Shenan4

A Star(s) Is Born

by Terrell Shaw
As I helped much of the rest of the cast and crew of Peter Pan strike the set after the final performance, someone - I think Rudy - played the CD of Shenandoah with John Cullum as Charlie. It was the first time I had heard it. I loved it. There was talk of doing it at RLT the next year. But other projects intervened and four years passed.

Then after we finished our "mini" production of Oliver! in February of 1995, Rudy loaned me his tape of the score and asked if I thought the show might be something we could swing as a local attraction during the Olympics. I listened to the tape over and over and fell in love with the show. The Olympics production, of course, didn't work out, but I didn't let up on Rudy about it. I wanted to play Charlie!

At some point Rudy reappropriated the dream from me and started talking it up with others. During the course of our production of Cinderella last May, we made the decision to do it in 1998 - seven years after our first discussion of it. Then a whirlwind named Barbara Myers became involved and she and Rudy transformed the idea of "doing Shenandoah" into the idea of accomplishing real good for the community while establishing an outstanding bienniel community theatre. Stars was born.

I beleive a special musical production, alternating years with the wonderfully successful Follies, can become a tradition of equal dimensions and result in much good for our community and great opportunities for local actors and singers to be a part of larger scale musical theatre than is usually available. "Stars" is not intended to replace or compete with other musical theatre in Rome but to be something very special every other year.



For more information:

e-mail Terrell Shaw