‘The show must go on’

Area theater group goes to the extreme to keep performances on track

Hughes Springs’ Community Theatre of East Texas is getting accustomed to surviving “by the skin of its teeth.”

It did so for last’s week’s “Barefoot in the Park” production. A local hairdresser was called upon to play the feminine lead even though it was the first time she’d been on a theater stage.

Linda Shaddix had to do that when the original lead actress got sick four weeks before opening.

“I just went to my hairdresser and said, ‘Linda, you’ve got to help us!’” director Mandy Gammill said.

Performing for an audience was not really Linda’s challenge. She’s a musical singer and so performs. But “Barefoot in the Park” by Neil Simon is a sophisticated comedy about New York apartment living. That’s a lot of comedy to get across to any Northeast Texas audience, most of whom will hardly have climbed to an upstairs attic, much less six flights in New York.

“Linda has blown us away.

You’ll notice that she looks right at home on stage,” Gammill said in remarks before the concluding performance last week.

For fans of CTET, this experience recalls last year’s “A Christmas Story” in which, at the last moment, Alan Brent of Yorkshire, England—now living in Dallas—had to come on the day of performance to play the role of Scrooge.

The accomplished British actor had seen Gammill’s wail on the internet that the Christmas play would have to be canceled at the last moment because of an illness of the hometown Scrooge.

“I’ll come,” Brent said.

“Done it many times.”

The performance was excellent.

Community theater in Hughes Springs and Northeast Texas was organized in 2015. This year, CTET will perform “Rumors” by Neil Simon in May and “Ghost” by Bruce Rubin in August. A “HeeHaw” variety show is also scheduled in April, and several special events will keep the public’s enthusiasm high for community theater, organizers believe.

Here are pictures from CTET’s latest production of “Barefoot in the Park” that seems to continue the theatrical tradition of “the show must go on.”

Staff photo by Neil Abeles ■ The mother’s story (by Teresa Wooten) is not so unbelievable newlywed Carie (Linda Shaddix) tells husband (Mathew Nichols) in “Barefoot in the Park.”

Staff photo by Neil Abeles ■ Husband Paul (Mathew Nichols) has just tasted something hot from the mother (Teresa Wooten).

Staff photo by Neil Abeles ■ David McElhaney plays the crazy neighbor Victor Velasco who lives in the attic above newlyweds Paul and Carie Bratters.