- Wayne Lamb
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Michael 'Wayne' Lamb (October 24, 1920 – June 5, 2001) was a Broadway dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and dance professor.
Contents
Study and military service
Lamb was born in Centerville, Kansas and left the University of Wichita to tour with Earl Carroll's Vanities, playing five shows a day on the movie circuit for 3 months.[1] "They said if I was interested in joining them, I had to be in Kansas City the next morning. So I quickly quit school and joined the show." The movie circuit consisted of performing between movie screenings at theatres across the country.[2] His fledgling career was interrupted by the World War II draft. He spent the next three years in an Army uniform, chauffering officers and the occasional entertainer - such as Marlene Dietrich and Dinah Shore - around Europe.[2] He received five Battle Stars and The Bronze Star.
After his discharge and the GI bill, he went to New York City,[3][4] where he immediately enrolled at the former Alviene School for the Dramatic Arts, where Fred Astaire studied.[2] He was also a student at the American Theatre Wing from 1947–50, studying dance with Russian ballet teachers Helena Platova and Edward Caton, English ballet teachers Antony Tudor and Margaret Craske, Modern dance pioneers Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, Japanese modern teacher Yeichi Nimura, [5] and African-American modern dance innovator Katherine Dunham.[1]
Professional Beginnings
Lamb joined the national touring company of The Day Before Spring, which closed three days after its debut in Chicago during a crippling coal strike.[2] A month later, he would receive his Broadway debut.
Broadway
Lamb appeared in six Broadway musicals.[4] He first appeared as a solo dancer in the 1946 revival of the Franz Lehar operetta Yours is My Heart at the Shubert Theatre, lasting two months,[6] and the musical revue Make Mine Manhattan (1948-1949) at the Broadhurst Theatre with Sid Caesar, which ran for 429 performances.[7] Other Broadway shows included The Day Before Spring, which opened on November 22, 1945 at the National Theatre, where it ran for 167 performances, and Call Me Mister, which included Bob Fosse, Carl Reiner, and Buddy Hackett in the cast. This show ran 15 months in venues all over the country.[4][8] He also worked with actress Vivian Blaine, writer Mel Brooks, dancer Gwen Verdon, director George S. Kaufman, and comediennes Imogene Coca and Martha Raye.[9]
International tour
Lamb toured internationally from 1948-50 as a concert dancer with the Elena Imaz International Dance Trio, presenting Spanish dances created by Imaz, who was originally from Argentina. They also appeared in the Carnegie Hall Summer Concerts. A picture of Lamb with the trio is featured in the January 10, 1951 edition of the Sarasota Herald Tribune.[10][11][12]
Television
Lamb performed as a regular dancer on The Admiral Broadway Review which became Your Show of Shows in 1950, working with Buddy Hackett, Nancy Walker and Imogene Coca. From 1952-55, he also appeared on The Martha Raye Show, Toast of the Town (later called The Ed Sullivan Show), Stop the Music,[13] The Tony Martin Show, The Ezio Pinza Show, and The Bob Hope Show, also called The Colgate Comedy Hour.[1][4] Wayne himself declared that he was the first one to wear a dancebelt on television[14] in an early version of 'The Burl Ives Show.' Lamb elaborated for the Kalamazoo Gazette: "They wouldn't allow me to stand up straight for fear the American public would see my crotch!"[2]
Barn Theatre
In 1955, Lamb's interest in choreography led him to the Barn Theatre, a summer stock theatre in Augusta, Michigan where he began directing musicals and plays alongside his companion, Angelo Mango, who was also an actor.[14] His first show for the Barn was South Pacific.[4] A 1978 Barn Theatre program bio states that Lamb had been with the Barn for 23 years and shares "top artistic and managerial decisions with Jack Ragotzy" (artistic director). Lamb was Associate Producer at that time.[4][15]
Professional teaching
Lamb was instructor of Ballet Classes for the New Dance Group in New York City and director of the ballet department for seven years, from 1950–57, 'teaching whenever I was in town.' In 1958, he was Director of the School of Dance and Fine Arts in Hastings, Michigan. In 1967, he taught dance classes for Diamond Head Theatre in Hawaii.[16]
University teaching
Lamb taught dance for Eureka College (Illinois) in 1959, Williams College in 1962, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1964-66.
