FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:     September 12, 2002

Contact:  Leon McWhorter          lmcwho@aol.com
          Day: 214-337-2673       www.crosswiseplayers.com
          Fax: 972-291-3400                             

Sonya Van Sickle Hosts Drama Celebrating 90^th Anniversary

Former Channel 8 news reporter Sonya Van Sickle will host the production of a play called Stained: A Drama of Life in Stained Glass to be presented as a part of the 90^th Anniversary celebration of the Tyler Street United Methodist Church in Dallas. Written by local playwrights Alan Elliott and Leon McWhorter, and performed by the CrossWise Players, the play will be presented at 7:30 pm on Saturday and Sunday, October 5^th and 6^th at the church located at 927 West Tenth street, in the Winnetka Heights Historic District. Admission is free.

     Van Sickle will provide historical background for the play’s setting and briefly discuss the eight stained glass windows created in the 1920s by renowned artist Roger MacIntosh. Van Sickle worked for WFAA, Channel 8 as a TV news reporter until 1999. Since then she has worked as a freelance spokesperson and on camera host for corporate videos as well as acting in TV and radio commercials. Her husband is voiceover actor Doc Morgan.

About the play, Van Sickle says, “The story follows three generations of a Dallas family from 1900 to the present with each episode in their lives related to one of the eight historic stained glass windows at the church. In addition to the 32 actors in the play, the production features accomplished soloists, a select vocal ensemble and music from one of the largest and finest pipe organs in the Southwest. Everyone in your family will be entertained by the humor, drama, and inspiration in Stained. This is a quality production you’ll want to bring your friends to see.”

     In addition to the play, an historical exhibit about Oak Cliff and Southwest Dallas will open at 6:30 pm each night before the performance. Tyler Street United Methodist Church is located at 927 West Tenth Street, Dallas (in the historic Winnetka Heights district.) Rev. Chris Allen, pastor of the Tyler Street Church and Jimmy Emery, director of Fine Arts, welcomes the community to participate in this extraordinary event. For more information about directions or dates, call the church at 214-946-8106 or CrossWise Productions at 972-467-6897. A map and additional information about the play is available at the www.crosswiseplayers.com web site.

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Editor: We’d be happy to welcome you to a rehearsal. Please call for directions.