WINONA, Minn. – The grande dame of Saint Mary’s theater, Judy Ann Myers, is retiring with a musical tribute, “Sondheim on Sondheim,” as her university opus. The Sobdheim production is March 16 to 18. Admission free with . Time: 7:30 p.m. Myers departure coincides the massive Saint Mary’s faculty lay-offs ordered by incoming president James Burns to scale back on arts in the curriculum to focus instead on career preparation. Myers, who is 64, has been at Saint Mary’s 24 years. She has been member of Winona Fine Arts Commission and the Theatre du Mississippi board. She holds a master’s of fine arts degree from the University of Arizona in acting and directing.
Myers. Finishing a campus career in theater.
Sondheim review
Rhe Saint Mary’s Sondheim production features a video-recorded appearance of Sondheim narrating the progression of his writing career with introspectuvee insights into his creativity and also the business of Broadway. business. Show times: 7:30 p.m., March 16-18, with a 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday, March 18. There are new settings and arrangements from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Company,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Into the Woods,” “Follies,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Passion,” and “Assassins.” Sondheim died in 2021.
Verbatim
‘Myers: “Sondheim considered himself a teacher and was invested in students. His direction to them was always simple and direct; getting to the heart of the characters’ needs and actions. When he talks about teaching at the end of this production, I am reminded every time that his sentiments align with my own career goals. And, I hope that the past 24 years of teaching at Saint Mary’s has provided a similar foundation for my own students. Choosing this piece for my last production at Saint Mary’s was ideal in terms of providing an appropriate platform for the talents of the students finishing their majors. I am very proud of this cast for stepping up to this challenging material. I think it is an appropriate finale for my academic career.”