The Ultimate Theatre
Building a Foundation for the Future
By Ed and Carolyn Boudreaux
My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra Sponsors
“Well, as Mr. Sinatra would say ‘Stick around, Jack,’ here are a few songs from the silver screen and Frank’s favorite street of dreams…Broadway.” ~ From My Way, A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra
As Venice Theatre launches its 75th Diamond Season with My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, we take joy in the inimitable life and career of Ol’ Blue Eyes, from his youth in Hoboken to his Chairman of the Board status. We have loved Frank Sinatra’s music for many years and feel the show is a perfect fit for us to sponsor. When the Diamond Season was announced in May, we offered to sponsor the production right there at the announcement party. We love the excitement of all the Venice Theatre productions and have been sponsoring its shows for many years. Our contribution covers everything from licensing fees to costume fabrics, and from set materials to the stagecraft itself. And we look forward to meeting all the patrons who attend.
Our own “foundation” started in the same decade as Venice Theatre’s founding. Perhaps that’s also why we have such a fondness for the place. We met October 17, 1959, in Aiken, South Carolina, where Ed worked at the Atomic Energy Plant and Carolyn was in Aiken with U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond to open his off-season office. On a blind date, we saw the Augusta, Georgia Community Theatre’s production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. We discovered we were both very much fans of live theatre. Ed was currently in the cast of Sabrina at the Aiken Community Theatre and Carolyn was active in a similar theatre in Alexandria, Virginia. After dating for two weeks, Ed told Carolyn he was going to marry her. She found this humorous, but he had a plan. The plan worked. We have been married 63 1/2 years, listening to Frank’s music all along the way.
We rented in Venice in 1998 and fell in love with the town and especially Venice Theatre. In 1999, we joined the front-of-the-house team of ushers. We learned about Venice Theatre’s history, its friendly atmosphere, and its commitment to excellent productions. We immediately felt we were a part of the Venice Theatre family. Like Sinatra, who started out by building a strong foundation listening to Bing Crosby and other crooners of his time, Venice Theatre has been building itself up to become the ultimate theatre for 75 years now.
We enjoy the friendships and support we have received in our job as house managers and ushers for the past 25 years. We believe Venice Theatre is a vibrant and vital part of both the Venice community and our lives by providing outreach, education, and quality entertainment to Venice and the surrounding areas. On June 7, twenty-five cement trucks barreled onto Tampa and Nokomis Avenues and, one after one, poured the foundation and footers for the new Jervey Theatre (photo above). We are thrilled to continue volunteering and sponsoring at Venice Theatre, especially during its 75th Diamond Season. “Duke Ellington once called Sinatra ‘the ultimate theatre,’ so what better place to pay tribute to ‘ol’ blue eyes’ than right here in Venice Theatre,” says one of the leads in My Way, A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra. We hope you will join us in building a strong foundation and making our community theatre the ultimate.
Questions? Contact Camille Cline on VT’s Advancement Team at Camille@VeniceTheatre.net to learn more.