Stagewhispers - Mickey Ray

Okay...a few of the plays listed were performed in 1969, but not a decade's worth, so I tossed them in here! Also, where I have performed a show for a second time, the pictures follow after the first production, no matter how many years afterwards I did the next.

This productions of Oliver was very unique at its time. Karnes Inner City Theater, created a forum that provided theatrical education and opportunities for the inner-city youths of Kansas City, who might not have otherwise experienced the wonderful world of the theater both on and backstage. I was a volunteer and a very young Fagin, all of 23 years old.

Nine years later, by 1978, I grew more into the role and had been acting professionally. (Scroll down to see photos.)

Owned by Geri Eicher, it was she who gave me my professional head start! I got to be in some terrific musicals and comedies and played some wonderful characters! Noah, in Two by Two, Nicely, Nicely Johnson, in Guys and Dolls, Cass Henderson, in Any Wednesday, The Emcee in Cabaret, The Reverend Arthur Humphrey, in See How They Run and I even stepped in one night, script in hand, to perform in "Stop the World I Want to Get Off", when the male lead, Duke Howze, fell ill!

(This character is not in the original stage production. It was created and written in to the script for me to be a wise-cracking delivery boy and to use my Paul Lynde vocal impression.)

My partner, Drew, volunteered to help us by donning the drag for this publicity shot when the actor couldn't make it. This was his first and only time he would do so again!

(A few years later, 1975) Geri and I would team up together in "The Drunkard" in Branson, MO.)

I had come to visit my family and wound up playing Mordred in the Sherburne Community Theater Playhouse. King Arthur was played by Bob Evans, who became a well known local actor in Binghamton, playing multiple productions at the Cider Mill Dinner Theater.

Jesus was played by a young talented singer named Doug Karcoff. A year later, I returned and performed in Godspell, as Jesus, with Doug playing the Judas/Peter role.

About this photo. One night, during a performance, I had as I had every performance previously, placed the noose (it was a real one) over my head while standing on my toes behind a scrim on top of an eight foot platform. A spot would come up and I would "drop" and spin on my toes to appear as if I had been hung within the circular silhouette.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, the platform was about to give way and but for a very large and strong backstage grip, it would have toppled. He literally held up the platform with the strength of his Herculean arms. If he hadn't seen the legs of the platform starting to fold and held it up, I would have truly been hung. When the lights went out, I removed the noose, got off the platform and quickly ran backstage to change into the costume for the big, JC Superstar number. I didn't find out about my near death experience until after the show was over. Needless to say, the stage was reinforced.

Geri Eicher, was the owner and director for the Limelight Dinner Theatre who gave me my professional head start! I got to be in some terrific musicals and comedies and played some wonderful characters! Noah, in Two by Two, Nicely, Nicely Johnson, in Guys and Dolls, Cass Henderson, in Any Wednesday, The Emcee in Cabaret, The Reverend Arthur Humphrey, in See How They Run and I even stepped in one night, script in hand, to perform in "Stop the World I Want to Get Off", when the male lead, Duke Howze, fell ill!

A few years later, Geri Eicher and I teamed up with another couple and brought this show to Branson, Missouri. We performed this musical melodrama in a small room upstairs from a restaurant/bar whose name I can't remember now.

I also got to portray John Dickinson in the musical 1776 that year. Someday, ask me to tell you the story about the "ebony cane"!

Sadly, like many other shows I've done, I have no photos of that production. Many of my photos were lost or damaged irreparably in the flood of '90.

This was an original musical to celebrate the founding of Westport in Kansas City. We used other recordings and wrote our own lyrics. I wrote two songs for this show.

(This particular photo was taken while singing "If I Were a Rich Man" during the 2003 Taylor and Taylor revue in Deposit, NY. The originals were also lost in the flood.

In between the above Little Me and the below, My Fair Lady, I also played Sir Evelyn Oakley in Anything Goes but sadly, have no photos from that show.

As last year, we performed three show at Anderson. They were Little Me, (see above) Anything Goes, and My Fair Lady. It was at the end My Fair Lady, that I had had an accident which would alter my appearance from now on.

I had a room on the third floor of the theatre and sometime during the evening I'd remembered leaving something on the stage that I needed to pack and didn't want to forget. So I had gone downstairs to the theatre and, thinking I knew my around blindfolded, I went on stage in the dark. The walkway that connected the two separate stages between Higgins' home and the mainstage street area, had been taken up and I didn't know that. I wound up busting my nose on the lip of one of the stages as I fell in between the two. Fortunately, the theatre was insured and I had corrective surgery done shortly afterwards. Gone was my classic nose.

So many shows, and yet so few pictures! I hadn't realized how many productions I'd done and had no pictures around to show for them! Ah well, perhaps my fellow actors who performed in those shows will see this page and send my what pix they have! We can hope!

And that's the end of the 70s. Oh yes, there are loads more pictures and you're welcome to peruse at your leisure!

Subject: Stagewhispers Mailing List
Body: Please add my address to your weekly mailing list.

For all other inquiries, fill the Subject line accordingly: photos, resumes, performance schedules, want ads, educational courses, etc.!

This website is a non-profit, community project. It is completely owned and created by my efforts, and is under no obligation to any theater group, foundation or advertisers. I pay my own fees to create, host and maintain this website. If you feel you would like to donate any funds to further this project, all such gifts will be gratefully appreciated.

Please help and send your support. Until recently, I received not one dollar towards the upkeep of this site, and I would very much appreciate your help.

