CALLING ALL YORK MEMORIES!
As we enter our 50th Anniversary season, we want to bring everyone into The "York State of Mind" -- and we need your help. We are inviting everyone to share their favorite York Memories below.
Jim Morgan with Dian Crystal at Arte Cafe after The York received a 2006 Special Drama Desk Award for Vital Contributions to Theater by Developing and Producing New Musicals.
"In 2002, theatre aficionados were in hot pursuit for lesser-performed gems written by Richard Rodgers, whose centennial was being celebrated throughout the year. San Francisco offered Pipe Dream and Peggy Ann, but I knew there had to be more...
A quick trip to Miami to see Floyd Collins proved that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, but still ---. And then a friend told me about The York Theatre, where they were doing three, count ‘em three, Rodgers’ musicals. Wow!!! Where else could I have seen excellent productions of By Jupiter, Androcles & the Lion, and Me & Juliet? And a few years later, Two by Two, which I never expected to see again in my lifetime.
I recalled having seen Merrily We Roll Along there about a decade before, as well as Teeny Todd, as it was spoofed in Forbidden Broadway. The father of FB, Gerard Alessandrini, was once at The York when he presented a reading spoofing The Nutcracker. The readings are like finding a nugget of gold—The Times in 2010, The Gig, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (which brought the entire audience to tears) are a few of my most memorable afternoons at The York. Coco (2009), another piece I never imagined seeing again, made me realize I didn’t need to cross the country to see shows that I had adored in their original incarnation – if I waited, The York would inevitably do them.
The magic that The York creates with limited budget, costumes and set is so admirable, and being there is like attending a private university to study your favorite subject. As one learns about the craftsmanship involved, appreciation blossoms exponentially. Seeing Big (with its lyricist pinch-hitting), Zorba, Charley & Algernon, and The Mad Show are just a few “my favorite things” at The York. The recent addition of Charles Troy’s presentations (which are indeed master classes) makes me appreciate all the more the pot of gold I found at The York. And I can always depend on Charles Wright to give informative and interesting notes for homework.
So my love affair with The York is well over a quarter century old now, almost one-third of my life time, proving that indeed the best is yet to come! Their support of new works and talent ensures that fifty years from now, someone will be writing another letter, even more laudatory than this. Being as close as you can to the things you love is a sure-fire recipe for happiness in life; I’ve found my bliss at The York.
No one does what they do better than them!"
-Jacqueline Parker (York patron)