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Best Little Theatre in Town provides culture and comedy

Written by Andrew Plock, The Shorthorn staff

Wednesday, 20 January 2010 05:50 PM

Tucked away in the center of downtown Arlington lies a little venue with big productions.

Theatre Arlington, a playhouse located in the heart of Arlington, has cranked out high quality shows and musicals for Arlington patrons since the early 1970s and uses its theater school to educate the community in the arts. The theater does eight productions a year, and now the playhouse is moving into its newest season, starting with The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.

Set in the 1940s, this comedy farce revolves around a group of Broadway musical writers whose last show ended due to the mysterious deaths of three chorus girls by the ”Stage Door Slasher.” In an attempt to pitch a new musical, a snow-in brings a resurgence of the slasher as well as the comedy.

Theatre Arlington

Where: 305 W. Main St. Arlington, TX 76010
What: The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940
When: Jan. 15-Feb. 14
Prices:

$19 General
$17 Student
$5 "Student Rush"

In his first production with TA, director Andy Baldwin said the play can sometimes read like a Mel Brooks script, but this comedy has more to it than cheap laughs.

“The play is light-hearted. It’s not about the Holocaust or cancer. It’s just funny,” Baldwin said. “It’s risqué at times, but it’s not just slapstick for the sake of laughs.”

The play runs until Feb. 14 with a special Valentine’s Day theme showing on Feb. 13. Patrons can bring a date for a special chocolate and champagne intermission.

For students looking to capitalize on a good deal, the theater offers them a chance to get $5 tickets in its “Student Rush,” where students wait until five minutes before showtime to snag cheap seats.

Melanie Mason — a UTA alumna and communications lecturer — is an avid patron, supporter and actress at TA and knows the imprint the theater leaves in the community.

“I’ve lived in Arlington for 20 years, and this is a place that people can go,” she said. “It would benefit any community to have the arts. It’s important.”

Executive producer Todd Hart said it is the largest arts program in the city.

“Our goal has always been to be better and better for the city of Arlington,” he said. “Theater brings culture to the community and an appreciation of the arts to future generations.”

Theatre Arlington was started by a group of local citizens wanting to give the Arlington people a professional theater program. This idea of high-quality theater and community is still the overlaying theme of the venue.

Hart holds the theater’s patrons as the lifeblood of the productions. The 200-seat theater gives the viewer a very intimate perspective from any seat in the house, providing entertainment above the level of an ordinary community theater. And with Arlington advancing in other areas, a theater still greatly impacts its citizens, Hart said.

“A society without fine arts, isn’t a society.” he said.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 January 2010 05:58 PM )

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