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When TT went to the PAC...
Published: 8/28/2012 1:49 PM
Last Modified: 8/28/2012 2:32 PM

Digging through innumerable manila envelopes stuffed to bursting with rapidly yellowing clippings of newsprint that make up the pre-1989 archive the Tulsa World and Tulsa Tribune is -- well, to me, at least -- one of the pleasures of this particular job.

It's about as close to going back in time as one can.

I spent a day or so sifting through a half-century or so of stories in preparation for Tuesday's story on the 90-year history of Theatre Tulsa, discovering all sorts of odd little facts about this enduring piece of the city's cultural landscape.

One bit of information that surprised me was a 1977 story about the dismissal company's artistic director at the time, Robert Telford. One of the reasons given for Telford's dismissal was the fact that he wanted to present at least some of the company's productions in the Tulsa PAC, which had opened just a few months before.

Theatre Tulsa staged a few productions in the PAC, starting with "The Lion in Winter," but the response from the Theatre Tulsa faithful was less than salutary.

As the World's entertainment editor at the time, Ron Butler, wrote: "Theatre Tulsa subscribers found the place too cold and breezy, its parking too expensive, its corridors and floor plan a maze."

And back to the Delaware Playhouse the company went. It would be another decade before Theatre Tulsa would make the PAC its permanent performance home. One of the first shows it did was a 1988 production of the Michael Frayn farce "Noises Off," done in the PAC's Williams Theatre because the play's two-story, rotating set could not be contained on the Delaware Playhouse stage.

This Friday, the company begins its 90th anniversary season with Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple." The tickets are under $20, the parking is $5, and there are plenty of PAC personnel and volunteers to help even the PAC neophyte navigate his or her way to the proper seat with a minimum of fuss.

Now, if only the seats in the Doenges Theatre were a little more comfortable.....


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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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