Send any donations via check or money order to
Mickey Ray
136 Front Street
1st Fl.
Binghamton, NY 13905-3102
In your notation line, put "Stagewhispers donation."
Thanks!
(To see the list of contributors, click logo below!)

Submit your advertisement INFORMATION (flyer or poster) containing the name of your Theater Group, the name of the show and your director.

Include the Date: Time, Location, & Ticket Prices no later than two weeks before your opening night. (I will copy/paste your info, so if it's in error it will be yours, not mine.)

You are also welcomed to merely send a basic announcement and I'll put that up along with a LINK to your website for further details.

This is a FREE service and is done when I have the time to do it, so I cannot make guarantees as to having your announcements up in time. Accuracy of show dates and times will be copy/pasted, so it is up to you to get them right!

All professional and non-professional theater groups on my Playgroups� list are welcomed to advertise. http://www.stagewhispers.net/playgroups.asp If you are NOT on that page and would like to be, and if your group lies within 2 1/2 hours of Binghamton by car, write to me and send me your info!

Shows that share the same dates will be listed alphabetically by Theater Group, excepting the word �the�.

�The Brighton Players�, for example, would go before �Salisbury Community Theater�.

If shows share �split� dates, the show that goes up first, will be listed ahead of the other.

Click on the Headers Below!
to go to

At this page, actors may submit their headshots and bios for others to see simply by emailing them to me.
YOU can help make this a must place for Theater Groups, Directors and Agents to check out and find you! This is entirely at no cost to you!

Here's where I'll put up notices of any auditions that I get word of via professional or community theater companies or from you, my visitor!

Theatre groups may submit information about their upcoming performances ~ at least two weeks before opening night ~ and have it placed on this page! See details there!

A listing of professional and community theaters listed with their personal logos! Does your company have a web site? You'll want to be on this page! Need a logo for your group? Contact me.

Who is Mickey Ray?

This is my personal resume page with links to the photo galleries of productions I've appeared in. Please feel free to browse. I also have a resume template page which you can copy/paste into a Word document and fill out the tables accordingly, then send your document on to me.

A listing of professional and community theatres educational programs teaching or training in acting, writing, singing, and technical courses. Free courses will always be listed first, when available.

This page may be used to announce performance fundraisers for various theatrical and charitable events.

Here's your chance to talk about what's going on in your neck of the woods, send general announcements about your company (new address, relocating, board elections, special theatrical events such as awards, picnics) or link to your website's seasonal announcements etc...

This is a page you can seek out theatrical props, costumes, & stage equipment

Remember When and Computergraphics will no longer be accessible starting July, 2008.

SOMETHING JUST FOR FUN

Take a walk down memory lane, or drive down in your '57 Ford Fairlane...

What do you remember about the 50s???
Now includes a link to hear Abbot and Costello's hilarious "Who's On First" routine!

My artwork made into transparent computer graphics, now free to use for your emails, web pages, greeting cards etc. NOT for resale!

All artwork, graphics and logos on this and other pages throughout, are my own and are copyrighted, with the exception of Theatrical and Business logos used as links to various enterprises.

More Theatrical Information may be found at...

Lars Blizard
798-0973
Tell him, Mickey sent you!

^�

Here is a list of all the pages at StagewhisperS^�.

If you can use any of these pages, be sure to send your information to me with as much detail as you can at least 2 weeks before the premier performance date!

Each actor at the "Actors" page has his or her own personal page as well! And let's not forget all the various "Details" pages that lend greater information about your projects!

Where to go at StagewhisperS^�
http://www.stagewhispers.net/
Homepage

http://www.stagewhispers.net/actors.asp
Photo gallery of Actors with links to their individual pages providing head shots and bios for agents, directors and theater companies.

http://www.stagewhispers.net/auditions.asp
The shows, dates, times and locations of auditions sent to me by the theatre companies within a 2 1/2 hour radius of Binghamton, NY.

http://www.stagewhispers.net/computergraphics.asp
My artwork made into transparent computer graphics, now free to use for your emails, web pages, greeting cards etc. NOT for resale!

http://www.stagewhispers.net/contributions.asp
A record of donations from theatre companies, organizations and individuals.

http://www.stagewhispers.net/curtainsup.asp
Upcoming shows, dates, ticket prices, synopsis etc.

http://www.stagewhispers.net/education.asp
Theatre courses in acting, dance, comedy etc. offered by various individuals and companies.

http://www.stagewhispers.net/fundraisers.asp
This page may be used to announce performance fundraisers for various theatrical and charitable events.

http://www.stagewhispers.net/mickey-ray.asp

My personal theatrical resume plus sub links to photos of shows I performed from 1970 ~200-
http://www.stagewhispers.net/pg70s.asp

http://www.stagewhispers.net/pg80s.asp

http://www.stagewhispers.net/pg90s.asp

http://www.stagewhispers.net/pg2000.asp

http://www.stagewhispers.net/playgroups.asp
Links to all the theatre companies at StagewhisperS^� who have websites.

http://www.stagewhispers.net/puppetry.asp
My venture into another theatrical art form!

http://www.stagewhispers.net/remember.asp
An entertaining look at the 50's.

http://www.stagewhispers.net/resume.asp

StagewhisperS^� provides a template to help create your resume!

http://www.stagewhispers.net/tellme.asp
What's going on in your neck of the woods? Send general announcements about your theatrical company (new address, relocating, board elections, special theatrical events such as awards, charity drives, dinners or picnics, or request a link to your website's seasonal announcements etc...)

http://www.stagewhispers.net/wantads.asp
Need something? Offering something? Swap, donate or sell theatrical supplies, costumes, props etc.