Did MST Lead The Way?

Great article in today's Chronicle Zest Section about Piazza. It is funny that Mr. Evans references the Weston Playhouse production. I was as surprised as anyone to see that their production included a smaller orchestra and a cast of only 8!

Back in April, when MST first began negotiations with the R&H Library to do the show, they were asking us about how we would support the full 11-piece orchestration. Our response was we couldn't! It was then that careful negotiations began for us to do it with a smaller orchestra of 6. The R&H Library, with a Tony award winning score to offer, were naturally apprehensive. But after a few conversations with our Musical Director, Glenn Sharp, who lead our glorious 2008 production of CAROLINE, OR CHANGE with a 5-piece band, were they convinced we had the vision and passion to do THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA justice.

It was then, later that summer, when I read on Playbill.com about Weston's "chamber version" of the show. The production was created in direct collaboration with Adam Guettel, utilizing and orchestra of 6 and a cast of 8.

I can't help but wonder if MST didn't lead the charge in making the case that there was a long and beautiful life awaiting PIAZZA in the smaller regional theaters all over the country.

And that's the word on the street!

The MST Q&A: Claire Hart-Palumbo

Main Street mainstay Claire Hart-Palumbo appears as Amy Griggs in BUT NOT GOODBYE, closing this weekend. Get to know a little more about Claire as she answers MST's Q&A...



Full given name: Claire Louise Hart (married name/Equity name Hart-Palumbo)

Hometown: Lexington, Texas

Zodiac sign: Taurus

Audition Monologue/Song: Lady Macbeth

Special skills: Twirling and roller skating

First Houston show ever saw: TUT's Oliver in 1974(?) at Miller outdoor theater.

Current show you have been recommending to friends: Cyrano de Bergerac at the Alley.

Favorite show tune: Crazy World (right now)

MAC or PC? Formerly MAC, currently PC because of work.

Most played song on your iPod: I don't own one.

Last book you read: The Secret Lives of Bees

Must-see TV show: Grey's Anatomy and The Starter Wife

Last good movie you saw: Road to Rodanthe, even though it got bad reviews.

Favorite board game: Trivial Pursuit

Performer you would drop everything to go see: Well, I would say Bruce Stringstein, but the last time he was in town I couldn't go because I was in rehearsal.

Pop culture guilty pleasure: QVC

First stage kiss: With a man? That is way too long ago. With a woman? 8x10 Glossy at the Group Theater.

Favorite post-show meal: WhataBurger

Worst onstage mishap: I shattered a wineglass in my hand in "Heidi Chronicles" and cut my palm. Joe Kuykendahl (spelling?) was playing opposite me. We were having a lover's quarrel at HIS WEDDING to someone else. I tried to hide the blood, he calmly pulled out his pocket handkerchief and tied it around my hand and never missed a beat. Several friends later asked us how we did the 'blood' effect. HAAAA

Worst costume ever: Split riding skirt as Belle Starr in "Wilde West", I looked like a semi-truck.

Favorite cereal: Special K with berries

Who would play you in the movie? Claire Danes as the young me and Judith Ivey as the current me, but only if she put the weight back on.

Worst job you ever had: cleaning hotel rooms.

TV or commercial gig you most enjoyed: Reliant commercial in a beauty shop.

BUT NOT GOODBYE, plays our Rice Village location through December 28, 2008. For tickets, please call 713-524-6706.

And that's the word on the street!

Is This Hot Enough For You?

We held our photo shoot for THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA last night. This was the result.

Fabrizio (Ross Chitwood) and Clara (Haley Dyes) give into their passion in MST's production of THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

Is it just me, or is it hot in here?

And that's the word on the street!

The MST Q&A: Alan Hall

Alan Hall appears as Pa Ingalls in A LITTLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS, closing public performances this week. Get to know a little more about Alan as he answers MST's Q&A...



Full given name: Alan Charles Hall

Hometown: Houston

Zodiac sign: Sagitarius

Audition Monologue/Song: Changes frequently

Special skills: Amazingly unmusical on a variety of instruments

First Houston show ever saw: Lost in the mists of time.

Current show you have been recommending to friends: A Little House Christmas

Favorite show tune: One Night In Bangkok

MAC or PC? PC

Most played song on your iPod: Xanadu by Rush

Last book you read: Smash Mouth by Elvin Bethea and Mark Adams

Must-see TV show: House

Last good movie you saw: Tropic Thunder

Favorite board game: Risk

Performer you would drop everything to go see: Rush

Pop culture guilty pleasure: What Not To Wear

First stage kiss: Some Agatha Christie play in high school.

