Summer Theatre producer to take his final bow

John Lucas -- hailed as a teacher, designer, mentor and friend -- will retire in September after 31 years at Brown

It was John Lucas, the managing director of the theater department, who hung the gallery of cast photos that adorns the walls of Lyman Hall.

Sometimes, he explained, his students "tend to think they invented theater at Brown." The photographs - some of which date to the early 20th century - remind them there was reason for applause long before they arrived on campus.

Lucas has played a key role in theater life at Brown, handling the major and minor aspects of production, lighting and stage design for dozens of the shows portrayed in those historical photos. Soon he, too, will become part of that history; he'll retire as of Sept. 30 after 31 years at Brown. For 26 of those years, Lucas has produced or co-produced Brown's Summer Theatre.

In this 1993 photo, taken just as renovations to Stuart Theater were being completed, John Lucas tests a new headphone intercom system, which allows the backstage crew to communicate with one another.

After earning an MFA at Yale Drama School and heading to England for postgraduate work, Lucas taught briefly at St. Lawrence University before coming to Brown in 1969. The Summer Theatre debuted the same year, but it was several years before he took on the producer's mantle. Now he speaks of the program and its alumni with obvious pride.

"This is run as a professional summer theater," he said, noting its actors and technicians are paid from a program budget funded by box office receipts and a modest University subsidy. Many of its players continue to be involved in theater - and a fair number make a living at it. A few - like JoBeth Williams ("The Big Chill," "Poltergeist"), Laura Linney ("The Truman Show") and Bess Armstrong ("My So-Called Life") - have even achieved modest fame.

"We've had some wonderful actors," observed Lucas.

The summer company is typically comprised of University students and alumni, as well as student actors from Trinity and, occasionally, an area resident. "Sometimes we need a little old lady," Lucas explained.

The cast remains the same throughout the summer season - a factor that adds an element of challenge in choosing both the productions and the acting ensemble.

"It's the hardest thing I do. Can the girl who looks 16 play the 32-year-old in the next show?" said Lucas. "I must've done every four-men, two-women show ever written."

"It's an interesting balancing act," added Wilmeth, who has co-produced with Lucas in past seasons. "You have to have commercially viable fare that will still be a challenge and appeal to the actors."

There is certainly challenge for the company. This season's first show, "A Shayna Maidel," opened June 20 after just nine days of rehearsal. The actors rehearse their second production, "Claptrap," each afternoon and perform "Maidel" at night. When "Claptrap" opens, day rehearsals will begin for "The Sum of Us," the final offering of the 2000 season.

"It's hectic. It always has been, but that's the nature of summer stock," said Lucas. "You live on the edge a bit... but we're pretty laid back."

As if the heavy production schedule at Brown isn't enough, since 1972 Lucas has spent the remainder of each summer directing operettas and musicals - 35 in all - for the College Light Opera Company on Cape Cod. This year he'll direct "Candide" and "The Merry Widow," and he expects to return there for the 2001 season.

"Theater is a disease, similar to catching a cold," he explained. "There's no cure for either. You can only stave off the symptoms. In theater, as long as you're working, you keep the symptoms down."

According to Lucas' colleagues and students, he'll be greatly missed for many reasons. Elysa Marden '90, director of the current summer production of "A Shayna Maidel," is a former - and ongoing - student of Lucas.

"Every phase of my career has gone through the doors of Leeds Theatre - doors opened by John Lucas," she said.

"He not only is a teacher, but a designer, a mentor, and a friend," said box office manager Karen Longest. "He is one of the main reasons I wanted to work at Brown, and I am fortunate to have been able to experience his vast knowledge and expertise in many areas of theatre. He truly is one of a kind."

Lucas has already begun to pull back from the work that has been so much a part of his life; he was involved in just two of the department's major shows this past year, rather than the usual four or five. Several packing boxes litter his office, and clean squares on its walls give evidence that favored photos have already been removed. Plans for a post-retirement,104-day world cruise on the Queen Elizabeth II are finalized.

Not all of Lucas' work is completed, however. Pointing to a stack of show photos still piled on his office sofa, he noted they must be hung with the others before he takes his leave.