So, would you drink from the Fountain of Youth?
Douglass Burks*
(The Constable)
A veteran of Dallas area theater, Mr. Burks has worked with Dallas Children’s Theater for many years as an Equity actor, stage manager, sound designer, and director. He is a founding member of the nationally acclaimed Kathy Burks Theatre of Puppetry Arts and has earned the distinction of Master Puppeteer. A popular actor with DCT audiences, Doug will be remembered for his many roles on the DCT stage, which include The Giver (The Giver), Goodnight Moon (Larry the Tooth Fairy), James and the Giant Peach (Old Grasshopper), Peter Pan (Captain Hook), Young King Arthur (Merlin), The Emperor’s New Clothes (the Emperor), The Mummy’s Claw (Sir Nevil Blore), Jungalbook (Baloo), Holes (Mr. Sir), and Treasure Island (Long John Silver). He also portrayed the title characters in Frankenstein, The Reluctant Dragon, The Canterville Ghost, and the 2001 production of The BFG (Big Friendly Giant). Mr. Burks was a member of the first graduating class of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Burks would like to dedicate his performance to our dear friend, the late Larry Randolph.
Sonny Franks*
(Angus Tuck)
Sonny Franks is thrilled to be reprising this role at Dallas Children’s Theater. Here are a few of his credits: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The New Moon, Cotton Patch Gospel, The Kountry Girls: A Folk Musical, South Pacific, Lady in the Dark, Bonnie and Clyde, The Grapes of Wrath, The Boy from Oz, The Human Comedy, Newsies, and most recently, Of Mice and Men.
Ryan Michael Friedman**
(Miles Tuck)
Ryan Michael Friedman is a Puerto Rican-born actor and singer currently based in Dallas, TX. He is a graduate from Florida State University’s School of Theatre and Department of Psychology, and a recent alumnus from the Acting Apprentice program at Florida Studio Theatre, participating in shows such as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Once. Ryan most recently appeared in Nashville Children’s Theatre’s first-ever Snuggery production of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and Stage West’s production of Everybody.
David Allen Norton**
(Jesse Tuck)
David Allen Norton is a senior at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and he is excited to return to the Dallas Children’s Theater stage, last appearing in Anne of Green Gables (Gilbert Blythe). Some of his previous roles have been in To Kill A Mockingbird (Jem) at Dallas Theater Center and Casa Mañana, Othello (Cassio) with Junior Players, and The Crucible (Reverend Hale) at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. David Allen was also recently awarded with an honorable mention by the Young Arts Foundation for their 2019 theater recipients. David Allen is represented by the Kim Dawson Agency.
Paul T. Taylor*
(The Stranger in the Yellow Suit)
Paul’s most recent role at DCT was in James and the Giant Peach (The Old Green Grasshopper). Other DCT credits include Miracle on 34th Street (Sawyer) and How I Became a Pirate (Captain Braid Beard). Other local roles include Mr. Burns, a post-electric play (Sam/Mr. Burns) at Stage West, Hot Mikado (Koko) at Theatre Three, and The Normal Heart (Ned Weeks) at Uptown Players, for each of which he received a Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum Award. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and is grateful to be represented by The Horne Agency.
Katy Tye
(Winnie Foster)
Katy is a theater artist in the Dallas area. She has performed locally at multiple theaters, worked with Pilobolus Dance Theater, and has written original plays such as I’m A Girl But My Favorite Color is Blue. Katy co-founded Prism Movement Theatre in 2014 and also helps run Shakespeare in the Bar; two Dallas-based theater groups. Katy received her BFA in Theater Studies from Southern Methodist University in 2015.
Wendy Welch*
(Mae Tuck)
Past DCT shows include ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, and most recently Magic Tree House’s Holiday Musical: A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens. Local and regional credits include: Last One Nighter on the Death Trail; A Little Night Music; The Light in the Piazza; Caroline, or Change; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; Elegies; Pride and Prejudice; Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; The Unmentionables; The Matchmaker; Death of a Salesman; Damn Yankees; Follies; The History Boys; and Best of Forbidden Broadway. She has directed a number of musicals locally, most recently The Light in the Piazza at Brick Road Theatre. Honors include a Leon Rabin Award and three Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum Awards. A SMU Theater graduate, she teaches and coaches in her private voice studio, master classes, and camps. TV/Film/Commercial credits include: Murder Made Me Famous; Occupy, Texas; Upstream Color (selected as best Sci-Fi film of 2013); Mutual of Omaha; Baylor Hospital; JC Penney Christmas; Good Feet Arch Supports; Blackmon Mooring; and more. Represented by the Mary Collins Agency. Proud member of Actors’ Equity.
Jane Willingham
(Granny Foster)
Jane is delighted to be back at DCT reprising the role of Granny Foster. Her other shows at DCT include Cinderella, Babar, and Anne of Green Gables. Some of the other theaters in the area where she has performed are Theatre Three, Lyric Stage, Kitchen Dog Theater, Dallas Summer Musicals, and Circle Theatre. She has also performed in Anything Goes, Footloose, and others at the Merry-Go-Round Theater in New York. She also is active in film and commercials where you may have seen her cheering her dead “husband” on at a race track!
TUCK EVERLASTING
Script by Mark J. Frattaroli
Based on the book Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
March 22 – April 7
Ages 10 and up
What if you could live forever? What if you were asked to keep a shocking secret? Young Winnie Foster suddenly finds herself faced with these dilemmas when she ventures from her routine one single summer morning. What she encounters at the foot of a magnificent tree in the woods on her family’s land brings her face to face with monumental life choices. A romance, a new family, perhaps eternal life? What follows is a whirlwind of events and a life-affirming adventure that The New York Times called “fearsome and beautifully written.” Considered one of the classics of modern children’s literature, this poetic story comes intensely to life on the DCT stage.
Buy Tickets Now.
*Indicates member of Actors’ Equity Association. **Indicates Equity Membership Candidate.
someone. Other secrets just give you a pit in your stomach and are obviously dangerous, like when someone says he is going to run away and swears you to secrecy.
harmless. Or the secrets we worry might, if revealed, get someone in trouble? What do we do with those secrets? And how do we teach our children to navigate them? There is a plethora of information available to parents (a simple online search reveals articles, parenting books, and picture books that all explore this topic), but what everything seems
to point to is the importance of open communication. As our children grow up and secrets become more and more complicated, we need to find opportunities for further discussion with our kids.
classic story, ten-year-old Winnie Foster must decide if she will keep an unsettling secret. Bring your children to DCT and start a family discussion about secrets. Would you have made the same choice as Winnie? How might things have turned out if Winnie made a different choice about the Tuck family’s secret?
