Tag Archives: entertainment

The final curtain descends on To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday this Saturday at the Mesquite Arts Center.  The Michael Brady play, under the direction of Brad Stephens, has moved hundreds to laughter and tears since opening on April 10th.  The critically acclaimed production is the second in Mesquite Community Theatre’s highly successful 25th Anniversary Season.

DAVID is in perpetual mourning for his wife, killed two years ago in a boating tragedy on her birthday.  Retiring to his summer cottage in Nantucket with his teenage daughter, David prepares to spend a weekend celebrating Gillian’s life on the anniversary of her death.  Joining them is Gillian’s sister, brother-in-law and a woman from David’s past.  But while his family hopes to lure him out of his grief, David has resurrected his wife in his mind, sinking ever deeper into depression and further from those who care for him.

Only three more shows remain – Thursday, April 23rd and Friday, April 24th with the final performance Saturday, April 25th.  Curtain for all shows is 8 PM.  Don’t miss your chance to see what The North Dallas Gazette promises “is well worth the drive to Mesquite!”

All performances are held in the Black Box Theater at the Mesquite Arts Center, 1527 N Galloway Avenue in Mesquite, Texas.  Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for students, seniors and S.T.A.G.E. members, and $8 for children 2-6 years old.  All tickets for Thursday’s show are $10.  Cash or check only, please.  No credit or debit cards accepted.

Though not required, reservations are recommended to assure your seat.  For reservations call (972) 216-8126 or e-mail Reservations@mctweb.org.  Be sure to include your full name, phone number and the number of $12.00, $10.00 and $8.00 tickets you wish to reserve as well as the performance date and time.

Mesquite Community Theatre continues their Silver Anniversary season with their second production, To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday, opening tonight at the Mesquite Arts Center. The Michael Brady play is my D/FW stage directing debut. Thursday’s preview audience responded very favorably with laughter and tears in all the right places.  My cast, as always, exceeded my expectations and truly delivered heartfelt performances.  I could not be more proud!

Performance schedule is as follows:

• Friday, April 10, 2009 at 8 PM
• Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 8 PM
• Sunday, April 12, 2009 at 2:30 PM ($10)
• Friday, April 17, 2009 at 8 PM
• Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 8 PM
• Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 2:30 PM ($10)
• Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 8 PM ($10)
• Friday, April 24, 2009 at 8 PM
• Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 8 PM

All performances are held in the BLACK BOX THEATER at the Mesquite Arts Center (MAC), 1527 N Galloway Avenue in Mesquite, Texas.  Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for students, seniors and S.T.A.G.E. members, and $8 for children 2-6 years old.  Cash or check only, please.  No credit or debit cards accepted.

Though not required, reservations are recommended to assure your seat.  For reservations call (972) 216-8126 or e-mail: Reservations@mctweb.org.  Be sure to include your FULL NAME, PHONE NUMBER and the number of $12.00, $10.00 and $8.00 tickets you wish to reserve and the PERFORMANCE DATE & TIME.

Auditions for Mesquite Community Theatre’s 2009 production of To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday were held last week.  After two rounds of auditions and a round of callbacks, the cast of the Michael Brady play has been set.  They are as follows:

• Josh Hepola, David
• Rebekah Kennedy, Rachel
• Ragen Jansky, Cindy
• Larry Jack Dotson, Paul
• Lacy Lambert, Esther
• Jenny George, Kevin
• Arlette Morgan, Gillian

Congratulations go out to all who participated.  We had a great turnout and I had a hard time boiling down to my final choices due to the quality of reads from those who attended.  It pained me to turn away more than a few performers.  My thanks to all of you for making my decisions so difficult.

Mesquite Community Theatre continues to celebrate its 25th anniversary season with the opening of To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday on April 10, 2009.  Please visit www.mctweb.org for showtimes and ticket information.  Reservations recommended.

THIS WEEK, Mesquite Community Theatre announced auditions for their upcoming production of To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday by Michael Brady.  Directed by Brad Stephens, auditions will be held over two evenings in February at the Mesquite Arts Center.

DAVID is in perpetual mourning for his wife, killed two years ago in a boating tragedy on her birthday.  Retiring to his summer cottage in Nantucket with his teenage daughter, David prepares to spend a weekend celebrating Gillian’s life on the anniversary of her death.  Joining them is Gillian’s sister, brother-in-law and a woman from David’s past.  But while his family hopes to lure him out of his grief, David has resurrected his wife in his mind, sinking ever deeper into his fantasies and further from those who care for him.

The character breakdown is as follows:

• DAVID, age 37, a college professor, temporarily retired
• RACHEL, age 16, David’s daughter
• CINDY, age 16, Rachel’s friend
• PAUL, age 38, David’s brother-in-law, married to Esther
• ESTHER, age 39, David’s sister-in-law, a psychologist, married to Paul
• KEVIN (female), age 28, friend of Paul and Esther, recently divorced
• GILLIAN, age 35, David’s former wife who died in a sailing accident two years prior to the events of the play; Esther’s sister

Please use the above as a guideline as the director is casting characters rather than ages.  Anyone even remotely close to character descriptions are encouraged to attend the auditions scheduled at 7:00 PM on Monday, February 9 and Tuesday, February 10, 2009.

The Mesquite Arts Center is located at 1527 N. Galloway Avenue in Mesquite, one mile South of Highway 80 on Galloway at Range Drive.  Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script.  No appointment is necessary. Bring head-shot and resume if available.  Interested parties are encouraged to RSVP on FaceBook by clicking this link.

Rehearsals will run Monday through Thursday from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM beginning Wednesday, February 18, 2009.  Performances begin April 10, 2009 and run through April 25.  Please visit the Mesquite Community Theatre website for more information or call 972-216-8126.