The Springer Opera House season

If you've read today's newspaper or went online last night, you know what the Springer Opera House is bringing to the Valley next season.

Just in case you didn't do either, here it is again.

ON THE MAINSTAGE:
Stand By Your Man: The Tammy Wynette Story: A musical revue about the First Lady of country music. Sept. 18-20, Sept. 25-28 and Oct. 2-4. At left, Debbie Anderson sings "Stand By Your Man" during Thursday's preview party.
Father of the Bride: The basis of the movies starring Spencer Tracy and later Steve Martin. Oct. 16-18, Oct. 23-26 and Oct. 30-Nov. 1
Hamlet: The Shakespeare classic about the prince of Denmark. Jan. 22-24, Jan. 29-Feb. 1 and Feb. 5-7.
Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Huck Finn helps his friend, Jim, a slave, escape to freedom. March 5-7, March 12-15 and March 19-21. At right, Springer artistic director Paul Pierce announces "Big River" at the preview party Thursday. And at left is Gerald Atkins singing "Muddy Water" from "Big River." Again, I'm so sorry I missed the party because I haven't seen Gerald in forever and I adore him.
Red, White and Tuna: It's the Fourth of July in Tuna, Texas, and the hijinks begin. April 30-May 2, May 7-10 and May 14-16.

THE STUDIO II SERIES
Menopause: The Musical: Set in a department store, four women with seemingly nothing in common but a black lace bra meet by chance and discover a cosmic connection — hot flashes, mood swings, memory loss, wrinkles, night sweats and eating binges. In Foley Hall. Nov. 6-9 and Nov. 13-15.
Charm School: Good-ol-boy warehouse worker Raymond Saunders ends up in diversity training. In Foley Hall. April 16-19 and April 23-25.

HOLIDAY SHOWS
Peter Pan: Musical about Wendy, Michael and John, who follow Peter Pan and Tinkerbell to Neverland. Nov. 28-29, Dec. 5-6, Dec. 12-14, Dec. 17-23.
A Tuna Christmas: It's Christmas in Texas' third-smallest town. In Foley Hall. Dec. 4-6, Dec. 11-14, Dec. 17-23.

The Springer Opera House is at 103 10th St., and Foley Hall, 1016 First Ave. Ticket prices have not yet been set. Call 706-327-3688 for details.

Now, I'm really excited about one show. And that's "Menopause: The Musical." It's not just because I'm going through it. A friend of mine, Lynna Schmidt, who's done several shows here, has been in the Atlanta cast forever. She started a limited run in the 14th Street Playhouse through April 20.

I keep saying I'm going to have to go see Lynna. A bunch of my friends and I just might.

And seeing "Big River" will bring back some fond memories of a lost friend. The late Madison Rivers Jackson III played Tom in "Big River" in 1990. He went on to perform in many Springer shows until his premature death on July 4, 1996. He died in his hometown of Memphis, of cancer.

Madison had a big, huge voice and a smile to match. People will remember him in shows like the "Driving Miss Daisy'' tour, ``Ain't Misbehavin','' ``Kudzu: The Musical,'' ``The Will Rogers Follies'' and ``A Raisin in the Sun.'' He was only 37.

There's a whole generation of actors who won't be able to learn from this wonderful man.

Sigh.

And then there is the battling show. Yup. The Chattahoochee Shakespeare Co. will present "Hamlet" in the fall, and the Springer will have it in January.

I'm not sure what Troy Heard has in mind for his version, but Paul Pierce of the Springer says he's putting his "Hamlet" in contemporary times.

This should be very interesting.

For the first time, the Springer honored a group of very deserving people. These are the folks who kept live theater alive for many years. They are the one who formed the Columbus Little Theater and then helped save the Springer from becoming a parking lot. When the theater reopened in 1965 after renovation, they are the ones who kept working. So these dedicated people not only worked on the stage, they worked in the box office, built and painted sets, worked the spotlights and took up tickets. About 30 of them came to the Springer Thursday night to accept a token of the theater's appreciation. I wish I had all of the names. When I get them, I'll post them.
And another worthy person was honored Thursday night. Janice Biggers got two surprises. One was the star in the sidewalk in front of the Springer in her cousin Truman Capote's name and the other was the renaming of Pigeon Alley to the Hall of Legends.