Favorite post-show meal: Anything.

Worst onstage mishap: Fell asleep onstage once long ago. Best part was, I didn't end up looking bad, the lead did.

Worst costume ever: Tiger stripe fuchsia g-string.

Favorite cereal: Frosted mini wheats.

Who would play you in the movie? I would, of course.

Worst job you ever had: Lawyer.

TV or commercial gig you most enjoyed: Nutty professor selling a chia monitor in a Compaq industrial.

A LITTLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS, based on Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder plays our Chelsea Market location Saturdays, through December 13, 2008. For tickets, please call 713-524-6706.

And that's the word on the street!

From Page to Stage

When creating the look for BUT NOT GOODBYE, costume designer Deborah Anderson started first with rough sketches to show director Steve Garfinkel how she imagined the show would look. Once that is agreed upon, the designer must then go and find what is available out in the world to match her/his design.

Here are a couple of Debi's "roughs" along side how the costumes were actually executed.

Amy (Claire Hart-Palumbo, left) accepts a rock specimen from boarder Howard (Kregg Alan Dailey, center) as Jen (Alison Coriell, right) looks on.



Ben (David Wald, left) stands aside while his son Sam (David Parker, right) attempts to haunt his old business partner Tom Carter (Jeffrey S. Lane, center) in vain.

Set by Trey Otis
Lighting by Bryan Nortin
Costumes by Deborah Anderson
Props by Richard Solis

BUT NOT GOODBYE is now playing on the MainStage at Main Street Theater - Rice Village through December 28th.

And that's the word on the street!

Yes, Laura, There Is a Santa Claus!

If you attend our performance of "A Little House Christmas", you might be shocked to hear the statement, "You are too old to believe in Santa Claus!"

Yes, it's true! Nellie Olsen does her best to ruin Laura Ingalls' Christmas by denying a belief that Laura holds dear.

Laura's resolve is shaken a bit, but she does a little investigation of her own. First, she talks to her Uncle George. Does he believe in Santa Claus? Why, of course he does. Then later, Mr. Edwards arrives on Christmas to share with the Ingalls sisters his tale of meeting St. Nick himself in town earlier Christmas morning.

By my reckoning, that is 1 against and 4 for Santa! Santa wins!

And, really, who are you going to believe? Nasty old Nellie Olsen or Laura Ingalls? I bet you know the answer to that question.

Mr. Edwards (played by Roc Living) tells Laura and Mary (Brittney Holdgraf and Jennifer Gilbert) about his encounter with Santa Claus. (also pic. Alan Hall and Linda Royce)

For more information about the existence of Santa Claus, check out www.newseum.org.

And that's the word on the street!

The MST Q&A: Julia Ethier

Julia Ethier (pictured center with Sarah Thomas and Taylor Cruse) appears in the Kids On Stage production of NUMBER THE STARS, presented at Chelsea Market this weekend, Nov. 21, 22 and 23. Get to know a little more about Julia as she answers MST's Q&A...


Full name: Julia Louise Ethier

Age: 9 ¾-years-old

Talents and hobbies (besides acting): I like to play sports, my guitar, board games, and drawing.

Pets: I have 2 adopted dogs, Parker and Godiva.

First live play you ever saw: The first live play I saw was either “Pippi Longstocking” or “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” when I was in kindergarten.

Most played song on your iPod: “Burning Up” by the Jonas Brothers

Favorite book: “Marley and Me”

Book that hasn’t been adapted as a play but should be: “Roxi and the Hooligans”

Actor you would most like to be in a movie with: Selena Gomez

Favorite thing to do to celebrate opening night: This will be my first opening night so I’ll have to let you know!

Funniest onstage mishap: Trying to pronounce the German words during rehearsal for the first time

Worst costume ever: A Mini Mouse costume my mom made for a dance at camp

Future career: Actor : )

NUMBER THE STARS plays our Chelsea Market location Nov 21-22, 2008 at 7:30pm and Nov 23, 2008 at 3:30pm. For tickets, please call 713-524-6706.

And that's the word on the street!

But Not Forgotten

This month, MST will start off the holiday season with the family comedy "But Not Goodbye". Written in the 1930s, Samuel French, a major publisher of play scripts, no longer publishes the script, but instead has a photocopy on file to copy and send to you.

Unfortunately, the copy is not the best, having had holes punched for its binding that went through the text itself.

