Dallas' One Thirty Productions was the brainchild of Marty Van Kleeck, Manager of the Bath House Cultural Center. By 2007, Van Kleeck had assumed the managerial reins of the Bath House, a facility owned by the City of Dallas and directly under the aegis of the City of Dallas' Office of Cultural Affairs. That summer, the Mayor's office directed the OCA to initiate a program geared toward senior citizens.
The Bath House Cultural Center on White Rock Lake, housing a black-box theater and an art gallery, seemed an obvious venue for this endeavor; so the OCA presented the idea to Van Kleeck, who was uniquely qualified to put a plan into action. With a degree in Theater Arts and 30 years experience at the Granbury Opera House as an actress, director, and costume designer, including 10 years as Managing Director, it didn't take long for Van Kleeck to hatch her plan.
She called upon two former Granbury colleagues, Gene Raye Price and Larry Randolph, to join her in this new project. From their first organizational meeting in Randolph's living room in August, 2007, to the opening of their first production, barely three months had elapsed.
On December 04, 2007 One Thirty Productions opened their first season with Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy, which was well received by critics and audiences alike. Currently they're running the second show of their second season, Ron Clark's laugh-out-loud, A Bench in the Sun, by Ron Clark. (Think of it as a cross between The Odd Couple and "Grumpy Old Men").
The premise of the company is the idea that many seniors, as well as a number of others, prefer to enjoy their cultural entertainment before dark; thus all productions have a 1:30 curtain. People can see a play, visit the art gallery and still get home before the five o'clock traffic.
One Thirty's 2008-09 season opened with the world premiere of the thoroughly delightful and funny play, Wedding Belles, by Alan Bailey and local playwright/actress Ronnie Claire Edwards. Plays produced by One Thirty have quickly become favorites of church groups and senior citizen organizations.
A Bench in the Sun
