“Odyssey of the Stars: A Celebration of Artistic Journeys,” honors Margaret Johnson and Esther England in a show titled “A Tribute to Two Grand Dames” on Saturday,
7:30 p.m. in the University Theatre. Tickets are $25 adults, $12.50 students, available at www.griztix.com, 243-4051, and at all GrizTix outlets. Sponsorship tickets, which include select seating and a VIP reception, are $100 for two, $175 for four.
The last time they shared the stage together was 41 years ago, and the bill was UM's “Night of the Iguana.”
The two mavens of Missoula theater and voice, who've taught thousands of Missoula high school and college students over their combined 75 years in the classrooms, stages and studios, are this year's honorees for the annual “Odyssey of the Stars: A Celebration of Artist Journeys,” a UM Fine Arts fundraiser which celebrates the best of Missoula's art and culture. Honoring them will be many of their former students who've gone on to achieve national and worldwide fame.
The original title to this year's event, envisioned early and abandoned post-haste, was “A Tribute to Two Great Broads.”
But it wasn't England or Johnson who shelved the name. No, no. They, in fact, loved it.
It was the UM Department of Fine Arts which decided that such a title might take away from the event's grandeur and prestige. And so “Great Broads” became “Grand Dames.”
“Great broads!” said England, who taught for 38 years at UM. “I thought that was so much better!”
And how about Johnson, who for 37 years sat at the helm of Sentinel High School's drama department? “It certainly fits me. I can't speak to Esther, but I think it's perfect.”
If there are two women in Missoula who wouldn't mind being referred to as a “broad,” it would be England and Johnson. To those who know them, that's no surprise. To those who don't, well ... let me tell you a little bit about these two dames. (I have worked with both of them as an accompanist.)
For 37 years, Margaret Johnson led the drama department at Sentinel High School. When she retired in 2000, the school's theater was named after her. Nearly 200 productions under her belt. Think about what it takes to put on ONE. And multiply.
Johnson was the first recipient of the Montana Theatre Educator of the Year Award in 2000, and just recently her book “The Drama Teacher's Survival Guide” went on sale across the nation.
For 38 years, Esther England was a vocal instructor at the University of Montana, headed the opera workshop, and was the guiding artistic voice for hundreds of students, some of whom have gone on to international careers.
She was a Fulbright Scholar, sang professionally in Europe, and was once awarded a contract with the Metropolitan Opera - which she turned down to eventually come to Missoula.
But what really unites them - besides the fact that they shared that stage 41 years ago in “Iguana” at UM - is their approach to their craft. Both, it's fair to say, are tough as anvils, unwilling to accept any sort of “good enough,” and hell-bent on excellence. And now, because of those standards of excellence, both can look back at careers that brought thousands of young Missoulians a deep appreciation for music and theater.
Those careers traveled oddly similar paths to Missoula.
Both were raised in small towns in the Northwest - Johnson in Glasgow, England in various communities as a minister's daughter.
Both came to the University of Montana, ultimately to study their art. England, first a piano major, was discovered as a fine-tuned vocalist shortly after arriving and quickly changed her major. Johnson came to teach at Sentinel but also studied for her master's degree in theater at UM.
And both taught for nearly four decades here, never leaving.
But while England almost stumbled into singing, Johnson knew at age 14 that she was bound for the theater.
It was a production of “Suds in Your Eye,” in which she had a starring role in Glasgow, that she was first bitten.
“I had no idea what I was doing, but I got a laugh,” said Johnson. “And it was the greatest thing in the whole world. I knew that was what I was going to do with my life. And that's pretty rare for a freshman.”
Johnson left Glasgow for St. Paul and attended Macalester College, a small liberal arts school. After graduation, she applied for - and got - the job as drama teacher at what was then called Missoula County High School (now Sentinel).
Her first production ever? Ayn Rand's “The Night of January 16,” which opened on the day that President Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas.
As always with Johnson, the show would go on.
“When they came over the loudspeaker to say Kennedy was assassinated, you could have heard a pin drop,” said Johnson. “The kids just sat in stunned silence. Many had tears running down their face. I called the superintendent, and he said, ‘Yeah, go ahead.' We had a little bit of an audience.”
Nearly 200 productions later, Johnson - known for tackling controversial and adult plays, like “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” as well as the standard fare - retired from Sentinel in 2000. On the night before graduation, she was surprised to learn that her little theater was now named The Margaret Johnson Theatre.
Johnson said she was allowed to flourish as a teacher at Sentinel.
“I was allowed to do theater at Sentinel High School,” she said. “They never questioned what I did, and they let me do the shows I wanted to do. I was given that kind of freedom.”
England's career path started at the piano, but quickly went from her fingers to her throat after her powerful mezzo voice was discovered during a chance vocal lesson.
“Within two weeks, I dropped the piano major,” she said. “I had just discovered my voice. That was it, that was where I was supposed to be.”
It was a talent that blew people away, and within a year of arriving at the University of Montana, she was singing professionally, making her debut with the Spokane Symphony. She also won a Fulbright Scholarship and was offered a contract singing leads with the Metropolitan Opera's touring company.
She turned it down.
“I took the Fulbright, but I remember thinking, ‘How can I turn down (The Met)?' I knew I wasn't ready to sing professionally. I wasn't sure of my technique.”
After singing professionally in Europe, England returned to UM in 1969, where she has been ever since. She retired in 2005, but still teaches part time at the school and at her home.
She has taught more than 500 students in her studio over the years, including many who went on to professional careers, including Pamela South, Curt Olds, J.K. Simmons and Dennis Kozeluh.
In 2000, England was involved in a car accident that injured her severely and took away her singing voice.
She's had to relearn how to teach using only her words, and not her example. And it's been difficult, for a woman who made her voice her life.
“I just remember the complete joy of singing,” England said. “The complete fulfillment of making those sounds, and making people laugh and cry when you're singing.”
On Saturday, there will likely be some more tears as a group of their former students gather to honor them in song - and with a few surprises, too.
But knowing Johnson and England, you'd better count on a few laughs, too.
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