When David Parker, leading character Sam Griggs, first did the show in 1950, he and fellow actors had to fill in the literal holes based on the surrounding text in a way that made sense.

So, imagine our surprise when Alison Coriell, playing Jennifer Griggs in our production, found a copy of the script in the MST library! Complete with actor notes and pictures from the original production, we can now fill in the proper words lost so long ago in the Sam French photostat room.

Come see "But Not Goodbye" as George Seaton intended. With all the words!

And that's the word on the street!

A Talk Back with Playwright Y York

On October 25, "... and L.A. Is Burning" playwright Y York returned to see the finished production and give a talk back about her prize winning play. Here is a brief overview of the event from my notes. (sorry if they are a bit sketchy...)

Approx. 60 people from the sold out house stayed for the event, prompting Y to say, "Oh God! You guys all stayed!"

Y was thrilled with the cast and the production.

When asked if the character of Sylvia was based on her, Y said that she wasn't specifically based on her, but that the person she is will come out in all her characters.

When writing a play, Y thinks about what the character expects from a scene and then thinks about how that goal is thwarted. A writer must be careful as they can jump to conclusions about their characters. Her goal is to write something that you have never seen on stage before.

When writing a play, there is no rule of thumb as to how long it takes to complete it. It can take weeks of even years. "... and L.A. Is Burning" was originally conceived in '92 during the events in L.A. while Y lived in Seattle. But it sat dormant for years until the character of Haddie came to the forefront of her consciousness again 2006. At that point, the story just started to flow and the finished play took about 6 months.

Why did you choose "The King and I" as a running theme through out the play?
"The King and I" is so much about race and all of Y's characters get associated with it in some fashion. In the middle of "King and I" is the presentation of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" which is viewed very differently by both Alvin and Haddie.

Y was able to join the cast during the first week of rehearsal. Very little of the script was changed during that time as the team worked on the script. Only about 5 lines were changed and the phrase during Sylvia's Act 2 monologue about "people without clout" was changed to "people without power".

When asked about her characterization of Haddie, Michelle Britton said she made the specific choice for Haddie to be deliberate and still as she tries to understand the people around her. She thinks of Haddie as both a listener and mimic as exemplified by how she imitates phrases from her favorite TV show, "The Cosby Show".

One closing thought from an audience member was that the play was a "rarity", because they felt that the actors, whom many of the audience were familiar with from their acting work in many Houston theaters, disappeared into their roles, becoming the characters they portrayed.

And that's the word on the street!

From Page to Stage

Art Ornelas makes his MainStage debut at a Set Designer with ...AND L.A. IS BURNING, making its world premiere at MST now through November 9.

When developing the set design, the designer may first draw up conceptual pieces like the elevations below to show the production team what they are imagining the space will look like. Below each elevation as originally conceived by Art is followed by a photograph of how the set design was actually executed.

Alvin (Timothy Eric) plans a practical joke on his unit partner in the office.



Haddie (Michelle Britton) introduces her pet fish to its new home.



Haddie warns Sylvia (Gwendolyn McLarty) of the hazards of wearing skirts with too short of a hemline in the dressing room of Nordstrom's.



Haddie considers the apology of friend and neighbor Sylvia at the local Safeway deli counter.

Set by Art Ornelas
Lighting by Daniel Polk
Costumes by Macy Peronne
Props by McKay Talley

And that's the word on the street!

Looking Back at Third

THIRD by Wendy Wasserstein made its Houston Premiere at Main Street Theater on September 4, 2008. Not to be undone by Hurricane Ike, THIRD persevered through storm, power outages and last minute venue changes. Here is a look back at the start of the MainStage season...

Laurie (Rebecca Greene Udden) introduces her class to King Lear.


Laurie learns that Nancy's (Rachel Dickson) cancer has returned.


Laurie confronts Third (Joshua Taylor) about plagiarizing his mid-term paper on Lear.


Third defends his paper to the committee.


Third meets Laurie's daughter Emily (Mollie Meagher) by chance in a townie bar.



Laurie and her father Jack (David Parker) dance under the stars.

Set by Jodi Bobrovsky
Lighting by Kent Arneson
Costumes by Troy Scheid
Props by McKay Talley

And that's the word on the street!

The MST Q&A: Jennifer Gilbert

Jennifer Gilbert appears as the Pig in IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PARTY, starting public performances this week. Get to know a little more about Jennifer as she answers MST's Q&A...