His teaching relationship with Purdue University began in 1960 and lasted until 1986.[1][16] He was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1971, and is listed as an Associate Professor in a 1978 Barn Theatre program bio.[4] He taught ballet, broadway jazz dance, ballroom, and tap dance, his specialty. He also provided choreography and direction for Marat/Sade, The Music Man (1983) and Carousel (1985) among others, including a 1974 USO Show touring the United States Pacific Command, playing 52 shows to approximately 10,678 troops. Geographical area concerned: Alaska, Korea, Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, the Philippines, Guam and Hawaii.[1][14]
Affiliations
Lamb was a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Actor's Equity Association, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the American Association of Community Theatre.[1]
Honors
He received the title of Professor Emeritus of Theatre in 1987.[16]
At the new Pao Hall for the Performing Arts on the Purdue University campus, the Wayne Lamb Lobby was dedicated soon after the center's opening.[17]
He was honored posthumously at Purdue University Theatre's October 2010 Legacy weekend. Purdue University Theatre's website explains: (This is an honor) 'recognizing and honoring professionals and professors who have had a profound impact upon Purdue Theatre and the professional theatre.' It was also a way for our current and future students – and the faculty and staff of Purdue Theatre – to know of our history, know about the careers of these individuals and the ways in which their contributions have shaped the lives and careers of so many others.'[10] In an evening of memories, former students Dr. Anne Fliotsos and Donald Stikeleather offered dance steps and memories of Wayne. A plaque with his name will be placed adjacent to a theatre on campus.[18]
Death
After his retirement from Purdue, Lamb and Mango continued to live part time in Augusta and New York City until his death on June 5, 2001.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wayne Lamb, 9 page resume dated Dec. 16, 1974, on file at Purdue University Theatre Archive, accessed by Anne Fliotsos on April 10, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Doug Pullen, "Wayne Lamb: still hoofing after all these years," Arts & Entertainment, Kalamazoo Gazette, August 11, 1985.
- ^ http://www.cla.purdue.edu/vpa/theatre/documents/Theatre_Update2002.pdf - 2010-01-25
- ^ a b c d e f g Barn Theatre Archives, 1978 Barn Theatre program bio.
- ^ http://www.danzaballet.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3765
- ^ Doug Pullen, "Wayne Lamb: still hoofing after all these years," Arts & Entertainment, Kalamazoo Gazette, August 11, 1985. This article names the musical as 'Yours is My Heart Alone.'
- ^ Make Mine Manhattan at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ "Wayne Lamb: still hoofing after all these years," Arts & Entertainment, Kalamazoo Gazette, August 11, 1985.
- ^ "Wayne Lamb: still hoofing after all these years," Arts and Entertainment, Kalamazoo Gazette, August 11, 1985.
- ^ a b http://www.cla.purdue.edu/vpa/theatre/upcoming%20news/
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19510110&id=RiEhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sGQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4112,1031550
- ^ http://www.mystrees.com/Geneseo/49_Valley_Echoes.htm
- ^ http://tv.nytimes.com/show/160158/Stop-the-Music/cast
- ^ a b c d Donald Stikeleather, personal communication, April 4, 2010
- ^ Donation Update, http://www.barntheatre.com/
- ^ a b c http://e-archives.lib.purdue.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/bot&CISOPTR=5272&REC=4
- ^ Donald Stikeleather, Personal Account. W. Lafayette, IN, October 1, 2010.
- ^ Donald Stikeleather, personal account of festivities, W. Lafayette, IN, October 1, 2010.
External links
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Technique Choreography · Connection · Dance theory · Lead and follow · Moves (glossary) · Musicality · Spotting · Turnout
See also Categories:- American dancers
- American choreographers
- 1920 births
- 2001 deaths
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