Fort Worth mag gets the joke. Why Amon Carter play can't play in Dallas.
Coppell, here we come!
Fort Worth magazine reports the secret behind the hit Amon Carter play’s late arrival to the east side of the Metroplex.
“The joke is we couldn't bring the play to Dallas because Amon would roll over in his grave," playwright Dave Lieber tells the magazine. “So we’re bringing it to Coppell.”
Truth is, “Mr. Fort Worth” is buried above ground in an expensive crypt (as shown in the photo below). But no matter.
The new $21 million city-owned Arts Center on Travis Street plays host for the Dallas County debut.
Lieber tells the magazine: “Audiences can expect to cry and laugh and cry again,” — as well as witness some ad-libbing poking jabs at the city it's playing in: "When the actor who plays Amon, Kelvin Dilks, says, 'Anybody here from Dallas?' and someone raises their hand, lots of mischief ensues."
Lieber vouches for the authenticity of the play, which has performed in five Texas cities and won a prize as Most Outstanding Work by a Local Playwright.
"It was important that everything be accurate; the words spoken are as close to the words as possibly they could be," he says. "I really didn't take any poetic license and add, enhance, increase, or fabricate, like I could have done in theater, because theater allows you, but I wanted it to be as real as real could be."
The play features Kelvin Dilks as Amon. Connie Sanchez directs it. Rick Blair produced it.
Actually, Amon Carter can’t roll over in his grave. He’s buried above ground in this crypt.