Frankly, I like Pigeon Alley. It's the hallway that connects the Mainstage to the Saloon. Before the 1999 renovation, it had concrete floors and walls and the ceiling was all exposed pipes. It was always damp. When the renovation was finished and I walked in there. I turned to Paul and asked, "This is Pigeon Alley?" I swear that's the one part of the renovation that always amazed me.

To have it named in honor of Janice is a wonderful thing. She and a small group of Columbus citizens saved the building. We should all bow down to Janice and her gang.

Unfortunately, I couldn't be at the preview party Thursday night. I promised Chef Dennis Neuhring of Columbus Cooks that I would do a cooking demonstration for him.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that 16 people signed up for the class.

Yikes!

Well, I got through it. And people seemed to like what I cooked. Dennis asked me to come back.

Getting back to the Springer. When I wrote the story for today's paper, I interviewed several people who love theater. This part got cut from the paper. But here are some comments:

"Well, I like it. I'm excited about 'Red, White and Tuna.' And I'm glad we're doing more Shakespeare.
" 'Menopause: The Musical' is wonderful. We took a group of ladies from the club to Atlanta to see it. And I want to do that. That would be cool." — Karen Lord, a frequent actor on the Springer stage who works at the Country Club of Columbus.

"It sounds like a decent season. We're reviving a musical ("Big River"), doing a comedy that hasn't been done here ("Menopause: The Musical") and a title that everyone should know ("Father of the Bride"). It should be a lot of fun and a lot of people should enjoy it.
" 'Menopause: The Musical' is hysterically funny. Everybody will love it. I felt a little uncomfortable, being a male, but I knew every tune. I just loved the characters.
"The 'Tuna' is going to sell. Everybody loves the 'Tunas.' 'Hamlet,' we haven't done since Alabama Shakespeare Festival came and did it. And before that, it was Edwin Booth." — Steve Valentini, a Springer stage veteran, now working for the IRS.

"I actually worked with the woman who costumed 'Stand By Your Man: The Tammy Wynette Story.' It's a real crowd pleaser. It was a nice show that people really enjoyed. She really enjoyed that show, which surprised me because it is not her cup of tea.
"I am tickled that they're doing 'Big River.' It's such a great choice for that space.
"I have a friend who stage managed 'Menopause: The Musical.' It's a show that most men will hear that title and say, 'Ewww.' But it's fun and it's even-handed. It's just fun. It's a female musical that everybody gets.
" 'Hamlet.' Wow! 'Hamlet' is 'Hamlet' no matter what. It's always great to tie into schools. It's important and necessary literature but it should be seen on stage and not just read." — Greg Thompson, an actor who appeared in shows like "Grease" and "Singin' in the Rain" at the Springer and played Darrell Waltrip in ESPN's "3," which starred Barry Pepper as Dale Earnhardt. He recently moved to Los Angeles from Atlanta to break into the film industry.

"I think it sounds like a great season. It's very diverse. Selfishly, I'm glad they're doing 'Big River.' That was the first show I ever did; ever auditioned for (in 1990). I loved that show. That show changed my life. It seems like just yesterday to me. Really, it took my life into a different direction. I was playing basketball at Columbus College (now Columbus State University). No one was more surprised than my parents that I auditioned. My parents are season ticket-holders now, too.
"I cannot tell you how excited I am that it's going to be back on stage.
" 'Peter Pan' at Christmas. That's a gorgeous, beautiful show. It's the perfect Christmas show.
"It's a really great season." — Kelli Franklin, who went on to star in shows like "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (twice), "Seussical," "The Rocky Horror Show," "The Will Rogers Follies" and "Annie Warbucks." She is now a pharmaceutical rep.