New Page 0

Clown Alley veterans, classic silent cinema and century-old musical instruments, plus the 'Keyboard Queen'

SALADO, TEXAS (May 23, 2008) –The Salado Silver Spur Theater’s “Season of Surprises” returns to its vaudevillian roots for three weekends in June with a new show, “Summer of Slapstick,” featuring the Spuradical Players’ trademark blend of live, vaudeville-style variety acts and classic cinema.

“It’s good old-fashioned entertainment which the whole family will enjoy,” says Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the four-year-old, 156-seat theater built in the renovated Sanford & Guest Granary & Feed Store (at 108 Royal St.) in Downtown Salado.

“Summer of Slapstick” opens Friday, June 6, and runs through Saturday June 21, with performances on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with I.D. Matinees are $10 and $8, respectively. Group rates are also available. For reservations, call 254-947-3456. For more info, visit www.saladosilverspur.com.

“On stage, physical comedy abounds as the Spuradicals earn laughs the hard way, with the comical chaos that has made the Silver Spur a favorite among children of all ages,” Esch emphasized.

The Players include veterans of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Clown Alley – an enthusiastically droll Esch, jocular juggler Tom Rolls – both of Salado -- , and inspired loon Kevin C. Carr of Round Rock. Also on tap are the rib-tickling musical stylings of Silver Spur troubadour Tony Blackman of Salado , who is also the theater’s Technical Director.

Grainger and Kevin will likely reprise their popular “Dim and Slim” antics as the show’s emcees. Tom is an Austin native who has been juggling professionally for more than 20 years, all over the country, including Las Vegas , and has been seen on NBC-TV’s “Friday Night Lights” series.

“And who knows what surprise guest artists might drop in on the Salado stage? Anything can happen at the Spur,” Esch warned.

On screen, the Spur will present a real reel gem from the silent movie era: Buster Keaton in “The General,” arguably one of the greatest comedies ever made, silent or talkie. The 1927 comic/epic adaptation of an actual Civil War event will be presented in true Silver Spur fashion, with live musical accompaniment arranged and performed by the Silver Spur’s accomplished accompanist, Nelda Milligan, and with live sound effects performed by the zany hosts, on authentic, vaudeville-age instruments, some more than 100 years old.

Milligan, who has been studying/playing piano since the age of 6 and is now 60, "was blessed to have a teacher who taught me not only the classical repertoire but how to improvise, read a chord chart and accompany singers, dancers and instrumentalists," she recounts. For many years she played for church and community functions, but at age 45, went to college, earned a bachelor of music degree in jazz studies and become a professional accompanist. "I just want others to know that you're never to old to reach for those stars."

She is now a veteran pianist of musical theater in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington as well as gigs with several symphony orchestras in the aforementioned states. After the US Army relocated her husband and her to Fort Hood, Texas, "I met and auditioned for the founders of the Spur.

"When I realized they had a sense of humor I faked my audition by pretending an inability to sight-read, playing the music in a different key with each hand and then finally offering to play in any style they chose. It made for a very memorable audition and a long-lasting relationship with the Silver Spur. This is now our fifth year together," she said, with considerable pride.

Vaudeville was a genre of entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada from the 1880s until the early 1930s. It developed from many sources, including concert saloon, minstrelsy, freak shows, dime museums and literary burlesque. Acts included classical and popular musicians, dancers, trained animals, comedians, animal acts, impersonators, acrobats, one-act plays and scenes from plays as well as athletes, lecturing celebrities, minstrels and short movies.

At its height, vaudeville was rivaled only by churches and public schools among the nation's premiere public gathering places. Lured by greater salaries and less arduous working conditions, many early film and old-time radio performers, such as W. C. Fields, Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers, Edgar Bergen and Jack Benny used the prominence they first gained in live variety performance to vault into the new media of talking pictures. Ultimately cinema would accelerate the decline of vaudeville.

The Spur Theatre received the “2007 Business of the Year” award from the Salado Chamber of Commerce in January. The Spur strives to revive a bygone era of family entertainment, offering a trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, stage plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows also are held at the venue, with catering available from the renowned Stagecoach Inn a block away and other area restaurants.

Spuradical Players in the Salado Silver Spur Theater's "Summer of Slapstick" include (L-R) Nelda Milligan, Tony Blackman, Grainger Esch, Ben Milligan, Kevin Carr, and Karen Ewton.

Grainger Esch and Kevin Carr, a.k.a. "Slim & Dim," are the eccentric emcees for the Salado Silver Spur's "Summer of Slapstick."

Group Sales: Benjamin Milligan, House Manager, 254-698-1761; silverbearscave@yahoo.com