Woodrow Musical “Little Shop of Horrors” Set for April 3-5
Woodrow Wilson High School’s 35th annual student musical production, “Little Shop of Horrors,” will be presented April 3-5 in the school auditorium, 100 S. Glasgow.
The comedy’s storyline takes place in and around a skid-row floral shop in the late 1950s. The shop is teetering on the brink of closing until an employee finds an unusual plant with a knack for attracting customers. The success also perks up the employee’s love life, until he discovers the plant requires human blood for survival.
“Little Shop” is the 16th Woodrow musical created by Marca Lee Bircher, Woodrow choral director, and Patti Hardman, a former Woodrow teacher who is now a choreographer in California. Hardman returns to Woodrow each year to choreograph the musical numbers, and is among numerous volunteers contributing their time to the annual production.
Other volunteers include Ken Hansen, art and set director; Monty Holamon, stage manager; Preston Bircher, lighting designer; Ron DeVies, sound technician; and musicians Jane Echols, Jim Echols and Richard Howell.
Featured performers include Clay Hundley, Tony Mayes, Megan Holley, David Cole, Melissa O’Neil, Tate Henderson, Leslie Barnes, Trey Pendergrass, Erika Kelley, Clay Drury, G.P. and Joe Theriot, Melinda Jones, Julie Lomonaco, Amanda Thompson and K.C. Naim. Senior jazz musicians Matt Cagley, Eddie Olivo, Matt Olin and Dominique Leone will be directed by Woodrow band instructor Richard Hayden.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Advance tickets are $7 for reserved seating, $6 for general admission; tickets also are available at the door for an additional 50 cents each. For information or tickets, call Janelle Dunsworth at 824-7624.
Prior to the Sunday performance, Woodrow alumni and friends are invited to Sunday brunch at LeCour’s Blue Front, 2221 Abrams, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Call the Alumni Association (601-2164) for reservations.
East Dallasites Elected Officers for Landmark Alliance
The Dallas Landmark Alliance, a non-profit historic preservation organization that works with the Dallas Landmark Commission, recently elected several East Dallasites as new officers and board members.
New officers include Bob Canavan, board chairman; Normal Alston, president; Craig Melde, vice president; Rosemary Henderson, treasurer; and Kara Kunkel, secretary. Kunkel also was elected to the board, while assistant City attorney Chris Bowers became an ex-officio board member.
Board members Alston, Kunkel, Paula Peters and Virginia McAlester are East Dallas residents.
Upcoming Alliance events include the April 26 presentation of a plaque to First Church of Christ, Scientist, designating the 80-year-old Downtown church’s Hook & Hastings pipe organ as a national Historic Organ.
On June 4-5, the Alliance co-sponsors a regional workshop on the care of older religious properties. Other sponsors for the workshop, entitled “Faith in Trust: Managing Texas’ Older Churches and Synagogues,” are the National Trust for Historic preservation and Partners for Sacred Places.
The group also has been active in attempting to save the Downtown Cotton Exchange Building from demolition, with possible conversion to residential use.
For information about the Alliance, call Alston at 826-8448.
St. Thomas Faces Changes in Fall School Program
This fall, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Elementary School students will notice a big difference: The Sisters who have provided some of the school’s staff since its opening in 1947 won’t be back.
“Lack of personnel” and “general aging of the Order’s population” were reasons for the change, says Father Stephen W. Bierschenk, pastor of St. Thomas. During the past few years, only four Sisters have been assigned to the parish, Bierschenk says.
A search committee of parents will assist in selection of a lay principal to assume Sister Constance Sabulauskas’ duties in September. Committee members include Dick Funst, Reggie Althoff, Lonnie Blaydes, Denise Bohac, Suzanne Jentsch, Susan Minshall and Roger Richards.
A school board also will be formed to oversee administration, with Bierschenk appointing a nine-member board for the first year, after which board members will be elected.
The parish school board will help establish a “primary vision of the school through direction and policy decisions,” as well as administrating the annual $800,000-plus budget, Bierschenk says.
This fall, an expanded pre-school and child-care program also will be implemented to meet the needs of parishioners. The parish convent will receive a $20,000 renovation to house the entire pre-school facility, including converting the first floor into classrooms, adding restrooms and carpeting, and purchasing classroom equipment and supplies.
For information and enrollment, call Rosemary Overbeck, 826-0566.
Lakewood Blooms Tour Sponsored by Clements
The Second Annual Lakewood Blooms Home Tour is scheduled from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, April 5, featuring 16 homes in Lakewood. Flower seed packages will be given free-of-charge to each person touring each home, says sales manager Ray Hardin, sales manager for Clements, Realtors. Tour participants also can register for a potted plant to be given away at each home, he says.