Full given name: Jennifer Louise Gilbert

Hometown: Houston, TX

Zodiac sign: Sagittarius

Audition Monologue/Song: Varies depending on the specific audition. General go-tos are Catherine in Proof and the songs “Moonshine Lullaby” and “On the Other Side of the Tracks”

Special skills: singing “Anything Goes” in Mandarin Chinese

Current show you have been recommending to friends: August: Osage County

Favorite show tune: Changes with the seasons. Current faves: “How Glory Goes” from Floyd Collins and “Say it Somehow” from The Light in the Piazza

MAC or PC? I’m a PC.

Most played song on your iPod: “Warwick Avenue” and “Stepping Stone” by Duffy

Last book you read: I just finished all 9 Little House books; what an amazing series!

Must-see TV show: What Not to Wear and Project Runway (Buffy is my all-time fave though!)

Last good movie you saw: The Dark Knight

Favorite board game: Not quite a board game, but I am partial to Rummikub.

Performer you would drop everything to go see: Mary Louise Parker

Pop culture guilty pleasure: Rock of Love (seasons 1 and 2)

Favorite post-show meal: Chocolate shake or anything fried.

Worst onstage mishap: I was in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and we had a small pool as part of the set. Water was splashed from it in one of the scenes, and as I made an exit one night, I slipped and fell straight on my bum while still on stage. Embarrassing and painful.

Worst costume ever: Both times I have performed in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, I played Woman 2 who sings “Always a Bridesmaid”. The dresses are meant to be awful and the costume designer did not disappoint either time. The most recent incarnation was a peachy, off the shoulder dress, with puffy sleeves, a tight bodice, and ultra full skirt with lots of tulle. In order to make it more hideous, the designer added four colorful bows to the bodice and gave me a comb for my hair that was decorated with a maroon flower, maroon tulle, and colorful ribbons. I was tres chic!

Favorite cereal: Quaker Oatmeal Squares (gotta love brown sugar!)

Who would play you in the movie? Laura Linney

IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PARTY, from the series of books by Laura Numeroff plays our Chelsea Market location Saturdays, now through October 25, 2008. For tickets, please call 713-524-6706.

And that's the word on the street!

When You Walk Through a Storm...

Here is a small account of how Main Street Theater survived Ike.

THURSDAY: The show will go one. Because of our experience with Rita, not only did Thursday night's show go on, we refused to cancel the rest of the weekend that early. The audience that night was a little smaller than it had been, but appreciative. Anything to take one's mind of the monster bearing down on us.

FRIDAY: Ike was still bearing down on us. We could no longer deny that Friday and Saturday's shows would have to be canceled. They say the show must go on, but not in 100mph winds!

SATURDAY: A call goes out from Caroline Scott, our Youth Theater Stage Manager, that the door at the back of the theater at Chelsea Market has been ripped off its hinges! Fearing the worst, I rush down to the theater to find Caroline (with friends Todd and Adam) trying to get the door up in its place. The theater is virtually untouched! I thought for sure that Jodi Bobrovsky's set, which is constructed mostly of paper, would be ripped to shreds by the wind that surly blew through the theater. All I can think is that the door, which had a core of press or particle board, soaked up water throughout the night and only in the morning did it fall off its hinges due to the added weight.

The lobby did get a lot of water. The second floor walkway that runs above us clearly has leak issues. Ceiling tiles throughout were water logged and water was pooled on the floor. But for the most part it seemed that the Chelsea Market weathered well. Power went out 13 times during the storm according to the credit card machine. BTW - Power remains out. Pray that the transformer that feeds the back of Chelsea Market runs on a separate line circuit from the front of Chelsea Market. Otherwise we could be in the dark a long time!

A tour of the Rice Village location that evening showed no power, downed phone lines and water in the front and back. The theater itself seemed okay. Due to the wind, water didn't pool on the roof, so the usual leaks didn't appear. We are thankful for that.

SUNDAY: With no power at either theater, not only was it impossible to have a show, it was impossible to tell anyone. The phone systems at both locations don't work without power so that means no message machine to tell you what is going on. And without an internet connection, I couldn't update the web site. I finally got one at home in the early afternoon and posted the changes.

A call came in from former Master Electrician that the door had fallen again, and a new effort was put in place to get it more secure.

THE NEW WEEK: Power is restored to the Village, but still not to Chelsea Market. We are slowly putting things back on track. First the curfew made it impossible to have evening shows (should we have power). We canceled shows as a result and moved Saturday's show to a matinee. Minutes later, the Mayor changes the curfew to Midnight and we move the show back to its regular time.

