ABOVE: Audrey Johnson, z’l, and Sam Primack, whose experience touring with “The Addams Family” inspired Sam and mother Allyson Primack to create a foundation to honor Audrey’s dedication to children and theater.
The Second Annual “Get Art AZ” Event will take place Aug. 22, at Phoenix Theatre, 100 E McDowell Road in Phoenix. Last year’s inaugural event, held at the Musical Instrument Museum, drew hundreds of fans of live theatre who were eager to get a glimpse of upcoming offerings from theatre companies around the Valley. In addition to day-long performances, there were also booths with information about each theatre’s upcoming season, auditions and offerings of classes, camps and workshops.
This year’s events will follow in the same format with performances running 10 am-4 pm. The event is free. There will be silent and live auction items, including tickets to performances from the represented theatres.
Get Art AZ is a celebration of all aspects of live theater arts, bringing together the community to support the nonprofit Audrey Johnson Theatre Foundation, which provides reduced-price theater tickets and discounted or free camp/classes to children in Arizona who would otherwise be unable to attend or participate in live theater.
Audrey was a member of Congregation Beth Israel and an integral part of Desert Stages Theatre in Scottsdale, serving as the parent coordinator. She passed away in 2012. Her friend and fellow “theater-mom” Allyson Primack started the foundation in Audrey’s honor with a kickoff event held at the Valley of the Sun JCC in 2013.
Get Art AZ will also offer a reading and book signing by Allyson, who has authored three very popular books: You’ll Be Swell: What To Expect When You Expect Your Child Will Be A Star (a realistic guide to the world of show business today based on the author’s experience with her actor son); Mom On The Road, a fictionalized version of the author’s blog, “Mom On Tour,” which chronicled six months on the road with her son in a National Broadway Tour; and Moving On From The Middle: To _______ On Your Graduation from Junior High School, an advice book for kids about to enter into high school. Books will be for sale with proceeds to the Audrey Johnson Theatre Foundation.
The foundation’s story excerpted from the foundation’s website:
“Audrey Johnson grew up in Highland Park, IL, and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1978. She settled in Arizona and married Van Johnson, a musician. Their daughter, Haley, became involved in local theater at a very young age, beginning at Desert Stages Theatre in Scottsdale. Audrey loved being part of the theater community and helping parents and children learn about how they could help become involved.
Audrey was the #1 cheerleader for all of the children involved in the Arizona theater community. She would spend her days working at World At Work, and her evenings and weekends volunteering at Desert Stages or going to other theaters in town to cheer on “her kids’ who were involved in theaters all over Arizona.
One of the children that was influenced by Audrey was Sam Primack. Sam met Audrey at the age of 5 when he did his first theater production. Audrey was his biggest fan, and she made sure she was in the audience at every one of the 25 theater productions Sam performed in throughout the Valley. At the age of 10, Sam landed the role of Puglsey Addams in The National Tour of the Broadway Musical “The Addams Family.” Shortly before he left for tour, Audrey passed away. While on tour with his mom, Allyson Primack, he saw foundations throughout the United States sponsoring seats for underprivileged children to see “The Addams Family.” This sparked an idea. In September of 2013 they started “The Audrey Johnson Theatre Foundation” to honor the spirit of Audrey and her love of children and her belief in the power of theater.”
www.audreyjohnsonfoundation.com
