Megan Van De Hey, left, and Sharon Kay White in the Arvada Center’s ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas.’ Photo P. Switzer.

(The DCPA NewsCenter regularly profiles actors performing in theatre productions throughout the state of Colorado.)

MEET SHARON KAY WHITE

Carol Marie in the Arvada Center’s world-premiere and home-grown new holiday musical, ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas,’ running now through Dec. 23.

• Hometown: Gilroy, Calif.
• Home now: Denver
• High school: Gilroy High School
  
• College: Bachelor’s of Science degree in Textile Science and Polymer Chemistry from the UC-Davis (California)
• What have you done for us lately? I played Sister Mary Patrick in the Arvada Center’s production of Sister Act
• Coming up: I will be playing Elsa Maxwell in Cherry Creek Theatre’s Red, Hot and Cole from Jan. 19-Feb. 26 in the Mizel Arts and Culture Center’s Pluss Theatre
  
• What is I’ll Be Home For Christmas all about? It’s about a show-business family filming their annual Christmas TV variety special in 1969, and the challenges that arise when their 24-year-old son returns home from Vietnam and has trouble reconciling his role as an entertainer amid the ravages of war.
  
• Tell us about the challenge of playing your character: Carol Marie is one of the comic guest stars of the TV variety special. She’s so much fun to play. The acting challenge is to successfully play the tonal differences in the production from the realism “off-screen” to the presentational delivery of the “on-screen” moments. In this production, Carol Marie exists mostly in the on-screen television segments, while the central story is played out largely in the off-screen moments, so there is some challenge in getting the right level of heightened reality without going too far.
• What do you love most about the Colorado theatre community? I love the supportive nature of our local theatre community. It truly has become like a family to me.
• What’s one thing most people don’t know about you? In addition to theatre, I work as a real-estate agent. 
• What’s one thing you want to get off your chest? There is a beautiful exchange in our play: “Do you really thinking singing and dancing can change the world?” “I believe singing and dancing may be the ONLY thing that can change the world.” As artists, we feel strongly about this concept. With the fight to keep arts in schools, ever-decreasing government funding for arts in communities, a devaluing of artists’ salaries and benefits, we get dejected. We know that arts make a positive impact on individual lives and, by extension, communities. How lucky we are here in the Denver metro area that we have the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District – the SCFD – and a populace that voted overwhelmingly on Nov. 8 to keep it going through 2030. The district collects one penny from every $10 of sales tax in the seven-county metro area and directs those funds to arts, science and cultural organizations. Last year, more than $53 million went toward deserving entities like The Denver Zoo, Denver Art Museum, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and more than 300 other arts organizations, including theatre, that enriching the lives of all our residents. Bravo!

I’ll Be Home For Christmas: Ticket information
• Original music and lyrics by David Nehls; book by Kenn McLaughlin
• Directed by Gavin Mayer
• Through Dec. 23
• Presented by the Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd.
• Performances: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 1 p.m. Wednesdays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
• Tickets start at $53
• Info: 303-623-0524, or go to curioustheatre.org 

Cast List:
• Noah Racey as Dana
• Megan Van De Hey as Louise
• Jake Mendes as Simon
• Kim McClay as Maggie
• Andrew Diessner as Len
• Sharon Kay White as Carol Marie
• Darius Jordan Lee as Sandy
• Sheryl McCallum as Ruby
• Ensemble: Rae Case, Jean-Luc Cavnar, Maddie Franke, Darrell T. Joe, Norrell Moore, Benjamin Roeling, Rachel Turner, Tucker Worley

More ‘In the Spotlife’ profiles:
Meet Lauren Bahlman of Wide-Eyed West’s theMumblings
Meet Mark Collins of And Toto Too’s Lost Creatures
Meet Carley Cornelius of Colorado Springs TheatreWorks’ Constellations
Meet Emily Paton Davies of Miners Alley Playhouse’s God of Carnage
Meet Sam Gregory of the Arvada Center’s Tartuffe

Meet John Hauser of Curious Theatre’s Hand to God
Meet Jeff Jesmer of Spotlight Theatre’sThe Crucible
Meet Wayne Kennedy of BDT Stage’s Mid-Life 2
Meet Seth Maisel of Town Hall Arts Center’s The Firestorm
Meet Tim McCracken of Local Theatre’s The Firestorm
Meet Joelle Montoya of Su Teatro’s El Sol Que Tu Eres
Meet Anne Oberbroeckling of Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s Ripcord
Meet Jessica Robblee of Buntport Theatre for All Ages’ Siren Song: A Pirate Odyssey
Meet Petra Ulyrich of Germinal Stage-Denver’s Johnny Got His Gun
Meet Megan Van De Hey of the Arvada Center’s Sister Act
 

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter

Last year at this time, Sharon Kay White was in another Arvada Center holiday production, ‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,’ with Paul Page. Photo P. Switzer.