Lullaby of Broadway Opens at SAS

The SAS Players will present “The Lullaby of Broadway,” a musical revue, Friday–Sunday, Feb. 6–8, in McCrory Hall for the Performing Arts on the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School campus. Show times are 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 6, and Saturday, Feb. 7, with a 4 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Feb. 8.

As a gesture of thanks for the support the SAS Theatre Program has received in the past, admission will not be charged for any of these performances. Instead, there will be a pay-what-you-can donation box to offset production costs. For more information go to <sasweb.org>.

SAS Players Present Godzilla

St. Andrew’s-Sewanee Players will present “Godzilla,” an original John Holleman production, Oct. 24–26, in McCrory Hall for the Performing Arts. Performances will be at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Oct. 24–25, and 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 26.

Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for children under 10. SAS students attend free. 

“Like Dracula, Godzilla is more than a monster,” said John Holleman, SAS theatre director and playwright. 

“It is an entire modern mythology including sequels, spin-offs, remakes, novelizations, comic books, cartoons, television series and parodies. In Godzilla’s case, the origin was ‘Gojira,’ an ambitious horror film from a Tokyo film studio in 1954. This movie about a giant monster, ‘kaiju’ in Japanese, was a celebration of destruction in which the first audience got to see the very building they were sitting in being monster-crushed in the film. 

“Beneath the surface, the story reflected many real anxieties and tragedies of the people of that time and place. The film was a monster hit in Japan, and a year later American producers invested in the film. They presented in America an audacious and unprecedented refashioning of the film, retitled ‘Godzilla, King of the Monsters.’”

The SAS Players are proud to contribute to the mythology of Godzilla with their creation of a live theater reinterpretation of “Gojira” and “Godzilla, King of the Monsters.” The production features bold movement-theater, and a 35-member ensemble aesthetic that includes every cast member playing roles and serving as stagehands. The play recreates the joy of a good horror film, while reflecting a bit of Japanese culture and the American culture of the 1950s.

Civic Association Hears Updates on Parks and Community Chest

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

Members and guests attending the Nov. 13 dinner meeting of the Sewanee Civic Association heard updates on the Community Chest fund drive, the historical marker commemorating the desegregation of Sewanee Elementary School and the renovation of Elliott Park. Robie Jackson, performing arts coordinator for St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School (SAS), gave a slide show presentation about the SAS Players’ summer trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. 

The Community Chest fund drive, sponsored by the Civic Association, has reached half of the $108,000 goal for the 2013–14 academic year. Civic Association Vice President Kiki Beavers stressed that every dollar donated to the Community Chest “stays here” and will help finance the needs of 28 area organizations and programs, if the goal is met.

The Civic Association has received approval from the Tennessee State Historical Commission for a historical marker to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Sewanee Elementary School (SES). The 1963 lawsuit brought by eight Sewanee families was unique for involving both black and white plaintiffs. The marker will be unveiled at a commemorative ceremony at 2 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 19, at SES. Elizabeth Clark Duncan and Cameron Swallow chair the planning committee and invite community involvement.

The marker was paid for with subscription fees to Sewanee Classifieds, a community email list sponsored by the Civic Association. To subscribe to Sewanee Classifieds ($10/annually) visit the Civic Association website, <sewaneecivic.wordpress.com>. For more information email <sewaneecivic@gmail.com>.

Board member Steve Burnett said the Parks Committee was researching playground equipment for the renovation of Elliott Park. The committee sent a  Request for Information to several playground equipment companies. Burnett received an inquiry about the disrepair of the grills in the pavilion at Lake Cheston. The grills have since been removed. Burnett will look into possible remedies.

SAS Performing Arts Coordinator Robie Jackson teaches theater to sixth- through twelfth-grade students. Jackson praised the SAS theater program for making it possible to nurture aspiring actors over the course of six years. In 2011 and again in 2012, SAS was nominated to participate the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2012, Jackson “felt like we were ready” and undertook the demanding application process. SAS was among only 50 high schools accepted to participate out of 1,099 applicants.

The next hurdle was financing the trip. The cost was $6,075 per student with each student’s family required to contribute $2,000. The SAS theater program raised $68,000 through benefits, a rummage sale, theater productions and an online campaign.

The 12 students and their SAS chaperones arrived in the United Kingdom on July 30 and after two days in London, headed for Edinburgh. The Fringe Festival includes over 1,800 performances of theatre, dance and comedy during its three-week run. The SAS players gave four performances of “The Ants” on four consecutive days. SAS film instructor (and Jackson’s husband) John Holleman wrote the play.

The next meeting of the Sewanee Civic Association is scheduled for Feb. 5.

New Play at SAS Oct. 25

“Crimson Fairy Tales,” the new play by the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee Players, will open at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25, in McCrory Hall for the Performing Arts at SAS. 

A collaborative venture with the 32 cast members, director John Holleman sent each of the actors home with a copy of one of Andrew Lang’s “Color Fairy Books” earlier in the semester. The assignment was to select any story, read it and then tell it to the cast the next day. Many stories later, Holleman and the ensemble knitted together their own take on the fairy tales. This is the SAS Players’ first home production following their critically acclaimed performances at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, this summer.

The play will also be performed at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26, and 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 27. Tickets will be available at the box office; they are $7 for adults and $5 for children under 10; SAS students get in for free.