The family that plays together
Grandfather, grandson play matching acting roles more than 40 years apart
“I love acting. It’s fun being someone else. You can drop the troubles of the world, leave all that behind for a little while, and not have to worry about that, just worry about the show.”
When Taylor Coleman appears on the Sullivan Performing Arts Center stage tonight, he will follow in the footsteps of his grandfather who played the lead role in “The Music Man” more than 40 years before. The Texas High School senior comes from a family of thespians, beginning with his grandfather Curt Whited, who starred in a Wichita, Kansas, community theater production of the musical in 1969.
Both grandfather and grandson are veteran community theater actors, having performed in several Texarkana’s Tex*Rep productions in the past. Both performed in Tex*Rep’s version of “The Music Man” in 2003, as did Taylor’s mother and grandmother, Amy Coleman and Peggy Whited.
“That was my first play. I was 8 years old and I played one of the town kids,” Taylor said.
In this weekend’s THS production, Coleman plays Professor Harold Hill, a con man who pretends to be a boys’ band leader to sell instruments and uniforms to parents in River City, Iowa. The plot thickens when Hill falls in love with the town’s librarian, who thinks the newcomer is not who he says he is. The musical was a hit on Broadway in the late 1950s and further popularized with a movie in 1962.
Whited said the entire family knows the songs by heart as they have been singing their “Music Man” favorites for years.
“Even my dad has heard them so much he knows the songs,” Taylor said.
Whited has helped his grandson read lines as he prepares for his starring role, while Taylor’s mother has also been helping out with the production, working behind the scenes with director Michael Cooper and the cast of about 70 students.
The grandfather said he has gone to a couple of the high school cast’s rehearsals and he cannot wait to see the show.
“This group of kids at Texas High, they’ve got some real talent. Michael Cooper is directing, and anything he puts his hands on turns out great,” Whited said.
Cooper has worked with the entire family before during his time as Tex*Rep artistic director and Texarkana College’s director of the Visual and Performing Arts Department.
Taylor’s dad, Dan Coleman, said he plans to see all four shows, beginning Thursday night and ending with the Sunday matinee.
“Taylor’s always been an entertainer—since he was a year-anda-half old. He gets that from his mother,” Coleman said.
“I love acting. It’s fun being someone else,” Taylor said. “You can drop the troubles of the world, leave all that behind for a little while, and not have to worry about that, just worry about the show.”
Grandson and grandfather banter easily and praise each other’s acting abilities.
“I think it’s wonderful and it’s fun to follow in his footsteps,” Taylor said of his grandfather. “We relate to each other a lot. It will be one of those stories we can tell, that we played the same part years apart. It’s really an awesome experience to share that with him.”
“I’m proud of him,” Whited said. “And I know he and that cast are going to do a great job. It’s a show people need to plan on seeing.”
Taylor, who is also an Elvis impersonator and member of International Thespian Society, has acted in other local productions, including “Hairspray,” “Into The Woods,” “You’re A God Man Charlie Brown,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Holes” and “Spamalot.” He plans to audition for Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” the high school’s UIL One Act Play.
He said he has applied to Missouri State University, where he wants to study theater and earn a Master of Fine Arts degree.
“If acting doesn’t work out and take me where I want to go, I want to go to the police academy,” he said.
The Tiger Theatre Company’s performances of “The Music Man” begin at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. All shows will be in the John Thomas Theatre of the Sullivan Performing Arts Center, 3941 Summerhill Road.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and free for children under 7. TISD employees receive free admission with badge.