A note from Mark Smith…
“You may not know it, but I’m a HUGE Andrew Lloyd Webber fan. My first introduction to Sir Lloyd Webber’s shows was the original concept album of Jesus Christ Superstar. I was hooked after this. I’ve been in productions of Evita (two of them!), Joseph…Dreamcoat (two of them!), as well as a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. When I was in high school, long before I ever became a director, I would lay in my bedroom and imagine staging production of Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Starlight Express—always with myself in the lead
I’ve been able to direct Joseph at the Legacy, and I also had the amazing opportunity in our very first year as a professional organization to direct his little known, Song and Dance, with an immensely talented small group of dancers, stellar choreography and an Act 1, tour-de-force performance by Legacy’s Executive Producer, and my wife, Bethany Hayes Smith. Out of all the Lloyd Webber productions I’ve been in or seen, opening night of Song and Dance is by far the most memorable.
Now, almost twenty years later, Bethany is getting ready to reprise her role from 2007 in Tell Me on a Sunday-the name given to what is in essence the first act of Song and Dance. This one hour, one woman mini-opera contains some of Webber’s most beautiful music. If you’ve never heard “Unexpected Song” or “Tell Me On A Sunday”, you’re missing out on two of the most romantic and heartbreaking songs in musical theater history. And I have to say this-if you’ve never seen Bethany on stage, you may not truly understand the heart of the Legacy’s founder and producer. And if you don’t understand her heart, you may not truly understand what Legacy is about.
Bethany’s performance is full of passion, honesty, technical expertise, raw emotion, heart and empathy. But that’s not just the characteristics of the role she’s playing—that’s Bethany. That’s her day in and day out as she teaches your kids, sends e-mails, negotiates contracts, costumes actors, invests in her students, balances Quickbooks and choreographs amazing dance numbers.
So here’s the thing—I love Andrew Lloyd Webber, and I love his music, but none of his greatness would be noticeable without the commitment of great performers. And that’s Bethany—someone YOU can have the chance to see over two weekends at the end of September. Take it from the fifteen-year-old baseball player from rural Virginia who once saw themselves dancing as the Rum Tum Tugger on Broadway, you won’t want to miss this one. Bethany is Legacy and Legacy is Bethany and Bethany can sing the heck out of some Andy Lloyd Webber. Get your tickets now! “
-Mark Smith
Artistic Director, The Legacy Theatre
