40th anniversary show opens at Sixth Street Theater
Dian Springer-Griffin (seated center) goes through her book of 'Old Memories' during a recent performance of the Sixth Street Theater's 40th Anniversary Reunion Show. The emotional performance details Springer-Griffin's parents' involvement in the creation of the theater four decades ago.
Josh McDonald
WALLACE — Rooted in memories and nostalgia, the 40th Anniversary Reunion Show opened over the weekend at the Sixth Street Melodrama and Theater.
The show leans into the theater’s history and features a revolving cast of current actors, as well as thespians from the past four decades.
“We specifically designed the show to allow people to come in from different eras and perform,” director Norma Douglas said. “The show will look the same each time in terms of how it’s laid out, but the performers will all do something different, depending on who is there that night."
Douglas, also one of the show’s stars, has been involved with Sixth Street since 1992, but took time away when her kids were in grade school.
When she learned she was going to be in the director’s chair for the 40th anniversary, she wasn’t sure what the show was going to be, but she knew that she wanted to get as many folks as possible from the theater’s different eras.
“I was a little nervous, at first, because people weren’t returning my calls, but once one of them did, it was, like, everyone did,” Douglas said with a laugh. “We have so many strong personalities in this show, but, when we get to perform, it’s all worth it.”
Douglas’s favorite part of the show is the performance of Dian Springer-Griffin, a daughter of one of the theater's founders.
“Dian’s dad bought that building and paid all of the insurance on the building until his death and then he sold the building to the theater group for like, a buck, because he wanted the community to have that building,” Douglas said. “Her parents were so integral to the theater, there’s no way that we could’ve done a show like this without including them."
Douglas also wanted the show to be something the audience could participate in, so she grabbed music from other shows — songs that would be recognizable and would take the listener back to the first time they heard them.
“The familiar songs from the past are a lot of fun for everyone and they really show how diverse we’ve been over the years," Douglas said.
Cast members include Tina Trecker, Mallorie Flynn, Paul and Carol Roberts, Cody Sweat, Lisa Siri, Tonya Vaughn, Casey Duncan, John Rowe, Johnny Turner, Fred Bentley, Sue Hansen-Barber, Terri Robinson, Tony Underdahl, Ken and Cheri Bartle and accompanist Carl Rowe.
The theater is also selling raffle tickets for a handmade quilt from Bonnie Farmin.
The Sixth Street Melodrama and Theater’s 40th Anniversary Reunion Show will run weekends through March 17, with Friday and Saturday shows starting a 7 p.m. and Sunday shows beginning at 2.
Info, tickets: www.onthestage.tickets/sixth-street-melodrama