“This time of year makes us realize how fortunate we are to live in an area that has so much natural beauty,” Hardin says. “Someone can get enough seeds to plant a fantastic cutting garden just by touring our homes that day.”
Homes included on the tour include 7019 Tokalon, 7011 Hillgreen Circle, 6325 Mercedes, 6414 McCommas, 7007 Shook, 6934 Tokalon, 6464 Bob-O-Link, 6611 Velasco, 6905 Wabash, 6434 Kenwood, 6808 Kenwood, 6843 Northridge, 6650 Lakeshore, 7020 Greentree, 3205 Wendover Road, 6441 Sondra, 6455 Sondra and 6612 Westlake.
Call 823-2600 for information.
Preservation League Plans April 5 Auction
The Historic Preservation League’s seventh annual Toast to Texas Auction fundraiser is scheduled from 2-5 p.m. April 5 at the Granada Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse, 3524 Greenville, says league member Marjie Acheson.
Auction items include a money jar from Swiss Avenue Bank and getaway packages at the Hotel St. Germain, the Fairmont and the Harvey House, as well as collectables, art, antiques, sports tickets and photographs.
Food from local restaurants, including the Cabo Grill, Brazos, Vicks and Terrilli’s, will be featured, and a Murata/Muratec employee band will entertain.
League members involved in organizing the event include Rich and Susan Kaeufer (co-chairmen), Sue Dorsey, Bill Clark, Tina Watson, Ginnie Bivona and Susie Lowry.
Proceeds benefit the league’s preservation efforts, says Helen Swint, league president. The league is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Tickets are $15 and are available at the door or by calling 821-3290.
News & Notes
CASA LINDA FOOD DRIVE: Casa Linda Plaza, Buckner Boulevard and Garland Road, is hosting a food drive benefiting the White Rock Center of Hope through April 12. The Center provides food, clothing, rental and utility assistance, and job counseling to more than 800 neighborhood people each month, says center director Debbie Bateson. Although all donations are welcome, peanut butter and jelly; canned soups, stews and meats; powdered milk and disposable diapers always are in demand, Bateson says. Drop-off sites include AT&T Phone Center, Chili’s, Eckerd Drugs and Highland Park Cafeteria.
WOODROW GOLF FUNDRAISER: The Tim Brown/Woodrow Wilson 1st Annual Golf Tournament is scheduled April 13 at Lakewood Country Club, 6430 Gaston, says tournament chairman Steve Waddill. The benefit tournament hopes to raise $30,000 to replace athletic department funds eliminated during DISD cutbacks. Funds will benefit boys and girls 9th grade, junior varsity and varsity sports. Tee time is 1 p.m.; format is a four-player scramble. Entry fee is $150 per golfer. Call 747-2583 for information and registration.
WHITE ROCK CLEANUP: The Dallas Park and Recreation Department and the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring a cleanup of White Rock Lake shores April 4 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers will meet at the Bathhouse Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther; a party will follow the cleanup. For information, call 670-8847.
CRIME WATCH WALK: The Junius Heights Crime Watch plans a Walk for A Crime-Free Neighborhood April 25 from 9-11 a.m. The parade is tentatively set to begin and end on the ground of Lipscomb Elementary School, which is holding a carnival the same day. Participants will include members of the Dallas and DART transit police departments. The event is designed to raise awareness of neighborhood Crime Watch employs off-duty Dallas police officers to patrol three nights a week, and members hope to raise enough funds to increase those patrols. For information call 855-7201.
BONE MARROW FESTIVAL: The International Bone Marrow Research Festival is scheduled April 18 at Samuell Grand Park, 6200 E. Grand, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The event includes exhibits, food and refreshments, including a barbecue dinner and country western band as part of a candlelight ceremony. The event was organized by Norma Schram to honor a donor who provided bone marrow to Schram for a transplant two years ago. Proceeds will benefit bone marrow research. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door; the price includes the barbecue dinner. Children under six are free. Call 327-8350 for information.
SUGAR FOR SENIORS: Senior residents of C.C. Young Memorial Home and members of other East Dallas senior organizations were treated to a performance last month of Bishop Lynch High School’s spring musical “Sugar,” a Broadway adaption of the movie “Some Like It Hot,” says Sue Ann Gilman of Bishop Lynch. The performance was organized by the school’s Student Foundation, which has been recognized for community service along with Bishop Lynch by the Meadows Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.
TU ELECTRIC OPENS NEW OFFICE: TU Electric has opened a new office to serve East Dallas and Park Cities residents, says James H. Scott, White Rock district manager. The office is located in Northview Shopping Center, 10675 E. Northwest Highway at Plano Road. Customers can pay electric bills, open or close accounts, or inquire about billing and service. After-hours bill payment also is available.
