recreate the original Jerome Robbins choreography. Lighting
design is by Julie Moroney, costumes by Drenda Lewis, properties
and scenic realization by Jane Quetin and sound design by Bill
Eickenloff.
Micah Shepard and Kimberly Whalen are star crossed lovers Tony
and Maria. Antonio Jimenez is Bernardo and Christie Peruso is
Anita. The Jets: Philip Groft, Brett Quine, Harry Feril, Jeremy
Dumont, Jason Mayfield, Stephen Langton, and Tyler Donahue.
The Jet Girls: Lili Froehlich, Hannah West, Ryan VanCompernolle,
Meghan Fluker and Kellie Carroll. The Sharks: Sergio Garcia,
Mario Martinez, Alexander Arroyo, Peter Romaniello and David
Staggers. The Shark Girls: Amanda Passanante, Melody Denoia,
Kristin Smith, Koreyci Barreto and Angela Moore. The adults:
Donald Jordan, Francis Fuselier, John Davies and Gordon Fox.
Tickets, priced from $20-$50, can be Ordered
Online by Clicking Here or by calling the box office
at 972-252-2787. Performances are September 5-14 in the Irving
Arts Center’s Carpenter Performance Hall.
In
1953 Grover Dale, a skinny young man from McKeesport, Pennsylvania,
boarded a bus for New York with $130 in his pocket and a dream
in his heart. He was totally unaware that the career he was
about to embark on would catapult him from the choruses of Broadway
musicals into principal movie roles alongside Gene Kelly, Debbie
Reynolds, and George Chakiris. It never would have occurred
to him that he would be cast in the original company of "West
Side Story," be discovered by Noel Coward in Paris, be
praised by Judy Garland in London, be fired by Agnes de Mille
in New York, beat out Dustin Hoffman for an acting role on a
daytime soap, swim with Esther Williams on CBS' first color
broadcast, teach Barbra Streisand the "lindy" for
"The Way We Were," splatter a rotten tomato on Debbie
Reynold's face in the film of "Unsinkable Molly Brown,"
dine in the south of France with Orson Wells and Marlene Deitrich,
or co-direct a Broadway musical with Jerome Robbins. All of
this was in store for the skinny young man who learned to tap
dance from Lillian Jasper in at the Three Sisters School of
Dance.
In 1954, Grover Dale showed up at Bob Fosse's audition for
"The Pajama Game." Thinking it didn't matter that
he was dancing in the back row, Grover was certain that good
dancers get noticed regardless of which line you were in. He
was wrong. He didn't make the cut. For a young man destined
to have a lengthy career, Grover had a lot of learning to do.
His inexperience may have kept him hidden from Bob Fosse,
but it didn't get in the way of being cast by Michael Kidd the
following year for "L'il Abner." After a full season
as an "employed" dancer, Grover auditioned for the
notorious genius/task master, Jerome Robbins. Forsaking the
tendency to dance in the back row, Grover stepped forward and
competed with hundreds of other dancers eager to be cast in
the original production of "West Side Story." Five
days after signing a contract, Grover arrived at the first rehearsal
with Snowboy's eight lines of dialogue memorized. He assumed
that was the only preparation necessary. Once again, Grover
had more lessons to learn.
Overwhelmed by Robbins' demands for acting skills, Grover
realized he was in trouble. Applying "objectives"
and "motivating movement" was a language he wasn't
familiar with. His enthusiasm and love for dance wasn't enough.
Taking
on the task of saving his job challenged every resource he could
muster. By the time WSS completed its tryout in Philadelphia,
Grover's role of Snowboy was no longer in jeopardy. In fact,
his name was added to the show poster.
WSS was a turning point in Grover's education. In the years
that followed, he grasped the idea that preparing for the next
opportunity never stops. There's always a new skill or a new
technique to be mastered. "Frankly," he suggests,
"if a performer isn't on the path to more growth, they
might as well pick another profession...!"
Exposure to artists like Jack Cole, Joe Layton, Tony Charmoli,
Michael Bennett, Peter Gennaro, Gwen Verdon, Onna White, Graciela
Daniele, Herbert Ross, Ann Reinking, Rob Marshall, Susan Stroman,
and Gillian Lynne have given Grover as many growth opportunities
as one could wish for. Today, he's not only acknowledged for
professional achievements (the credits and list of honors are
at the bottom of this page..) but for his willingness to help
jump-start so many young dance careers through his writing.
Lyric
Stage, Dallas County's only locally produced professional musical
theater company, opens its sixteenth season with WEST SIDE STORY,
September 5-14, 2008. Performances are Thursday-Saturday evenings
@ 8:00 PM with matinees on Sundays @ 2:30 PM. Performances are
in the Irving Arts Center's Carpenter Performance Hall, 3333
N. MacArthur Blvd. Irving, TX. Tickets can be 
In
1953 Grover Dale, a skinny young man from McKeesport, Pennsylvania,
boarded a bus for New York with $130 in his pocket and a dream
in his heart. He was totally unaware that the career he was
about to embark on would catapult him from the choruses of Broadway
musicals into principal movie roles alongside Gene Kelly, Debbie
Reynolds, and George Chakiris. It never would have occurred
to him that he would be cast in the original company of "West
Side Story," be discovered by Noel Coward in Paris, be
praised by Judy Garland in London, be fired by Agnes de Mille
in New York, beat out Dustin Hoffman for an acting role on a
daytime soap, swim with Esther Williams on CBS' first color
broadcast, teach Barbra Streisand the "lindy" for
"The Way We Were," splatter a rotten tomato on Debbie
Reynold's face in the film of "Unsinkable Molly Brown,"
dine in the south of France with Orson Wells and Marlene Deitrich,
or co-direct a Broadway musical with Jerome Robbins. All of
this was in store for the skinny young man who learned to tap
dance from Lillian Jasper in at the Three Sisters School of
Dance.
Taking
on the task of saving his job challenged every resource he could
muster. By the time WSS completed its tryout in Philadelphia,
Grover's role of Snowboy was no longer in jeopardy. In fact,
his name was added to the show poster.