Auditions in Georgetown for You Can't Do That, Dan Moody!, July 21 - 22

The Georgetown Palace Theatre announces auditions for You Can't Do That, Dan Moody! by Ken Anderson and Tom Swift, directed by Mary Ellen Butler. 

Dan Moody & friends (Wm.Cty Museum)

In September 1923, Williamson County tried and convicted the Ku Klux Klan for the first time ever in the United States. This year, in the Williamson County Courthouse, the Palace Theatre and the Williamson Museum once again present the play based on this historic trial, performed in the newly renovated, historically accurate courtroom in which the trial was held 89 years ago.

Initial auditions will be held Saturday, July 21, and Sunday, July 22, 2012, at the Georgetown Palace Theatre at 810 South Austin Avenue in Georgetown (click for map). Performance dates are September 14-16, 21-23, and 27-30 (with other added dates possible). Please go to www.georgetownpalace.com for more audition information. About 30 talented individuals of all ages are needed. Come on out and join the fun! 

[AustinLiveTheatre note: click to view the ALT review of the seventh production of this script at the Williamson County Courthouse in September, 2009 as well as performance images]

From the director, Mary Ellen Butler: “I can promise that You Can't Do That, Dan Moody! will be a great experience. With a fascinating script from Tom Swift and Ken Anderson, new projections woven into the story by Rich Simms (who did the projections and movie sequence for Singing in the Rain), professional level costuming and the great Palace production support, this promises to be an amazing experience. Once again it will be held in the Georgetown courtroom that housed the original trial in 1923.”

The Georgetown Palace Theatre is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community theatre, and does not offer any financial compensation to actors. The Productions Office can be reached at 512-591-7825.

You Can't Do That, Dan Moody!, Palace Theatre at Georgetown Courthouse, September 4 - October 11

You Can't Do That, Dan Moody! offers spectators some cracking drama, particularly in the second half, with riveting re-enactments of brutality by the Ku Klux Klan and of the 1923 trial at the Georgetown courthouse in which district prosecutor Dan Moody became the first in the nation to convince a jury to convict and jail Klansmen.

But in intention and form this production is directly in line with the epic origins of theatre.

An epic, taken from the Greek epikos, is a poem or song of heroes. The Oxford English dictionary comments, "The typical epics, the Homeric poems, the Niebelungenlied, etc., have often been regarded s embodying a nation's conception of its own past, or of the events in that history that it finds most worthy of remembrance. Hence by some writers the term national epic has been applied to any imaginative work (whatever its form) which is considered to fulfill this function."

You Can't Do That, Dan Moody! was prepared for the 1998 celebration of Georgetown's sesquicentennial. The Palace's artistic director at that time, Tom Swift, worked with attorney Ken Anderson and his account of Moody's success against the Klan and his political and civic career, including service as governor of Texas.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: You Can't Do That, Dan Moody!, Georgetown Palace at Georgetown Courthouse, Septembe 4 - October 11

UPDATE: Read ALT review, September 8



Found on-line:

Presented by The Palace Theatre in collaboration with the Williamson County Museum:

You Can't Do That, Dan Moody! (2009)

Sept. 4 - Oct. 11
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Sundays at 2 PM
Performed in the Williamson County Courthouse in Historic Downtown Georgetown.

In September 1923, at the Williamson County Court House, Dan Moody convicted the Ku Klux Klan for the first time ever in the United States. This fall, join us for the play based on this historic trial, performed in the very court room in which the trial was held 86 years ago.

A play in two acts by KEN ANDERSON and TOM SWIFT. Based on the book of the same title by Ken Anderson, directed by Tom Swift. Join us for a presentation of the true story of Williamson County's courageous stand for justice.

More Info and Ticket Sales

Prices: General: $22,Senior(55+): $20, Student(16+)/Active Duty Military (with ID): $12
Children(15 or younger): $8