Looking Behind the Scenes of Brigadoon

Three Cast Members Share Love of Stage, Dance

When the curtain opens on the Three Lakes Theater Company’s production of  “Brigadoon” on June 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19, audience members can expect to see a bit of everything from sassy lassies to swinging kilts.

Community members are often surprised to see their neighbors, teachers, doctors and local merchants on stage, singing and dancing as if it were part of their everyday routine.  Surprisingly, for three of the cast members, dancing is routine; it comes naturally and easily.  They range in age from 17 to fifty-something, but they all have one thing in common: the love of dance and the joy of simply giving others pleasure. 

Noreen Lamon

Meet Noreen Lamon. 

Born in Glasgow , Scotland , she remembers celebrating her fifth birthday on a ship crossing the Atlantic in 1955.  Her family was immigrating to the United States where her father had just been transferred.  They would settle in Queens , a bustling New York borough.

At about age seven, Lamon’s mother enrolled her in a local dance studio that taught ballet, tap and jazz.

“I took to it like a duck takes to water,” recalled Lamon. “The more dancing I did, the more I wanted.  And as time went on I wanted more classes and better teachers.”  Lamon’s need for better teachers would soon become a reality. After seeing her dance, a talent scout approached Lamon, asking her to think about Julliard School in Manhattan .

Julliard School , perhaps the most prestigious music, dance and drama school in the world, accepts only the most talented and elite dancers.  Founded in 1905, the conservatory was created to rival those in Europe .

Following three auditions, Lamon found herself not only doing what she loved, but also learning from the best teachers in the world including Broadway choreographer Agnes DeMille and Martha Hill who directed Julliard’s staff.

“My mother was all for it. But I came from a very educated family, and education came first,” Lamon said.  So rather than attend Julliard full-time as most students were required to do, the 14-year-old attended New Town High School in Elmhurst in the morning and then made the 45-minute trip to Julliard were she spent her afternoons and evenings.

“It was my life. Look,” she demonstrated, taking a few steps. “I even walk in first position to this day.

In her element, Lamon absorbed all she could while at Julliard and in early 1966 auditioned for the American Theater’s nationally televised production of  “The Nutcracker.”  Tryouts went well and within weeks the “duck in water” found that she had earned the coveted role of the Sugarplum Fairy.

“I was thrilled.  I was estactic and very proud.  It was like a dream.  This is it--this is the start of the rest of my life,” she thought.

In late August though, Lamon’s dreams would soon come crashing down around her.

“My knees and ankles would suddenly start to give out on me, and I would fall during rehearsals.”

The doctor’s diagnosis wasn’t good. Her muscles and tendons hadn’t dealt well with overuse and her arches had fallen.

“Basically I was told that I would never dance again. I didn’t know what to do.  I knew I would never dance “The Nutcracker,” she continued.

Today Lamon’s life is her husband John, her four children and work at Watercraft Sales, Inc., the family business.  She admits that music is still a part of her life, but she’s managed to shut out much of what happened at Julliard. 

Looking back she said, “Who knows where I might have gone? I was good.  But dwelling on what could have, should have and would have been doesn’t help.”  

And does dancing in “Brigadoon” bring back some of those memories?

“I’ve blocked it out. It’s hard to remember everything that’s happened. I was 17-years-old and reacted as any teenager might. For me “Brigadoon” brings back many more memories than just dancing.  It brings back memories of my family.  My Uncle Brian was in “Brigadoon” at Hofstra University ,” she said. “It’s very familiar to me and a part of me.”

Lisann Bolte

Performing on stage isn’t new to “Brigadoon’s” Meg Brockie, played by Eagle River native Lisann Bolte.

“Miss Lisann,” as she’s better known by many, finds herself on center stage nearly 20 hours a week as the owner and operator of Danceworks Unlimited, an Eagle River studio that offers lessons in tap, jazz, ballet and gymnastics to students ages 4-18.

With over 700 people attending the studio’s mid-May production, Bolte believes that Danceworks offers something positive to the community.  “There are so many things out there for kids to do that is competitive.  This isn’t.  The kids do it for themselves.”

Bolte also enjoyed this opportunity as a student since she had once taken lessons at the studio under Delores Lapp and “Miss Sherry.”   After high school she attended St. Norbert College in DePere, Wis. and graduated with a major in Arts Management and a minor in Music.  Upon returning to Eagle River , Bolte found herself working at M & I Bank as a teller.

“I got a phone call from “Miss Sherry” who was looking at retiring.  After running some numbers I decided to buy the studio,” said Bolte. She went on to admit, “I hadn’t danced in six years.”

That was seven years ago.  Today Bolte finds herself running the studio, directing the choir and playing the organ at Peace Lutheran Church , and working as a part-time EMT for Eagle River Memorial Hospital .  And if that weren’t enough to keep her busy, she has also been in the Three Lakes Theater Company’s productions of  “Cinderella” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”

In mid-June she will play the fair Meg Brockie, a milkmaid with more than just milk on her mind. 

“Meg is her very own person. She is free-spirited, fun, naïve and a bit ditzy, but she takes people at face value,” said Bolte, adding that the most difficult part of the musical for her will be keeping a straight face while she flirts incessantly with Terry Maney’s character, Jeff Douglas.

“With every new performance comes new challenges,” Bolte said of  “Brigadoon.”  Her challenge, now that the studio’s workload has quieted down, is to complete the choreography for parts of  “Brigadoon,” a job she easily assumes.

Amy Garbowicz

At the age of 17, Three Lakes senior Amy Garbowicz has come a long way from her first on stage performance as a 3-year-old.

“I was a bumblebee,” she smiled, remembering her debut.  “I remember the costume with little antennas.  I wasn’t nervous at all. There was a girl in front of me who didn’t move forward, so I pushed her so we could get on stage.”

The stage has been part of her life ever since.  Garbowicz worked with Eagle River ’s “Miss Sherry” until fourth grade and then headed south to Wausau , joining the Central Wisconsin School of Ballet and working under the tutelage of Madame Karkar.

“It was much more disciplined and rigorous.  I really enjoyed it,” explained Garbowicz.             

Discipline included everything from hairstyles to posture.  She also was expected to maintain a very rigid practice schedule four days a week in addition to the full day she spent at school in Three Lakes .  “I had to utilize time management skills a lot, but the school taught me to be graceful and confident as a person.”

From fourth grade to seventh grade, summers found her in Wausau where she lived with five to six other girls.  A different mother would stay with the girls each week.

Although she had to make sacrifices and could only come home on weekends, Garbowicz believed ballet was worth it.  “I love performing.  You get to let the music take you over, and I like giving others joy.

In eighth grade she faced the predicament many young, talented dancers must: ballet or school.  Looking back she feels she made the right decision.  “It was hard to keep up with my studies,” she explained.  “While I hated giving up ballet, I know I made the right decision.”

She spent her four years in high school working on the yearbook and participating in drama and choral activities. “Brigadoon” will be one of her last performances on the Three Lakes auditorium stage as a student and under the watchful eye of her mother Marilynn, who is the show’s creative director.

“It’s fun and stressful,” said Garbowicz on working with her mother, a self-proclaimed perfectionist. “But she’s a professional and very talented.” 

The younger Garbowicz has talent of her own and audiences at Lawrence University in Appleton , Wis. will be the lucky recipients of her gifts beginning in August.  Although she plans on majoring in International Relations, she also hopes to continue her interest in drama, the concert piano, chorus and dance.

Page last updated on 02/26/2008