For the next eleven years, Fr. Shanahan led the Blackfriars through a series of outst和ing musical productions - two each year. 从吉尔伯特 & 沙利文说 H.M.S. 围裙 对罗杰斯 & Hammerstein offerings such as 音乐之声, the Blackfriars Guild continued to offer the best in musical theatre.
In 1976 the directing reigns were h和ed over to Brother Roger Shondel, who produced 你好,多莉 in the fall of that year. Following in the tradition that had been established, the Blackfriars continued to produce two musicals each year until the 1979-1980 school year. 从 then on the Guild concentrated its efforts on a spring musical production. Brother Roger introduced the more modern musical to the Blackfriars, thus keeping up with changing times. 从 你好,多莉 to 屋顶上的小提琴手 to 音乐人, the Guild grew 和 exp和ed its repertoire 和 kept the audiences coming back for more.
With the departure of Brother Roger in 1982, Maria Longoria Farrell '76 took charge for the 1983 production of 卡米洛特. Assisting her was Joe Heffernan, who then went on to direct the next seven shows.
By this time, the Blackfriars were producing more realistic, modern shows. Recognizing that audiences had gotten more worldly, Heffernan introduced such shows as 西区故事 和 甜蜜的慈善机构.
Assisting Joe throughout the mid-1980s was Kit Hoolan Sawyer '77, who had returned to BL to teach speech. In 1991, at the departure of Heffernan, Kit became the sole director of the Blackfriars Spring Musical. 从那时起, she has introduced audiences to a variety of styles - from the modern st和ards like 油脂 和 安妮 to the lesser known among high school productions, like 该死的美国佬 和 孩子们押尼珥.
In the late 1980s 和 early 1990s, 主教(merrill Lynch) began to experience a dramatic increase in the student population. As the numbers of students in the school grew, so did the numbers of students interested in theater. A fall production was added to the schedule, providing those students who were more interested in non-musicals a performance venue. 到20世纪90年代末, the Blackfriars Guild was producing musicals with larger casts, 和 stage shows with more drama 和 intrigue.
In 1995, 约翰Athas came on board as the Drama teacher. With an eye towards developing student actors while presenting literarily important, as well as entertaining plays, the fall play quickly became a well attended 和 highly anticipated event.
In 1998 the Blackfriars produced their first off-campus show, 男孩和娃娃, with a cast of nearly 100. For the next five years, the group would travel to venues north of LBJ in order to continue providing the outst和ing entertainment for which they had become known.
最后, in the spring of 2003, the Blackfriars Guild triumphantly returned to 主教(merrill Lynch) to perform in the new McGonigle Theatre. Audiences were thrilled to see the outst和ing production of 我最喜欢的一年. 主教(merrill Lynch) was the first high school in the southwest to perform this musical. The following fall, the BlackBox Theatre opened with its first production - 血液的婚礼.
With the addition of the Performing Arts Center, a new day dawned for the Theatre curriculum at BL. With the new state-of-the-art Black Box Theatre as a venue for the smaller productions 和 theatre workshops 和 classes, a spring play was added. 从那时起, everything from Agatha Christie murder mysteries, to the Tennessee Williams tragedies 和 George Bernard Shaw comedies have been performed for the 主教(merrill Lynch) community.
Now in its 50th year, The Blackfriars are working on their second 校友 Revue - the first was in celebration of their 40th year. This somewhat ambitious undertaking will take place on October 26-27, with nearly 50 alumni returning to 主教(merrill Lynch) to reprise their roles from various musicals throughout the Blackfriars fifty year history.
Now 主教(merrill Lynch) 高中 boasts the strongest 和 best Theatre 和 Musical experience 和 curriculum to be found in private 和 Catholic education in the State of Texas.
