“They called me in for what I thought would be a brainstorming session about an additional musical for Lakeside Little Theatre’s 60th season,” muses Tim Johnson. “And I walked out the newly appointed director of The World Goes ‘Round. I was stupefied. How had this happened?”
Just a year before, Tim had been a director of a vastly different sort, for several senior independent and assisted living facilities in Oakland California. Once retired, he and his partner of 28 years, Glenn, decided to settle in Puerto Vallarta, where they’d vacationed for many years. When they returned there in March of 2023 to look for a property, however, “We were disillusioned by the cost, and frightened by the heat.” So, they visited Ajijic. After only one day, they knew they were home. “We met so many wonderful people just walking down the street.”
Since Tim had been involved in more than thirty community and regional theater productions in and around Oakland, it only made sense that he’d stop by Lakeside Little Theatre. Next thing he knew, he was playing Pilot in the theater’s stellar production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Shortly afterward, he was invited to that fateful meeting and became a theatrical director. “It’s been a whirlwind,” he admitted.
Lakeside Little Theatre used to stage six plays a year including one musical. Covid forced the theater to cut back. As it planned for its monumental 60th season, though, it restored the sixth play, this year a season-opening musical revue.
“I proposed The World Goes ‘Round (never imagining that I’d direct it) because it was a small production, with just five singers,” Tim explains, “and I knew it well, having sung in it myself many years before.”
The World Goes ‘Round–named after the song “But the World Goes ‘Round” that Liza Minnelli made famous in the movie New York, New York–showcases the work of composers John Kander and Fred Ebb. The rousing revue includes show-stopping love songs, torch songs, and comic numbers from plays such as Chicago, Cabaret, Zorba the Greek, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and the movie Funny Lady. First staged in 1991, the show won both the Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical.
“I was intimidated by the prospect of directing a play with such complicated songs, many involving intricate five-part harmonies; but I’ve been surrounded by so much support–choreographers, stage and lighting designers, a stage manager and music director, and, above all, a phenomenal cast…. It’s really turning out to be a lot of fun.”
Tim added, “The other day there was a special moment. One of the singers pulled me aside and thanked me for casting him. ‘I’ve never faced such challenging music, and I’m really excited about it!’”
“I couldn’t ask for more,” Tim said.
Tim Johnson’s show, The World Goes ‘Round, will run September 27th through October 6th at Lakeside Little Theatre. Tickets, 400 pesos, will go on sale September 1st. Season tickets are already available at https://www.lakesidelittletheatre.com/
- Streets of Mexico – December 2024 - November 30, 2024
- Streets of Mexico – November 2024 - October 29, 2024
- Streets of Mexico – October 2024 - September 28, 2024
