Patty Granville dances with Buff Shurr inside Carnival! — first Garland Civic Theater production in 1981.
Carnival! returns to the Garland Civic Theater this month for the second time after premiering in 1981. Patty Granville is the show’s director.
Carnival! is a bittersweet tale of a naïve French girl infatuated with a troubled puppeteer in a traveling show. The former Broadway production is based on the 1953 film Lily and boasts a charming Bob Merrill score featuring the hit song “Love Makes the World Go Round.”
Consulting assistance for this year’s show comes from Buff Shurr – one of the original cast members of the Broadway production. Shurr began as a roustabout and dancing captain in the 1961 Broadway production Carnival! then took over as Marco when James Mitchell left the show.
Shurr lives in Garland now and helped Granville start the Garland Summer Musical in the 1980s. Carnival! was the Garland Civic Theater’s first production in 1981 and co-starred Granville and Shurr.
Look Carnival! at the Granville Center for the Arts at 300 North 5th Street in Garland. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:30pm now through September 25. Tickets are $22 each. For information visit www.garlandcivic.org.
