Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’!
I know Mr. B is smilin’ and the late Music Man can’t wait for The Odd Couple to open next week.
His front row in heaven will be filled with MDAA alums and fans. Mr. John Brindley’s Impossible Dream reaches back four decades when the Sears store owner came to town from Memphis and found the Delta to his liking.
He gathered all of those interested in creating a “Little Theatre” and first took to the stage at Lockard and then his dream of having a theatre came true when the Little Theatre took in the old Catholic Church.
The Odd Couple has come to life previously on the Brindley Theatre stage but this particular incarnation is special.
You see all eight cast members are first time on the stage.
Something Mr. B. loved and adored was bringing in those with an inkling of talent and a heart, soul and body filled with a “can do anything” attitude. He molded, he taught and he let them all fly.
He gave them their own wings of sorts and some took to the stage, some took to the back stage with makeup, hair and costumes while others built sets and everyone supported and talked up shows with friends, families and neighbors.
He built a theatre community from the ground up. And I was one of those he gave wings to. And I miss that special stage and that very special man every day.
The Brindley Theatre stage is a magical place that opened in the late 70s with a Cabaret Show consisting of IA madrigals and others.
I got to christen that first inaugural stage along with Eddie Donahoe, Sallie Evelyn Fletcher and others.
From there his dream became reality with curtains, a full stage, lighting, sound, seats and it just kept growing and remodeling and building as more and more folks followed his dream and helped to continually make it come true.
Having lived in several states from Mississippi to Tennessee to California to Indiana and Michigan, I’ve never found anything quite like the Brindley Theatre. I’ve found theatre, I’ve found some talented folks, but I haven’t found the community and I certainly haven’t found another
Mr. B. He was definitely one of a kind.
And he built the MDAA the way a true leader would – by teaching everyone everything he knew so that one day when he wasn’t around, the dream would continue, the dream would thrive, the dream would entertain and teach for generations to come.
I’m proud of the Brindley Theatre and all that it has become and as it continues to grow.
Though I haven’t graced the stage since Music Man in 1984, I long for the day I can slide in, take a deep breath, relive the memories and make new ones.
To the eight new cast members, relax, breathe, break a leg and carry on making this show your own.
And know that the Music Man will definitely be watching, laughing and enjoying those who are still enjoying his Impossible Dream coming true with each production in the building that bears his name.
