It's fitting that a local theater group is performing Webb's City: The Musical, the saga of a man and his drugstore that became part of a city's lore.
By MARTY CLEAR
Published September 4, 2003
[Times photos: Dirk Shadd]
Tim Topper, who plays the white-suited Doc Webb, sings with other cast members during a dress rehearsal.
Michael Sharp plays the role of young Jimmy Webb.
ST. PETERSBURG - Webb's City: The Musical has had two successful and critically acclaimed professional productions. So you might expect its creators to be just a little wary about a community theater staging.
But playwright Bill Leavengood said he and composer Lee Ahlin look at the St. Petersburg Little Theatre production as an honor.
"Lee and I are thrilled that a community theater is doing Webb's City," Leavengood said, "because community theater is where the standards and the classics live."
There's a bit of hyperbole in Leavengood's statement, but it's certainly true that community theater relies on material with proven appeal for both actors and audiences. It's exceedingly rare that a play written and originally produced professionally in this area has passed into the vocabulary of community theaters.
For SPLT, the city's oldest theater company, producing Webb's City was a perfect way to celebrate a St. Petersburg milestone.
"Bill had been approached about reviving it . . . for the city's 100th birthday," director Michael Schwartzberg said. "There had been some talk about doing George M. But Webb's City was the perfect fit."
Webb's City follows the life and career of downtown pioneer James Earl "Doc" Webb, from the time he arrived in St. Petersburg and opened his original drug store, through the years in which Webb's City grew into the city's dominant business and a major tourist attraction, and finally to the time when Webb's style of salesmanship fell from favor.
The play was originally produced in 2000 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater and the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg as part of Pinellas County's millennial celebration. Its Mahaffey run was the most successful theatrical production in that space in a decade, Leavengood said.
The next year, a new company called LiveArts, led by Leavengood and his wife, Diana, revived the show for another popular Mahaffey run.
Schwartzberg acknowledged that Webb's City is a special challenge for a community theater.
"There are 45 people in the cast, and one of the drawbacks of community theater is that you have to work with what you have," he said. "But we've been fortunate in that we have 45 voices, and they blend beautifully. When they do the finale, it's going to blow you away. It still gives me goosebumps when I hear it."
And though he admits that the large, young cast may make for some rough spots in the show, Schwartzberg said the three main roles, played by Tim Topper (Doc Webb), Julian Cunningham (Doc's friend Leo) and Laura Lucas Sullivan (Doc's second wife) all have the talent and experience that their roles require.
An interesting quirk of casting has Doc Webb's grandson, James Webb III, playing two small roles in this production - as well as being represented on stage as a young boy.
PREVIEW: Webb's City: The Musical runs tonight through Sept. 21 at St. Petersburg Little Theatre, 4025 31st St. S, St. Petersburg. Curtain is at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. $16 adults, $8 students. Call (727) 866-1973.
