Marilyn Perry

Marilyn Perry
Perry (photo: Showtime Performing Arts Theatre)
Theatre producer · Arts educator
Personal information
Birth name	Marilyn Irene Perry
Based in	Boca Raton, Florida (from Baltimore, Maryland)
Career
Occupation	Executive director and producer
Education	University of Maryland, College Park
Years active	c. 2005–2020
Known for	Founding and running Showtime Performing Arts Theatre
Performance
Productions	Heathers (2019, producer) Rent (2019) Annie Warbucks (2019) Children's Broadway seasons (2007–2020)
Companies	Showtime Performing Arts Theatre
Recognition & links
Awards	For Showtime: "Best of Boca" #1 children's activity (2010, 2012); Kids Crown Award (South Florida Parenting), 2015, 2016
Website	Facebook

Marilyn Irene Perry is an American theatre producer and arts educator. She founded Showtime Performing Arts Theatre in Boca Raton, Florida, and was its executive director and producer for its whole history, from about 2006 until the COVID-19 pandemic ended its 2019–2020 season. Under her direction Showtime held 13 annual Red-Carpet showcases; the 14th was cancelled in 2020.

Early life

Perry is from Baltimore, Maryland, and studied at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Showtime Performing Arts Theatre

Perry describes herself as Showtime's "Founder, Executive Director and Producer" from 2006. Showtime called its 2013–14 season its ninth, which would place the first season in 2005–06. She ran Showtime, first called SHOWTIME Dance & Performing Arts Theatre, from a studio and theatre complex at Royal Palm Place in downtown Boca Raton. The school taught dance, acting, voice and instrumental music from age three to adult, and the theatre staged a season of children's musicals every year as well as teen and adult productions. According to the theatre's staff page, Perry "with her talented staff, has created a successful school and theatre for all ages". Its teachers offered training in the "true Triple Threat – Singing, Acting and Dancing", and it was "her pleasure to produce and bring award winning Children's Theatre to South Florida". She described her teachers as "college degreed theatre professionals".

As well as the children's seasons, Perry produced an adult series with paid, non-Equity casts. It included I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (2010–11, Showtime's first all-adult cast), Ruthless! (2011), [title of show] (2012), Nunsense (2013), Oh What a Night!, a tribute to Jersey Boys (2015), and the regional premiere of Green Day's American Idiot (2015). For In the Heights she advertised the adult roles of Usnavi and Abuela Claudia as paid parts.

Under her leadership, Showtime was voted the #1 children's activity in the Sun-Sentinel/Forum Publishing Group "Best of Boca" readers' choice awards in 2010 and again in 2012, and received the South Florida Parenting Kids Crown Award in 2015 and 2016.

In 2019 Showtime presented Rent and Heathers with teen and adult casts. Perry produced Heathers, which a local reviewer called "Off-Broadway at its very best in downtown Boca". Writing about the cast chemistry in Rent, the same reviewer said "it seems to happen a lot at the downtown off-broadway theatre Showtime run by Marilyn Perry". In March 2020, with The Sound of Music and 13 about to open, the COVID-19 pandemic shut the theatre, and Showtime did not reopen.

In her own words

Perry posted regularly on Showtime's Facebook page about its students and shows. In March 2019 she wrote of Annie Warbucks: "So proud of this talented cast. one show down five more to go…" She also praised the theatre's "beautiful and handsome MOANA Youngest Performers" and congratulated "all of our exceptional CATS campers and … my very amazing and talented staff". After Hurricane Irma in September 2017 the page reported: "Power is back on, air is cold, music is lively! … I'm happy to report that all of our friends and families and staff are safe and have been in my prayers all week."

When COVID-19 cancelled the theatre's 2020 season, the page marked the date of the cancelled showcase as what "would have been … our 14th annual Red-Carpet event", adding: "Years of great memories but so sad to be missing our favorite families today." On Mother's Day 2020 Perry wrote: "Missing my Showtime Performing Arts Theatre Moms so much, especially today. Be well, stay healthy, virtual hugs until we can meet again." Of the Newsies cast, whose run ended just before the shutdown, she wrote: "Sweet memories of a really amazing cast and production! … until we meet again.....Ms. Marilyn". She still shares memories of Showtime productions, such as Annie Warbucks in 2026: "Wonderful memories / so much talent on this stage".

Students

Perry's students and performers included Luanda de Hilster, who played Heather McNamara in Showtime's Heathers. Her biography names Perry among her early mentors, and Perry came to see her play Sebastian in her middle school's The Little Mermaid (2019).

External links

• Marilyn Perry on Facebook
• Showtime staff page (archived, 2017)
• Showtime Performing Arts Theatre on Facebook
• Showtime Performing Arts Theatre on YouTube