TADA collaborates with quilt center to come up with musical
The last time Melodee Landis performed on a theatrical stage was two years ago.
And before that …
“There’s a gap,” she admitted. “I don’t when it was.”
It’s not that she’s picky or not interested. She’s just found another creative outlet.
She sings regularly with local vocal trio Baby Needs Shoes with Nancy Marshall and Terri Jo Dodson.
“I really enjoy Baby Needs Shoes,” she said. “That usually fills my performance needs.”
Plus, she noted, there aren’t many roles for 60-year-old women.
“So I’m not tempted very often,” she said.
Until now.
Landis heads the cast list for TADA Productions’ “Quilters,” which begins public performances tonight at The Loft at The Mill.
The musical is a collaboration with the new International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Because of that, the production company has received several ticket requests from outside the state. At press time, TADA had sold out five of its seven shows.
In “Quilters,” Landis plays Sarah, a pioneer woman who is making a legacy quilt for her five daughters.
Rather than a straightforward narrative, the production is a series of short tales and musical numbers, each presenting an aspect of frontier life or womanhood.
Directed by Robert D. Rook, the musical features Julie Enersen, Cris Rook, Shaun Vanneman, Judy Anderson and Sydney Timmons as Sarah’s daughters.
The band is led by Julie Felzien, with Dan Beard on guitar and Landis playing the fiddle.
“Quilters” opened on Broadway in September 1984, but closed after only 24 performances. Still, the show earned six Tony Award nominations, including one for best musical.
Landis was last seen on stage in the 2006 Nebraska Repertory Theatre production of “Local Wonders,” an original work created from Ted Kooser’s poetry. She performed the piece with her husband, David, a veteran local actor.
She said she was attracted to the production because she liked the material. The musical reminds her of stories by Bess Streeter Aldrich, Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder.
“I grew up reading about these types of (pioneer) women and these types of stories,” she said.
Landis also has a personal connection to the show’s concept. Her grandmother and great- grandmother quilted. She recently framed one her grandmother’s quilts for her mother.
“I do some sewing,” Landis said. “I don’t quilt. Now, I’m kind of thinking I might. It looks like fun.”
Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.
And before that …
“There’s a gap,” she admitted. “I don’t when it was.”
It’s not that she’s picky or not interested. She’s just found another creative outlet.
She sings regularly with local vocal trio Baby Needs Shoes with Nancy Marshall and Terri Jo Dodson.
“I really enjoy Baby Needs Shoes,” she said. “That usually fills my performance needs.”
Plus, she noted, there aren’t many roles for 60-year-old women.
“So I’m not tempted very often,” she said.
Until now.
Landis heads the cast list for TADA Productions’ “Quilters,” which begins public performances tonight at The Loft at The Mill.
The musical is a collaboration with the new International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Because of that, the production company has received several ticket requests from outside the state. At press time, TADA had sold out five of its seven shows.
In “Quilters,” Landis plays Sarah, a pioneer woman who is making a legacy quilt for her five daughters.
Rather than a straightforward narrative, the production is a series of short tales and musical numbers, each presenting an aspect of frontier life or womanhood.
Directed by Robert D. Rook, the musical features Julie Enersen, Cris Rook, Shaun Vanneman, Judy Anderson and Sydney Timmons as Sarah’s daughters.
The band is led by Julie Felzien, with Dan Beard on guitar and Landis playing the fiddle.
“Quilters” opened on Broadway in September 1984, but closed after only 24 performances. Still, the show earned six Tony Award nominations, including one for best musical.
Landis was last seen on stage in the 2006 Nebraska Repertory Theatre production of “Local Wonders,” an original work created from Ted Kooser’s poetry. She performed the piece with her husband, David, a veteran local actor.
She said she was attracted to the production because she liked the material. The musical reminds her of stories by Bess Streeter Aldrich, Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder.
“I grew up reading about these types of (pioneer) women and these types of stories,” she said.
Landis also has a personal connection to the show’s concept. Her grandmother and great- grandmother quilted. She recently framed one her grandmother’s quilts for her mother.
“I do some sewing,” Landis said. “I don’t quilt. Now, I’m kind of thinking I might. It looks like fun.”
Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.
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