And in a swift move on the part of Education Director Troy Scheid, we put a "Hurricane Camp" together at St. Stephen's church to create a place for the kids to have some fun while the schools are closed.

If you missed a performance because of Ike, please see our web site for a reschedule date. If your performance is not rescheduled (like Thursday the 11th and Friday the 19th) please call the box office at 713-524-6706 and we can reschedule you to one of the remaining performances.

And that's the word on the street!

The MST Q&A: Josh Taylor

Josh Taylor, who plays the title character in Wendy Wasserstein's THIRD, is making his MST Debut. Get to know a little more about Josh as he answers MST's Q&A...

Full given name: Joshua Michael Ray Taylor

Hometown: Pasadena, TX

Zodiac sign: Capricorn

Audition Monologue: It's All True by Jason Sherman

First Houston show ever saw: Christams Carol at the Alley

Current show you have been recommending to friends: August Osage County.. read it.. fly to New York and see it..

Favorite show tune: Purpose: Avenue Q

MAC or PC? MAC is the only computer

Most played song on your iPod: What Goes Around by Justin Timberlake... embarrassing

Last book you read: The Essential Chaplin: Charlie Chaplin Biography

Must-see TV show: The Office

Last good movie you saw: The Dark Knight

Favorite board game: Sports Scene It

Performer you would drop everything to go see: Carrot Top.. no i don't know

Pop culture guilty pleasure: MTV

First stage kiss: Comedy of Errors in 8th Grade.. I was Dromio and accidently kiss Antipholus.. Antipholus is a man

Favorite post-show meal: Chicken Fried Chicken.. I'm a texan

Worst onstage mishap: Noises Off.. At one point there's a cactus being thrown around the stage.. Opening Night we find out it's a real cactus and there's real dirt underneath it.. Our Tim get's stickers in his hand and dirt goes everywhere so to add to the chaos we are trying to sweep the dirt off the stage and pick stickers out of Tim's hand while doing the rest of the show..

Worst costume ever: I hosted a Male Beauty Pageant in High School.. So not a real show but I was in full Drag

Favorite cereal: Frosted Flakes.. Lucky Charms if we're talking just eating them dry from the box

Who would play you in the movie? Jeremy Piven.. but it would probably be someone like Steve Buschemi to match the looks

Worst job you ever had: Manual Labor/Grounds Crew for Lee College.. in the summer.. in texas.. wow.. it's what i'm gonna do in hell

THIRD by Wendy Wasserstein plays our Chelsea Market location now through September 21, 2008. For tickets, please call 713-524-6706.

And that's the word on the street!

Show the Chronicle You Care

Help show the Houston Chronicle that you value arts coverage in Houston.

If you attend arts events in Houston, you need to show the Chronicle that you value their coverage of the local performing arts scene – including MST! If the head honchos at the Chronicle gauge how readers’ value the coverage by how many comments are listed on the web site at www.chron.com. Things are so precarious over there that local arts coverage could get pulled unless attention is paid to the web site.

Here’s what you need to do:

Any piece you read and find interesting, for example the feature on MST’s THIRD in the Chronicle (see http://tinyurl.com/mst-third ), you need to LEAVE COMMENTS in response to the piece written. Reviews, features, anything.

At the bottom of the web page, there is a section where you can leave comments. That’s all you need to do! You may need to get a chron.com login but signing up for one is easy and gives you options to NOT receive information as a result. But you need to leave feedback to these arts pieces so that the Chronicle will see they are of value to the community and keep doing them!

Thanks, all. And spread the word.

Is It Fall Already?

Can you believe it is fall already? I barely feel like we got a break over the summer.

Our biggest project this past month was implementing a new software system that will integrate all our programs into one big shared database. It is taking a lot of time to transition, but it is a huge step forward in technology and will help us scads as we grow as a company.

This change does affect the box office, so please forgive us if things are a little slow to begin with. One small change for those who subscribe with friends under one name; we gathered information about your groups so we could assign tickets to members if the group got split up. At this time, our new system won't allow for that. Lots of great new features, but we lose this ability. We ask for patience as we make this transition.

But with the fall upon us, the new season starts now! Wendy Wasserstein's Third previews this weekend and opens on the 4th. Yes, Third opens on the 4th. Don't let that throw you!

And that's the word on the street!

Hitting the Web!

Main Street Theater will be hitting the web with inside tidbits of what goes on at a small regional theater. Check back for our premiere post soon!