Memories
We asked our patrons what their favourite TUTS memories were, here is what some of them shared:
“My 3 daughters and eldest granddaughters taking me to see Beauty and the Beast for my 70th. Now is my 80th coming up… loved every minute, even a cold bum.”
Donna Lucas
“I was a little girl with a non speaking part, the executioner’s little helper, in the 1980 production of The Mikado directed, choreographed and starring the late, and dearly missed Alex McLeod as ‘Koko’. My mom, Dawne Lacterman was ‘Yum Yum.’ About three or four numbers after the opening scenes, the weather started acting up and it started raining. One of the lines was, ‘There is a silver lining to every cloud,’ which was spoken right before it started to pour! They had to stop the show around that point.”
Avia Lacterman
“Played in the orchestras in the 1980s. I remember parking behind the rose gardens, mosquitos, peacocks screeching and special coffees on closing nights.”
Deirdre Rogers
“Our dear neighbour had a variety of roles when I was a kid. She would get my program signed by the cast. I later worked in theatre.”
Coral Thew
“Having shared a love for musical film with my Auntie -in great part thanks to her-, she took me for my first live musical performance in 1989 (I was 9) to see ‘The King & I’. I was mesmerized .”
Laura McConnel
“Opening night of Kiss Me Kate (2002)- being nervous as hell that I wasn’t going to get the harmonies – having Lloyd come backstage halfway through the show to make sure everything was smooth – and then have him tell me at the end of the show, ‘Well at least the audience liked you’. I think that was his way of saying good job! RIP Lloyd.”
Emilio Salituro
“Heading to the Bowl after work and parking behind the buildings that used to house the peacocks; warm evenings; getting backstage and seeing smiling faces on my way to my treasured dressing/makeup spot; listening to the band do some notes on notes and maybe having a hotdog before the vocal warmup – excited – hearing the crowds coming in and finding their places; seeing your friends and making sure everyone is in tip top form; securing and confirming and props and wardrobe that the amazing backstage people would have readied for us and feeling the exciting nerves as the overture starts – “places everyone” – here we go… showtime.
Darren Monette
So for me, it’s doing the shows. Even watching other performances, I deliberate on which roles would be fun. TUTS is glorious to watch but MAGIC to do. Hello Dolly and La Cage, far too far away, we’ll get to an audition again!”
“I worked props for ‘The Spirit of Malkin Bowl’, the summer after the fire that burned the theatre. The next year I sang backup for JC Superstar: that was the year our Jesus would go and stand on the statue outside of the seating area for the final chord of the show, in splendid robes, with a bright follow spot on him. On closing night the heavens added their own light and this fantastic lightning lit up the sky at that exact same moment!”
Carol Holland
