years ago
48 HOURS
If it wasn't love, it was something like it when Charlotte Carpenter
and Bill Lewis met at auditions 10 years ago for Glendale Centre
Theatre's "The Music Man."
They both got the leads then, and are reprising their roles in
Meredith Willson's romantic musical about a fast-talking,
fly-by-night salesman who falls in love with River City's no-nonsense
librarian.
"I thought he was adorable at the call-back auditions, so I was
really hoping I'd be cast in the play," Carpenter said.
Lewis, who is directing the play, also noticed Carpenter at the
call-back auditions.
"The first time I saw her, I was infatuated!" he said without
hesitation. "There were three actresses up for the role, but it was
blatant to me she was the right one."
Lewis was cast as Harold Hill after the first call back, and when
he saw Carpenter at the second call back, he thought they had
probably chosen her to play Marian Paroo.
"And when I got to my first cast meeting, there was Charlotte
sitting there," Lewis said happily.
Carpenter fondly remembers their first kiss on stage during
rehearsal.
"He was very polite and asked if it was OK," she said. "I thought
it was the sweetest thing ever. That was his idea of theater
etiquette, you always check first. That was mighty impressive also."
The were married six years ago in the backyard of their Burbank
home.
They agree their favorite scene together is when they meet at the
footbridge and sing "Till There Was You."
"I looked forward to it then and I still do now," Lewis said.
Reuniting the couple on stage is a natural for the family-owned
theater, said Tim Dietlein, who co-owns the theater with his wife,
Brenda.
"A husband and wife playing romantic leads fits in with our motto
-- Glendale Centre Theatre, California's family theater," Dietlein
said. "We want to have them on stage together because they have real
good chemistry."
Dietlein said couples coming together at the theater is not
unusual.
"Over the last 20 years, about a dozen couples have met at the
theater and have gotten married," he said. "That's how I met my wife
Brenda."
"The Music Man" continues through July 12. Tickets range from $14
to $17. For reservations, call 244-8481. Glendale Centre Theatre is
at 324 N. Orange St., Glendale.
SPECIAL EVENTS
COLLEGE DANCERS PERFORM FREE SHOW
Dance Performance 2003, a free event, will be presented at 8
tonight and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Glendale Community College Dance
Theatre.
The show, which has run for more than 30 years, offers many dance
