Sixty years ago summer musical theater began in Dallas Opera Under the Stars in Fair Park's Band Shell. It was not altogether a bad idea to be performing out of doors in 1941, if the alternative would have been indoors without the benefit of air-conditioning in the 100-degree plus temperatures typical of summer time in Dallas. What was important was an audience experiencing the magic of live theater. In celebrating the 60th anniversary of this organization, revisit with us some of the landmarks and highlights as the Dallas Summer Musicals evolved from the Band shell experience.

Opening night came on June 12, 1941. On stage at the Band Shell was a production of Sigmund Romberg's "Blossom Time", an operetta based on the life of Franz Schubert.

The first season was co-produced by a group of local Dallas businesses and the Schubert organization in New York City, producers of touring theatrical productions. Ten shows, running a week each were planned for the first season but the season was so successful two additional shows were added. The season ran through September 4, 1941.

The onset of World War II prompted the cancellation of the season in 1942.

The summer theater resumed operation in 1943 when a group of local businessmen established a non-profit organization to produce the season. A series of ten shows wee presented that year.

The first of three men who have guided the fortunes of the Dallas summer musical theater for most of its fabled history appeared on the scene when the legendary figure of Charles R. Meeker took control of the theater in 1945. Providentially, perhaps, Meeker served as mentor to two your men - Tom Hughes and Michael Jenkins in the 1940's and 1950's who were to succeed him in later years continuing to bring quality entertainment to local audiences decade after decade.

Meeker introduced the star system at the theater in 1947 - at a time when operettas continued to be the theater's mainstay. This system continued to characterize the theater’s operation for decades, until audiences became more attracted to a show title than to a star appearing in…whatever shows you might name.

The year of 1954 was particularly significant. That’s the year the Music Hall was air-conditioned, allowing the theatre to leave the Band Shell. The move indoors to the Music Hall was not only an obvious boost to audience comfort, it allowed greater flexibility and creativity in the way shows were staged. The name of the summer theater was changed to the State Fair Musicals at the time.

Operettas began to fade from the scene in the 1950s, a decade when touring shows and “personality” shows also became part of the pattern of a typical summer season. “The Jack Benny Revue” in 1954 was the first of a series of personality shows to also include such glittering names as Carol Burnett, Mitzi Gaynor, Carol Channing and Jim Nabors, among others, over the years.

Charles Meeker left the theater in 1960, taking a young usher and assistant named Michael Jenkins with him, to produce shows at Six Flags Over Texas.

Tom Hughes, then the house manager at the Music Hall, took over management of the theater in 1961. In 1962, the Summer Musicals separated from the State Fair of Texas becoming an autonomous civic organization called the Dallas Summer Musicals. Carol Burnett also made her first appearance that year, revitalizing a theatre that had begun having problems attracting large audiences.

The second cancellation was not due to war, but by a long overdue renovation and remodeling of the Music Hall – a multi-million dollar investment that transformed the faded auditorium into one of the nation’s premier theater facilities.

During the 1970s and 1980s several shows produced by the Summer Musicals toured nationally such memorable productions were “Peter Pan” starring Sandy Duncan, and “Hello Dolly!” starring Carol Channing.

Michael Jenkins answered a call to help save the venereable theater in late 1994 following the death of Tom Hughes. He quickly put together a season for the summer of 1995, intending to simply get the theater “up and going” after the untimely death of Hughes, the theater’s guiding spirit for over three decades.

Jenkins has stayed on, however. He began instituting changes and giving a more contemporary spin to the theater operation, at the same time remaining faithful to the foundation created by Meeker and Hughes before him.

Among these changes have been the introduction of new marketing strategies; a return to producing shows locally, at one time a hallmark of the theater (including productions of “The Music Man”, “ Oklahoma!” and “South Pacific”); establishing a winter season

named the Broadway Contemporary Series, bring more cutting-edge and avant-garde shows to local audiences; establishing the DSM School for training talent; assuming control of the of the management of the Music Hall and The Majestic Theatre for the City of Dallas establishing a network of major cities tout DSDSM productions; and, at the same time, continuing the traditional emphasis on family entertainment during the summer.

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