Louis Moore of Garland, Texas: What do you hope Garland 100 years from now will be like? A key question posed in Saturday's musical; we ask that same question today.

(I was honored to be the emcee at the premiere showing of Becoming Garland Avenue at the Plaza Theater at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, as part of the Garland Heritage Celebration 2019. As my blog today, I am including my opening remarks because I want to invite readers to also send in their comments about what they would like Garland to be like 100 years from now and what they personally can do to set these wheels in motion now. A key moment in the musical was when Garland leaders in 1913 wondered what Garland residents 100 years hence would say about their actions in 1913. I plan to write a blog later about what Garlandites today say they would like to see the city to be like 100 years from now for their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Obviously, most of us will no longer be living then, but our legacies will live on.)

Good afternoon. I'm Louis Moore, president of Garland's Historic Magic 11th Street, the 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization that is sponsoring this show.

Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've been waiting for.

That opening line from the popular musical, The Greatest Showman, that took the country by storm in recent history, is appropriate to begin our afternoon, because it was this very movie musical that inspired the birth of our musical drama, Becoming Garland Avenue, which you're about to see today.

Just the hint of an expression, "Why don't we produce a play about the early days of Garland?", brought this germ of an idea to life in the mind of our show's creator. Because, through the Greatest Showman, the musical-theater genre was being elevated in people's awareness about the time this idea was voiced, we knew that what we produced couldn't be just a play; it had to be a musical drama, because only music was suitable to express the depths of emotion that surrounded the lives and circumstances of the long-ago characters that we'll be visiting in just a few moments.

First though, I want to remind everyone that this is community theater. These are not Broadway actors but friends, neighbors, family members, people who are from Garland or who are connected to Garland in some way—people who have a love for this community and who believe that this story should be told. We have some individuals on stage that are highly experienced in musical theater and some for whom this is a first. So if a line or two is missed or you see a bobble or a wobble in presentation, just remember that it's a commitment to Garland that overrides our desire for performance perfection.

In the Plaza Theatre foyer before the performance of Becoming Garland Avenue noted Garland Daily News and Dallas Morning News columnist Sue Holmes Watkins, a symbol of dedication to Garland, stands beside her mother, Willie Kate Holford Holmes' Garland High School graduation dress, left, and wedding dress, right.

We want to take a moment to recognize the Garland Cultural Arts Commission that graciously listened to our story and appropriated a part of its 2018-2019 grant funds to partially fund this drama. Thank you, Garland Cultural Arts Commission, for believing in us and supporting this endeavor. If you are a Garland Cultural Arts Commission member in attendance today, please stand so we can thank you.

We also thank our sponsors, Karin Wiseman Collection, Dos Banderas Mexican Restaurant, The MillHouse Pizza, and Intrinsic for funding our lovely Play Companion this afternoon. I hope you read it carefully. It is chock full of interesting tidbits about our actors, their lives, and their commitment to our city. We encourage you to support these businesses by taking advantage of the discounts they offer to this audience.

We want to recognize the family that is remembered today in the dedication of our performance. Several members of the Holford/Holmes family are in attendance. Today we honor the memory of Bill Holmes, who passed away last year. We thank him for his support of the arts in Garland but most especially his support of Garland's Historic Magic 11th Street in the research that led to the area being named to the National Register of Historic Places. We, like countless others, wish Bill were here today to see his family members commemorated on stage in a few minutes. But we do want to recognize his widow, Jean Holmes, and Bill's sister, Sue Holmes Watkins, who are in the audience. Bill, we miss you. Thank you for all you did for our city.

The Saturday, April 13, performance of Becoming Garland Avenue was dedicated to the late Bill Holmes, who supported the arts and historical preservation in Garland. His sister, Sue Holmes Watkins, is in red in the center; his widow, Jean Holmes, is to the left of Sue in the picture. Others shown are family members.

We also held a contest to see which of our ticketholders would come in costume reflecting the era of our show, 1912-1913. By the way, this musical takes place in the same era as Music Man, Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof and many other prominent Broadway hits. Thanks to all who dressed according to the time period!

We have Karin Wiseman of Karin Wiseman Collections, the fabulous new store just to the southwest of us in downtown Garland, here to help me announce the winners. Karin has been roaming about, looking you over, and she has made her decision. May I have the envelope, please?

Winning the first-place award, a one-night stay at the luxury The Artesian Hotel in Sulphur, OK, is District 2 Councilmember Deborah Snyder Morris. We appreciate so much Deborah’s support of this performance, signified by her presence and outfit.

Winning the second-place award, this lovely gift basket from Bedré Gourmet Chocolates, is Zaden Roman, this precious young man sitting on the front row.

We thank The Artesian Hotel and Bedré Gourmet Chocolates for their support of our event today and their desire to help Garland citizens to appreciate their history. By the way, four members of the cast are citizens of the Chickasaw Nation, which owns the Artesian and Bedré.

One more word: we do hope you'll take time to interact with the play and fill out the card that's part of your Play Companion this afternoon. As we make our way through the drama, you'll see why you're being asked this question. We will take these cards and compile the results and post them on the Facebook page, "Becoming Garland Avenue Musical Drama". We think you'll have plenty of ideas after this musical ends. A volunteer carrying a basket will be in the lobby collecting these cards. We are interested in what you say about the future of our city and encourage everyone here to fill out one of these forms.

If you don't have a pen or pencil with you, fill this out when you get home. Be contemporary. Take a snapshot of it, and post it on the Becoming Garland Avenue Facebook page. (Or send it as an email to louismoore@yahoo.com).

I also want to note that while this is a musical about one particular era in Garland history and one particular residential expansion and its connection to what was going on in that day in the city, the state, and the country, Garland history is filled with many people, places, and events that also would make for great theater and a great script. We hope this musical will inspire others to likewise learn more about our city, its neighborhoods, its people, and its amazing history.

I want to leave you with one inspirational thought. The more than 60 people who pulled together with the common cause of presenting this musical for you—as actors, support staff, and volunteers—have grown to be like a family. We've eaten many dinners together in each other's homes, we've practiced in each other's living rooms and music rooms. My home office, in fact, became the first location for costuming our characters. We've laughed, sung, studied, and teased each other in playful ways. And some have cried quietly on each other's shoulders. When someone has been down, we've been there to lift each other up. Truly this has been the essence of community.

We hope this will be a reminder of the strong shoulders from the past—people who helped build for us the solid foundations on which our city rests today—and an awareness that a century from now others will look back on us and wonder about our decisions made in this era that will impact them then.

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And now, ladies and gents, this indeed is the moment you've been waiting for. Enjoy the show!