Take Me Out To The Ballgame!!

 

Three DSM shows were invited to send performers to sing the National Anthem at a Texas Rangers home game this summer. When WIZARD OF OZ‘s Dorothy (Cassie Okenka) wasn’t able to arrive in time for the June 8th game, her understudy Lauryn Ciardullo donned the Dorothy wig, red shoes and pinafore costume and charmed the audience with her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

 

For CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, the four child performers (Aly Brier, Camille Mancuso, Jeremy Lipton and Zachary Carter Sayle) sang the National Anthem at the Monday night game June 30. Here is a video of their Texas Ranger performance:

 

 

 

 

For LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL, sports fan Becky Gulsvig (Elle Woods) was thrilled to sing the National Anthem as the Rangers trounced the Tigers at the ballpark Monday, July 27th and received a great response from fans. Quite a few people dropped by the suite to congratulate the star on her performance, with several saying it was “one of the top 10 anthem performances of all time.” They also thanked Becky (who’s originally from Minnesota) for bringing the unusually cool weather.

Thanks to DSM marketing director Paulette Hopkins and Texas Rangers VP of marketing Andy Silverman, a number of company members were able to watch the game and Becky’s performance from one of the two suites made available for their use. A Fox Sports TV News reporter interviewed Becky Gulsvig in the Mickey Mantle suite at the top of the fourth inning, and Becky and other female cast members did an impromptu version of “Bend and Snap” for the sports network’s audiences. Becky’s husband Tyler, who could be found selling Legally Blonde merchandise in the lobby for each performance, also enjoyed the game. Tyler, Becky and their Golden Retriever bring their own van on the national tour, driving from city to city so they can really enjoy the scenery.

Delorie and past DSM Chairman O. Paul Corley, Jr. (resplendent in pink from head to toe) with Guild President Michelle Lemay-Patten at the Legally Blonde party at Thompson-Knight’s offices.

Theater review: 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' is a fun ride for the family at Fair Park Music Hall

12:36 AM CDT on Wednesday, June 24, 2009

By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning News

mailto:Newsltaitte@dallasnews.com

 

Cute kids. A quartet of hilarious villains. A whole pack of trained dogs. A production number with a samba that sizzles. What more could a family musical possibly need?

 

How about a magical car that floats, flies and makes people ask it nicely if they want a ride?

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang chugged, sailed and soared into Fair Park Music Hall for the Dallas Summer Musicals on Tuesday. This road version more than lives up to the standard the Broadway version set in 2005. Largely overlooked in a bumper year for musicals, it struck me as the best Broadway family show since The Lion King. This tour, adapted and directed by Ray Roderick, sacrifices a bit of grandeur but gains in comic spontaneity.
Ian Fleming, an unlikely children’s writer, shows his hand as the original storyteller in various ways: There are spies, though they’re played for laughs. And recall that James Bond’s cars always had tricks up their sleeves, just like the title vehicle here.

Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman’s songs are almost as infectious as the ones they created for Mary Poppins. And, frankly, the plot in this show is more appealing. The father, hapless inventor Caractacus Potts (Steve Wilson), has boundless affection for his children (Jeremy Lipton and Camille Mancuso at Tuesday’s performance). They all look after the grandfather (Dick Decareau), and the kids know before the dad does that there’s chemistry brewing with a motorcycle-driving heiress (Kelly McCormick).

None of the performers are household names, but they’re all solid pros and often more aptly cast than their Broadway counterparts. Dirk Lumbard is delightfully oily as the taller of the bumbling spies, and Scott Cote is his even dumber sidekick. As the evil baron and baroness, George Dvorsky and Elizabeth Ward Land are silly and sinister at the same time. Oliver Wadsworth may be entirely too sinister for younger children as the hideously creepy Childcatcher, although the happy ending defuses most of the terror.

 

You don’t have to be a kid to have a truly scrumptious time at Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But feel free to bring a couple of tykes along if you think you’ll feel conspicuous without them.

PLAN YOUR LIFE Through July 5 at Fair Park Music Hall. Runs 150 mins. $12 to $71. Ticketmaster at 214-631-2787, http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

 

Original Dallas Morning News Post