Students of the DallasSummerMusicalAcademy performed “Do You Wanna Dance?” at the Uptown Theater on Main Street in Grand Prairie, Texas Saturday afternoon.
Dallas Summer Musicals Academy of Performing Arts, in partnership with local live-show production company WOW! Entertainment, Inc., presented their first Jukebox Jr. Musical— a 90s themed musical featuring such well-known tunes as “Dancing In The Streets,” “How Sweet It Is” and “Do You Wanna Dance?”
This groundbreaking production is the first in a series of musicals created especially for kids by WOW! Entertainment.
Written by Mark Brymer and John Jacobson, “Do You Wanna Dance?” was directed by Peabody Award-winning producer and DSMAcademy instructor and director Steven Kavner and produced by the DSM Academy of Performing Arts.
“The show emphasizes acting, singing and dancing and is full of familiar songs that makes you want to get up and join the excitement!” DSM Academy Director Kevin Cook said.
Set in the fictitious mid-west town of Snap Happy, the full of energy story begins when the mayor’s new bride insists that he impose a fine on anyone caught dancing.
It was an afternoon of great fun and lively entertainment. And the venue itself, the Uptown Theater, brought back juke-box memories.
The Uptown Theater originally opened in 1950 as a first-run movie house. The pride of Main Street the theater featured amenities not always offered in movie theaters during that era. The sloped floor for ultimate viewing, over-sized seats with ample leg room and a sound-proof “cry room” made it luxurious for its time. It also opened as an un-segregated theatre, years before other theatres in the area followed suit.
Without the fear of drugs, abductions and guns, parents eagerly sprung for the 12 cent ticket and dropped their young children off on Saturday afternoons for “kiddie” matinees.
Attending the musical at the Uptown was truly a step back in time for me. My grandmother’s boarding house had been just around the corner at 318 W. Church Street and as an impressionable young girl, the Uptown is where I saw 1950’s romantic comedies like “Everything I have is Yours” and “The Girls of Pleasure Island.” It is also where I hid my face through the 3D horror movie “The House of Wax” which nearly got me banned from movie-going by my daddy because of the nights of nightmares that followed.
In 2005 the vintage theater was purchased by the City of Grand Prairie with plans to restore the historic downtown landmark to its former glory, but this time primarily as a live performance arts theater.
Today the Uptown is another avenue for affordable family entertainment like Saturday’s performance of “Do You Wanna Dance?” The musical “Oliver” opens in December for a great holiday experience.
For more information about the DallasSummerMusicalAcademy contact Kevin Cook, Director of the Academy at kcook@dallassummermusicals or Production Stage Manager, Ty Lawrence at tlawrence@dallassummermusicals.org.