Curtain Call
Growing up in Fort Worth, I sometimes accompanied my parents to Casa Manana for summer-stock productions of Broadway shows. The first one I remember attending was ‘Hello Dolly’ starring Ruta Lee. That theatre-in-the-round experience gave 11-year-old me an appreciation of musicals that continues today.
Here’s my ranking of shows I have attended:
Top 5
Hamilton
Les Mis (Seen 7 times)
Phantom (6x)
Come From Away
Wicked
Next 5
Miss Saigon
Will Rogers Follies
Secret Garden
Million Dollar Quartet
Jelly’s Last Jam
11-20
Jesus Christ Superstar (3x)
Guys and Dolls
Five Guys Named Moe
Godspell (2x)
The Wiz
Putnam County Spelling Bee
Forever Plaid
Beehive
Kissless (Local H.S. production; never made Broadway)
The Classics
Annie
Annie Get Your Gun
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Damn Yankees
Evita
Fiddler on the Roof
Grease
Hairspray
Hello Dolly
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Mame
Man of LaMancha
Music Man
Oklahoma
Showboat
Sound of Music
West Side Story
3 I’ll Never See Again
Brigadoon
Li’l Abner
Starlight Express
2 I Haven’t Seen And Will
The Lion King
Dear Evan Hansen
1 I Like That Most Don’t
Cats
From 1974-76, Ruta Lee was co-host of High Rollers on NBC with a little known fellow Canadian: Alex Trebek. She headlined at Casa for decades – last performing there in 2015. Coincidentally, Ruta Lee was born on this date in 1935. Happy Birthday… and thank you.
