BOCA RATON – Several hundred lovers of live theater gathered July 8 to honor a local stage icon and to raise cash to save the financially strapped Caldwell Theatre. Vickie Halmos, executive producer of Entr’Acte Theatrix and Palm Beach Principal Players, hosted a special after-show tribute to Jan McArt, the director of Theatre Arts Program Development at Lynn University who is widely recognized as the First Lady of Florida’s Musical Theatre.
McArt was honored at a Piano Bar/Pizza Party at the Caldwell following the Sunday matinee performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Entr’Acte Theatrix and Palm Beach Principal Players are performing the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice rock opera 15 times this month in hopes of pulling the Caldwell out of bankruptcy.
The tribute to McArt included a reunion of supporters and performers from her long-running Royal Palm Dinner Theatre, where an after-show pizza party was a tradition. “Just as this production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ is reviving the recently-shuttered Caldwell Theatre, so too did we use this show to remember with great fondness another vanished cultural landmark in Boca Raton, the Royal Palm Dinner Theatre, and its guiding light and guardian angel, the always enchanting Jan McArt,” said Halmos.
McArt sat in the center orchestra section during the production, and met her fans at the theater entrance minutes after the conclusion of the program. She mingled with the crowd as visitors prepared to step into the next room for refreshments.The decrees of two governors named McArt as the First Lady of Florida’s Musical Theatre. Many people do not associate Jan McArt with opera because of her impressive career in Florida. Her award winning performance in NBC’s La Boheme led to an invitation from Maestro Arturo Toscanini to have lunch at his home.
She made her New York debut in Mother of Us All, Virgil Thompson conducting, and premiered in The Abduction of Europa, composer Darius Milhoud conducting, in San Francisco. Through her Royal Palm Center Production Company, she established Jan McArt’s Royal Palm Dinner Theatre and Jan’s Rooftop Cabaret Theatre, along with the Little Palm Children’s Theatre in Boca Raton. She also started theatres in Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, Key West and Miami Beach, and produced many shows through her not-for-profit wing, Jan McArt’s American Festival Series. Simultaneously, she produced three national touring companies of The Pirates of Penzance.
In 1989 she brought an original musical, The Prince of Central Park, to the Belasco Theatre on Broadway. She was a leading soprano with San Francisco Opera and NBC Opera and has starred in world premieres in New York. Having made her symphony debut with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, the Columbia concert artist became a favorite guest performer with symphonies across the country. She has co-starred with Liberace and Jack Jones; played well-known cabaret nightspots such as the St. Regis and Pierre Hotels, New York, the Coconut Grove, Los Angeles, and the Colony and Society, London. She also has performed concert engagements in Saudi Arabia, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok.
Throughout her career, McArt has earned awards and recognition such as the prestigious George Abbott Lifetime Achievement Award from the South Florida Entertainment Writers, the Palm Beach Post’s “One of the 100 Most Influential People in Florida for This Century,” the B’Nai Brith International National Performing Arts Award, 278 Carbonell Award nominations for her dinner theatre, and a Carbonell Best-Actress Award for her performance in Nightclub Confidential.
Her Royal Palm Dinner Theatre took its last bow in April 2001 after a record run of nearly 24-1/2 years. In 2004, she was appointed director of theatre arts program development at Lynn University. She is the founder and producer of the Libby Dodson’s Live at Lynn series. Entr’Acte Theatrix and Palm Beach Principal Players will conclude their production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” with the following performances: + Friday, July 13 – 8 p.m. + Saturday, July 14 – 2 & 8 p.m. + Sunday, July 15 – 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 for reserved seating, $15 for groups and children under 12, and $10 student rush (with ID) at the door on day of show. This ticket price is inclusive of all fees. To purchase tickets call 877.710.7779. Caption