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Anthony Edwards and Marlee Matlin hosted the
1999 Art & Soul Festival, directed by Rod Lathim
ON THE ARTS –
and Ed were ever present at our Access Theatre productions in Santa
Barbara and Los Angeles. Their support and guidance was invaluable
to our company.
Spring Awakening
is once again showing Broadway that actors who
are deaf, hearing and physically disabled can create brilliant theatre that
is powerful and memorable. I was deeply moved by their production and
was thrilled to see Linda Bove after the show. Linda is remembered for
her role as “Linda” – a deaf character on
Sesame Street
in the early ‘70s,
and for her performance in the stage version of
Children of a Lesser God
.
My work with Linda and Ed and NTD lead to my hiring many deaf
actors and directing two productions of
Children
of a Lesser God
, among
many other original plays and musicals with Access Theatre. Linda and
deaf actor
Anthony Natalie
worked together to create the stellar and
artful sign language translation for
Spring Awakening
. It is a sight to
behold whether one knows ASL or not.
Though Linda and Ed have retired and moved to Arizona, their
loyalty to Deaf West is unwavering. Linda told me she would do
anything to help the company succeed. She was beaming with pride
about the show – and she has every reason to be pleased with the
production’s triumphant success. One of the most familiar faces in
the show is Academy Award-winning deaf actress
Marlee Matlin
,
who I invited to join
Anthony Edwards
to co-host Art & Soul, the
international VSA Arts Festival I directed in Los Angeles in 1999.
THE PRODIGAL PHANTOM
Growing up in Santa Barbara in the 1960s and early ‘70s, one
of my heroes was
Howard McGillan
. He was a dashing leading man
from the beginning with a strong but silky smooth baritone voice.
Now a New York transplant, Howard continues to have an indelible
impact on the Great White Way. He was described as, “The clear
successor to the great John Raitt in terms of sheer vocal brilliance and
beauty,” by David Hurst of
In Theatre
. You would never know that the
