Theater group applauds the media’s efforts
The Forum was among a number of local media companies to be recognized at this year’s Opera House Theatre Players Ynot Awards banquet Aug. 8 at the historic 1850s Excelsior House Hotel in downtown Jefferson, Texas.
The Ynot Awards get their name from the Antoinette Perry awards presented to productions in New York, called the Tony Award. The local group merely turned that name around.
The ceremony marked the end of the group’s 24th year of community theater production in the area. Board President Dorothy Craver announced this year’s recipients of the Lucille M. Terry Cultural and Performing Arts Award.
In presenting the award, Craver said, “When selecting the awardee for this 25th season, our board didn’t take long to come up with the foremost group that really keeps our face out there to the public – the media. As a nonprofit organization, we depend on word of mouth as well as media attention to get the information out there to Ark-La-Tex audiences.”
In addition to The Forum News, other print outlets to be awarded were The Jefferson Jimplecute, The Marshall News Messenger, The Shreveport Times, the Texarkana Gazette, Piney Woods Live Magazine, County Line Magazine, The Citizens Journal and American Profile. In addition, several local broadcast outlets were recognized including KMHT AM & FM, KTAL-TV, QXFM and KTBS. An Internet group, easttexastowns.com, was also recognized.
Each of the media organizations was awarded a trophy in the shape of a star.
The Players also recognized other assistance given during the last season, and its audiences voted on the top actors and performances of the season.
Dian Beaird was named Best Lead Actress in a comedy, Elena Bach received Best Lead Actress in a musical, Patrick Fortune was named Best Lead Actor in a musical, Christy Barnes was selected Best Supporting Actress in a musical, Karl Frederickson was chosen Best Supporting Actor in a musical, and Linzi Callaway was named the Rising Juvenile Star.
The season’s best production, according to the membership, was the just-concluded “White Christmas.”
Board member Sherry Elder was given a “Big Heart Award” in the form of a large, red heart-shaped wall clock for her service. Dorothy Jackson, a longtime member of the group, former secretary and scrapbook historian, was also recognized for her service over the past several decades.
This year marked the inauguration of a new award for the Players, called the Dorothy Spotlight Award in honor of 101-½-year-old Craver. The award will be presented to someone who calls attention to the Opera House Players in particular and Jefferson in general. The first recipient was Kathy Patrick, founder of the Beauty and the Book Salon, an organization that promotes literacy and the offshoot group, the Pulpwood Queens. Thomas said, “She was presented an appropriate gift that represented the Opera House Theatre Players’ appreciation, a pair of mother-of-pearl opera glasses, which are used for viewing theatrical performances.”
The evening also gave the group’s artistic director, Marcia Thomas, the opportunity to preview some of next season’s offerings for the troupe.
In introducing the kickoff production for the new season, Thomas displayed a life-size, stand-alone image of film star Marilyn Monroe that had a voice-activated message huskily inviting folks to “come and see me in Jefferson on Aug. 31, please.” The event will be called “An Evening with Marilyn: Dialogue and Song” and will be a fundraising event that will feature Mans field impersonator Jane Maddox. Thomas said the evening will be full of Marilyn’s songs as well as some of her signature costumes. Several of the actors who appeared in “White Christmas” will also be on hand to provide entertainment.
Thomas said the group needed to “get charged up again” after a season that considerably impacted the financial reserves of the company. They are planning to reprise several of their more popular fundraisers, including the Chocolate Sunday event and the Easter Parade.
Thomas said, “We’re just trying to stay alive like everyone else and have fun doing it.” Craver, who will turn 102 on Feb. 28, said, “I’m grateful that I was able to see all the shows.”
Joe Todaro may be reached at [email protected].
