One of my favorite gigs around that time was as arts critic for a weekly entertainment publication, This Week in Texas, in Houston. I covered theater, dance and film, reviewing, interviewing and often doing my own photography. I had a ball.
Houston's Tony Award winning ALLEY THEATRE was on my regular beat. The staff there, from the ushers to Artistic Director Gregory Boyd at the top, was outstanding in their professionalism and genuine helpfulness.
I was often invited to their photo calls, since they knew I was usually good for a cover.
When Frank Wildhorn's and Gregory Boyd's musical, THE CIVIL WAR was about to premiere, I got a call. Would I like to do a photoshoot and review?
The shoot was scheduled just before the first performance, and I had exactly 30 minutes, no more. I had the cast and the stage at my disposal, and the lighting crew standing by.
As always at the Alley, everything went like clockwork. I had the head of Public Relations at my disposal, and the idea of an actor draped in the flag was hers. One of the principles, Broadway actor Matt Bogart, was chosen to do the pose.
The PR rep was rather delicately skirting the issue of clothing, as the image was to imply nudity. She suggested diplomatically that Matt, who was already shirtless, might just roll up his jeans so they didn't show.
Time was of the essence, and Matt, realizing that, simply replied that that would take too long, and calmly stepped out of his jeans.
I love the theater.
The shot
The cover
This issue jumped off the stands, and ran out of copies before the week was out.
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