Followers of musicals offered in recent years by the Lyric Performing Arts Company will recognize some familiar faces in lead roles as the musical comedy “Anything Goes” opens Thursday for a 10-show run.
However, those familiar faces will now be performing on a different stage: the 100-year-old venue of the just restored Lyric Theatre in downtown Brownwood. Following last week’s two performances of Handel’s “Messiah,” the musical is the first major theatrical event LPAC is offering at the “new” facility celebrating its centennial this year.
“ ‘Anything Goes’ is a toe-tapping delight of a musical with songs by Cole Porter that will have you whistling as you leave the theater,” said Dr. Nancy Jo Humfeld, LPAC artistic director and head of the Department of Theatre at Howard Payne University. “The talent on the Lyric stage is amazing. Most of the primary characters have been leads in other shows, and I know you will enjoy their return.”
Humfeld also said many of the cast members in this show are new to the Lyric stage, and she hopes that they will want to make participation a regular event.
“ ‘Anything Goes’ takes the audience on a wonderful, lyrical journey that will hopefully bring the desire for a return trip,” Humfeld added.
Opening night on Thursday will be preceded by a grand reopening gala beginning at 5:45 p.m. LPAC officials said the ceremonies were designed to be appropriate for such an historic event — with search lights, red carpet, heated tent at Center and Anderson streets, live music, souvenir photo opportunities and light hors d’oeuvres, all capped by a Champagne toast and special pre-curtain ceremonies inside. Those attending are encouraged to dress in formal attire if possible.
Tickets for the opening night gala are $100 each, including admittance to the show. Tickets for other performances, which run Friday through Sunday, Dec. 12-14, and Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 18-21, cost $20 for adults and $10 for students. All tickets are being sold online at
Carene Baslee (Mrs. Harcourt) is a fourth grade teacher at Coggin Elementary School. She has been a part of several Lyric productions including The Music Man, The Sound of Music, and My Fair Lady. |
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JoyRenée Blackstock (Hope) is making her third appearance with the company. She has gained experience both in concert and on stage, and recent credits include roles in L’elisir d’amore, The Telephone, Street Scene, Into the Woods, and Pirates of Penzance. She has also been featured as soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, and as a guest recitalist in The Church of the Heavenly Rest’s Chamber Music Concert Series. She holds degrees in vocal performance from Hardin-Simmons and Howard Payne Universities and currently teaches at Cisco College in addition to maintaining a private voice studio in Brownwood. |
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Austin Bynum (Moonface Martin) has been on the stage or behind the scenes for three decades and has a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and Communication from Howard Payne University. He has had major roles or been somehow involved in many productions and has co-directed the Early High School musical with Judy Reed for the last 12 years. |
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Ben Cox (Whitney) the hosts the popular morning show “Ben Cox in the Morning” on Brownwood’s The Breeze, 96.9, KQBZ. This is his second Lyric production; he was last seen as President Roosevelt in Annie. He studied theater in high school at L.D. Bell High in Hurst. He is also a member of the wedding/party band The Robert Paulson Trio. |
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Deanna Erxleben (Reno Sweeney) is an Instructor of Music at Howard Payne University and a private voice and piano instructor in HPU’s Pre-College Music and Art Department. She also works with students at the Young Scholars summer camp, accompanies the St. Mary’s church choir, and provides piano and vocal music for various events in Brownwood. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Music Education and her Master’s degree in Vocal Performance, Voice Science, and Pedagogy at Texas Tech University; she also received a diploma in Voice Pedagogy from the Kodály Institute in Hungary. Her recent Brownwood Lyric Theatre performances include roles in Annie Get Your Gun, and Annie. |
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Matthew A. McNiece (Billy) is Chair of the Department of History and Government and Assistant Director of the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy at his alma mater, Howard Payne University. This is his fifth Lyric show, having previously appeared in Annie, My Fair Lady, Annie Get Your Gun, and most recently in the Wizard of Oz. |
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Jennifer Reeves (Bonnie) has performed in the Brownwood Lyric Theatre productions of My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Nunsense Jamboree and The Wizard of Oz. She has performed throughout Texas and Europe in opera, musical theatre, film and commercials. She has a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Baylor University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Texas State University. She is currently teaching private voice lessons with HPU’s Pre-College program and sings with the local band, Southern Rustics. |
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Jeff Woods (Sir Evelyn) was raised in Midland and graduated from Angelo State University with a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1984. He taught choral music in Texas public schools for four years before joining the U.S. Army Field Band and Soldier’s Chorus, retiring in 2008 with the rank of Master Sergeant. His numerous opera and musical theater performances include Carmen, Brigadoon, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Music Man, Die Fledermous, South Pacific, Les Miserables, and Brownwood Lyric productions of Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, and Annie Get Your Gun. |
Other cast members with previous Lyric production stage credits include April Alexander (Chastity), who performed in The Wizard of Oz; Jonathan Harvey (Purser), who previously appeared in Fiddler on the Roof and Harvey; Jeff Lewis (Captain), who appeared in Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma! and The Music Man; and Audrey Smith (Purity), who appeared in My Fair Lady, Snow White and the Sebbendorfs, and The Fiddle Jig of Fynn O’Flynn.
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