Imagine a mash-up of past eras’ top television music maestros, where you could “meet” these talented hosts of yesteryear and go behind the scenes of their decades-long shows.
Thanks to Northwest Senior Theater, attendees can go back to the Fabulous ‘50s and Swingin’ ‘60s by attending its upcoming production of “Battle of the Bandstands: Dick Clark vs. Lawrence Welk” that features Ken Kane as Dick Clark and George Mauro as Lawrence Welk.
“The Lawrence Welk Show,” a nationally televised, folksy musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk, ran from 1955 to 1971; “American Bandstand,” hosted by Dick Clark, introduced rock ‘n’ roll to America, giving many new artists their first exposure to national audiences, and running from 1956 to 1989.
“My original idea was based on doing a show around ‘American Bandstand,’ which has tons of music,” said Lennon Smith, who is directing her fourth show for Northwest Senior Theatre. “Ken suggested, ‘What about adding Lawrence Welk? What about a battle of the bands?’
“His wife, Audrey Perino, did the research and gave me a list of songs to choose from. There are 32 songs in the show, and we go back and forth between the two eras. We also have ads from that time, and my husband George Mauro designed the videos.”
When you throw in the sound, with Patrick Winters running the mics, Eric Margeson doing the board engineering and Mak Kastelic as the music director, “I have a wonderful team,” Smith said. “Plus, I have a larger cast, who are so talented and wonderful.”
The enthusiastic theater troupe has delighted metro-area audiences with its versatility and talent since 1991, spending 20 years at the Alpenrose Dairy Opera House before that venue closed in 2019. The world pretty much shut down the following spring when Covid-19 hit, but the troupe rebounded when it found a new home at Rise Church in Tigard.
Areanne Lloyd, who has been president of the Northwest Senior Theatre Board of Directors for the past seven years, is stepping down later this year. “I got us through the pandemic,” she said. “We lost our theater, our director and half our company. We have been recovering the last three years.
“Our fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30, and we have our annual meeting in June, and our nominating committee is finding people to run for office. You don’t have to be a performing member to be on our board. We’d love to have outside people on our board with new ideas.”
She explained that there “is always stuff to do” and added, “We are a 501(3)(c) all-volunteer organization, and we need people to step up, and I am confident we will persevere and grow.”
Two of Northwest Senior Theatre’s members are also members at Rise Church and facilitated the connection for the company to rent the church to rehearse and put on its shows, which has worked out well. “Everyone has been friendly and accommodating,” Lloyd said.
Smith’s husband Mauro is a freelance musician at the church and first got involved with the troupe as its sound technician; when it was looking for a new director a couple years ago, he suggested his wife. Smith has a bachelor of arts degree in theater and a master’s degree in counseling psychology. She was involved in community theater, including directing, in the Bay Area for almost 30 years before moving here.
She is thrilled to have found new directing opportunities in her new home and has been a welcome addition to the Northwest Senior Theatre team. She told Tigard Life previously, “I was looking for a cause when I moved here. I wanted it to be creative and also involve the brain and movement and be around people. I feel I’m contributing to the world with these lovely people.”
Besides performing in the show, Kane, aka “Dick Clark,” is involved in promoting Northwest Senior Theatre on social media. “In the time between our last show in November and now, we’ve rebuilt our website, created a Facebook group for NST and our fans, and have even launched a podcast on our new YouTube channel,” he said. “It’s all part of our effort to grow our audience and to demonstrate that being older doesn’t mean being out of touch.”
Battle of the Bandstands: Dick Clark vs. Lawrence Welk
When: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 7, 8, 9 and 10, at 2 p.m.
Where: Rise Church, 10445 S.W. Canterbury Lane, Tigard 97223.
Tickets: $10 and are on sale at bit.ly/TikSp or at the door (checks or cash only). The venue is wheelchair- and walker-accessible with lots of free parking.
For more information, visit nwseniortheatre.org, email nwseniortheatre@gmail.com or call 503-251-4332.
