Mark Twain revisited

While some of us were nursing war wounds (some self-inflicted) from another brutal Switch Field day, a few of us got a chance to see the fruits of our labor at the Touhill Performing Arts center at UMSL last friday night.  Switch worked with Jan Albus and St Louis Chapter of Variety Club to build scenery for a live production of the musical TOM SAWYER, which was performed by local Equity Actors, kids, and some of the Variety Kids.

The production was Directed by Lara Teeter, who is the Head of the Musical Theater program at Webster University – Alma Mater for a number of current Switch employees. Lara has a pretty impressive Broadway resume, and it was quite a coup for Variety to have him involved. Designers Dunsi Dai (scenic), John Wylie (lighting), Garth Dunbar (costumes), and Rusty Wandall (sound) all brought their “A” game; the show looked and sounded pretty spectacular.

Afterward, we received many compliments and kudos for all of the Switch involvement. It was great to see the Variety kids taking part in a truly professional production, both onstage and behind the scenes. On a side note, the Touhill is a great space to work in, and the staff was first rate. Congrats Variety, and Congratulations Switch!

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  • Christina

    This was an amazing production with a professional team and cast. Definite congrats to Scott and the team in the shop for building such a versatile set on a very tight budget! That theater-love runs in their veins.