Sunday, December
8, 2002
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Texans put on a show in NYC Exerpted from an article Sunday, December 08, 2002-- It was a warm, blustery day in New York City, and a harried Kambri Crews got off the subway, late for work. Hair whipping in the wind, struggling to keep her silk-wrap dress wrapped, she trotted as fast as her high heels would permit. Belatedly, she realized that a passer-by in the blur of faces had looked familiar: Scott Ramsey, inseparable buddy from drama club days at Richland High School in North Richland Hills, whom she hadn't seen in years. At the office, she got Ramsey's e-mail address from a mutual friend and wrote: "I think I just passed you on the street ... ." Serendipity -- and then more of it. Another theater buff from their Richland days had moved to the Big Apple -- Gregory Gorman. In February, the four agreed to catch up over comfort food at the Chat 'n' Chew. Maybe it was the macaroni and cheese. Maybe the iced tea -- brewed, a novelty in New York...Or the drinks that followed at Serena, a chichi bar. Whatever the reason, as the 30-somethings reminisced about drama club days, they what-iffed: Wouldn't it be neat to start a theatrical production company in New York? A week later, they incorporated as Tex in the City. Nine months later, they are basking in the success of the November debut of their first production -- the cabaret Country vs. Rock n' Roll, a two-night sellout in an off-Broadway theater. "It's so bizarre," mused Gorman, 30, a 1990 Richland High grad and the company's managing director. "A city of 8 million people -- and four high school friends from North Richland Hills, Texas, find each other." Their show got a plug in the New York Post from gossip columnist Liz Smith. And at Serena, renowned bar operator/caterer Serena Bass has created a drink in the their honor: Rope Burn, with tequila, lime juice, sugar and Tabasco. The Richland alumni still have their day jobs. But their theatrical coup in New York thrills the folks at home. "I'm not at all surprised," said David Michael Hall, a Birdville High School drama teacher who taught the four at Richland High School. "They were sharp academically, crazy personalities, fun to be around and incredibly dedicated. That's why they were successful at that time" -- which in those days meant going to the University Scholastic League one-act play competition in Austin. Unlike Hall, Gorman's mother -- Carmen Gorman, a home health care worker in Fort Worth -- was astounded. "I never would have believed it," she said. "In school, they were all so scatterbrained. But when you see them now, so businesslike when it comes to all this Tex in the City business -- it blows my mind." The group's show, about dueling musical styles from Elvis to Patsy Cline, was directed by another Texan -- Kevin Farr, who knew Ramsey from when both worked in theater in Austin. Ramsey, 33 [was] among the show's six singers and dancers -- all Texans. Gorman and Crews worked behind the scenes. Tex in the City even landed singer Andra Mitrovich, another Texan, for the show. She plays Janis Joplin in the long-running off-Broadway hit Love, Janis. Applause aside, the Texans' cabaret at the Triad Theatre made a small profit, unusual for a theater's first show. [They] credit their passion for theater plus diverse talents ranging from performing to marketing.. Crews, 31, a 1989 grad, used her expertise as a paralegal to negotiate contracts with performers and the 140-seat Triad Theatre. On their Web site -- www.texinthecity.com -- some 100 New York Texans are registered as Tex in the City members. And Bass, a London native, provides them a home base at Serena, in the basement of the Chelsea Hotel, for monthly parties. In return, Bass gives Tex in the City a slice of the money to help finance shows. At the Texans' bashes, the waiters don cowboy hats. The Texas flag is raised, and yellow roses grace the tables. Chili, barbecue, salsa, guacamole and beer abound -- Rope Burns, too. "They're so charming and funny and cute," Bass said. "And it's been such a success. Now it's very, very busy." And New Yorkers have been dropping in lately to see what all the hoo-ha is about. Mitrovich, 35, from LaMarque, Texas, says Tex in the City "really helped me survive mentally and spiritually. It was a community. If you're in New York City by yourself, it's so hard to get that feeling. It's been a hoot." Now, the Texas gang wants to take their act a step further: make theater a full-time gig. "We aren't playing around," said Gorman, a former managing director for a Latin-American media company. "So many arts companies don't manage business well enough to continue to create art." It's a Texas-sized undertaking. "It's pretty hard to reach off-Broadway if you're new to New York. Anyone would be happy to reach there," said Stephanie Lehmann, a playwright who has had a few off-off-Broadway plays produced. "It's all about networking," she said. "It takes a lot of money to put the plays on -- and it's almost impossible to make your money back, even if you have sold-out houses every night. What they [Tex in the City] have done is a good thing -- but you can't count on anything." But "all good shows start small somewhere" reminds another who knows the industry -- Lauren Reid, executive vice president for the theatrical unit of New York-based Clear Channel Entertainment, which produces and markets live entertainment ranging from theater to tractor pulls. So the Texans work hard, party hard at Serena, and sink every spare moment into the production company. "You move here with fantastic ideas about what your life will be like," said Ramsey, a 1988 Richland grad who does marketing and advertising for a clothing company. "The only thing you can do is just do your best." And they think they have an advantage -- being Texans and being friends who can remember when. Said Crews: "It's like we never
skipped a beat." |
