Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 23, 1993 TAG: 9306240055
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN L. DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Dressler, now 22, was just 11 years old when she saw "Annie Get Your Gun" presented by MMT when it was headquartered at the Grandin Theatre.
"I was so impressed by that production. What they were doing seemed like so much fun. I decided then that I wanted to be a part of something like that," she said.
And she didn't waste any time pursuing her dream.
Shortly thereafter, she landed her first part in Mill Mountain's original centennial play, "This Bright Day." Many other roles followed on the Mill Mountain stage.
"I was in about every show that had a child in it," she said.
She appeared in such MMT productions as "Annie" and "The Miracle Worker" and got her early training through the theater's educational programs for young people.
But her major turning point came at age 15, Dressler said, after she played in Mill Mountain's "West Side Story" and "Fiddler on the Roof."
"I was the youngest person in the cast of `West Side Story,' " she said. "I was really frightened and had a lot of doubts about whether I could do it, about whether I had enough ability to be in a show like that with older, more experienced performers. The director gave me lots of encouragement."
She took drama classes in junior high and high school. She was a member of the Patrick Henry Players, which won the state theater competition three years in a row.
Patrick Henry High School drama teacher Fred Fuller knew she was going places. "She was one of those individuals who had focus at an early age. She knew what she wanted and where she wanted to go, and she did everything she needed to do to get there."
In 1988, Dressler graduated from Patrick Henry and headed straight for New York City to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.
After she enrolled in the academy's two-year program, "I found I was a step ahead because I had worked with people here at Mill Mountain who were from New York. I already knew the theater protocol," Dressler said.
And also because of her Roanoke roots, Dressler said she can relate readily to her role as Peggy Sawyer in Mill Mountain Theatre's production of "42nd Street."
In the musical comedy, Peggy is an aspiring actress who lands an obscure role as a chorus-line dancer in a new Broadway show. But her big break comes soon when the leading lady injures herself on opening night, and Peggy must go on in her place.
"Peggy is a small-town girl who goes to New York City with the dream of becoming a star," Dressler said. "She's naive but not stupid. She comes from a small town where you can trust most people and goes to the big city where things are a lot different. I can relate. I've been through most of the things that she's going through."
Dressler was understudy for the role of Peggy in the original European tour of "42nd Street."
Directed by Ernest Zulia, "42nd Street" is the biggest musical production Mill Mountain Theatre has undertaken, according to marketing director, Martha Wiese. "It's not the largest cast, but as far as the choreography and the musical numbers, it's the biggest effort."
"The show is about the backstage life of the stars," Dressler said. "It's about show business, how people perceive it and how it really is."
Billed as the "song-and-dance fable of Broadway," the glitzy "42nd Street" is a reworking of the 1930s movie by the same title, based on a novel by Bradford Ropes. Some memorable tunes from the show include "We're in the Money," "Lullaby of Broadway" and "Shuffle Off to Buffalo."
New York actress Gail Benedict, who played Peggy Sawyer on Broadway, plays leading lady Dorothy Brock on Mill Mountain's main stage. She also has choreographed the show using the late Gower Champion's original tap dances from Broadway. Champion, a leading musical director and choreographer who died of cancer in 1980, was well-known for Broadway hits such as "42nd Street," "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Hello, Dolly."
Dressler said she is staying with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William E. Dressler of Roanoke, for the show's duration. Then she wants to visit briefly with some old theater buddies before returning to New York.
"I'm really happy to be back. It's a nice circle started here when I was 11, then coming back as a professional," she said.
As for her future career plans, "I want to continue making my living as an actor." She hopes to eventually work in movies and television.
by CNB