Gillas, John 2011-08-11
John Gillas discusses five productions he directed at Texas Tech University including La Boheme and concluding with My Fair Lady in 1980
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: John Gillas
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: August 11, 2011
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Interviewer: Amy Mire
Length: 00:42:42
Abstract
Puccini’s La Bohéme, Building own set at Civic Center, Cast, One of the most outstanding productions, Sold out shows, actually made money, Children’s Chorus, Harold Luce, Chair of School of Music, Led the band at the end of Act II, Final years of Mr. Luce and relationship, La Perichole, Offenbach, Huge production, Cast of 80 plus people, Joe Goodin, Dean of Fine Arts, Double cast for the girls, Lubbock Ballet, Tech Ballet, Two soloists from Houston Ballet, Soili ??? and Leo Ahnen, Sedan Chairs and bearers, First String Football Team, One of the most fun shows in his career, Lubbock audiences didn’t respond to La Perichole, Best reviews, publicity, but didn’t have full houses, If you’re going to do something that the name is not familiar in this area, you are taking a big risk., Affected the way he thought about what he could and could not do, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, 1979, Done at the Theatre with Theatre Department, Scene Designer, Forrest Newlin (?), set looked like the cartoon itself, falling leaves, flying kite, Cast, Orchestra, DVD made on a dress rehearsal, not everything went right, Faust, Thought Boheme and Perichole were big productions, but Faust was the biggest undertaking, Including off-stage chorus, about 105 people involved, Cast, Hal Mack, Mary Gillas, building sets, 4 sets for 4 acts, Show Scenes, Old Faust turns into Young Faust, He sang Old Faust, Marcus Haddock, Bruce Ford, went on to Met, one of top Bel Canto Tenors, Opera Rara Catalog, Terry Cook went to Chicago Lyric and on to Met, Costumes from Arizona Opera, Last act the audience is taken to the lower realm, Terry’s costume was specially constructed with goat legs and hooves that put him up over 7 feet tall and made noise when he walked across the stage., It was astounding for the audience., Angel from Heaven, played by a young man 6’10”, Off stage chorus, organ brought in, Chorus was quite large, Had all the choirs from Texas Tech stunning choral sound, Rick Husband was in the choir, Guests Artists, Gershon Silins as Valentin, Mike Morgan as Valentin as student cast, Ballet, Lubbock Ballet, Suzanne Aker, Neil Hess, Mark Lantham, Elizabeth Nisi (?), Scrim, Asian effect, burlap scrim, Translations, Richard Perlman, My Fair Lady 1980, Found the original touring production from New York set in Las Vegas. Set the same as Broadway. Set was in bad shape. Hal Mack came down from Indiana University and refurbished the sets., Lubbock Auditorium, 3,000+ seats, TAMS/Whitmark wants $2 per seat, $6,000+ per performance, Cast, Kim Murchison, entire part memorized, Broadway class actress, Tom Francis, Mike Medley, John Priddy, Steven Skibell, still in high school, auditioned for, Doolittle at 17 years old. Astounding. Begged him to come to Texas Tech but went elsewhere. Went on to Broadway, Shakespearean actor, Susy Graham, Great chorus, leads from other shows
Access Information
Original Recording Format:
Recording Format Notes:
Transcript: No transcript available
Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.
