Centerstage with: Paige Sproles, of 'Hello, Dolly!'

You are: the events and office manager at Abilene Education Foundation. Before working for AEF for the past eight years, she logged 20 years with the Abilene ISD in various roles.

We've seen you before in: "Newsies," the well-received June 2019 Paramount summer musical. She was the operator of a vaudeville-style theater. She also was in a production of "Mamma Mia!" at Huff Performing Arts Center at Clyde High School that same year. Other roles include the Paramount show "Jekyll and Hyde" - her first show on the downtown stage. "That was when I was introduced to being on stage in this great place," she said. Other Paramount shows are "Our Town," "Bonnie and Clyde" "The Drowsy Chaperone," "Parade," "Les Miserables" and "August: Osage County." She was in Abilene Community Theatre's 2016 production of "Always Patsy Cline."

Role in "Hello, Dolly!": Sproles is Dolly. This is her second time, but the first in 40 years. She was cast as Dolly Levi as a junior at Weatherford High School. "That was the first big role I ever had," she said. "They trusted me with this role which is unusual for a junior in high school. So it has always had a special place in my heart." It also was the last show her mother saw her in; she died the following year. "When I saw the announcement, I thought, 'I need to go and at least try. It's a wonderful role and a beautiful show.'"

What's different this time?

"Now I'm the right age," she said, laughing. "I can relate more to her. In high school, it was just a part. It was a fun part and a lead role. But now, I understand her. She is a very strong woman who's been through a lot. In fact, it's about two strong women including Irene Molloy (Nicole Sutphen). It's a great show about strength and female empowerment."

Molloy, a widow, owns a hat shop and introduces Dolly to Horace Vandergelder.

"Women at the time of the show weren't very often business owners or independent people," Sproles said. "So Dolly very much is, even though the goal of the show is she wants to get married. But her goal is to marry the richest man in town. Through a series of events, she falls in love with him and he falls in love with her. It's a beautiful story."

Sproles noted the actresses who have played Dolly, including Carol Channing, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler and Pearl Bailey. Another is Sally Struthers, the former co-star of "All in the Family" who starred in the Celebrity Attractions presentation in Abilene in 2014.

"It's been super fun to be a part of that," she said of joining the list. "I have watched clips of those ladies on YouTube and it's so fun to figure out what I'm going to do. I don't want to mimic anybody. This is my interpretation of it. But you can't go wrong learning from some of the masters.

What you've learned about yourself playing this character: It is different portraying Dolly this time around, Sproles said.

"First off, I'm a lot older and it's harder to remember all those lines," she said, laughing. "I pushed myself. I'm not a dancer but I have to do that in this show. So that has been a challenge a little bit for me. I am so thankful I'm not a dancer because those kids are amazing.

"And rememorizing a script I thought I knew very well, but in reflection didn't. I'm reading into it so many different nuances now. Back then, it was just kind of say it. Spew out the lines. But now, I feel the depth of them and understand the history behind them.

"It has been neat to revisit a character. I've never done that before."

What the audience will get out of this production: "This is overall a happy show," Sproles said. It also has a cast of 37 compared to two last year for "The Last 5 Years," which was emotionally intense. "The only sadness in it is when Dolly is reflecting on missing her husband," she said. "But it's a brief part and what drives her on. She wants to move and is ready to."

She said this is a show for everyone, including a younger audience. After all, "Hello, Dolly!" is what a certain robot watched in a Pixar movie.

"So kids will recognize it if they watched 'WALL-E,'" she said.

She wants the audience to walk back onto Cypress Street thinking, "Huh, what a great show. It's not redundant. It's not what they've seen before. It's a beautiful rendition of a wonderful old play."

What's next for you: "When you get to a certain age to see if there is something that you are interested in or devoting your time to," said Sproles, who enjoys the role of being a grandmother. She is "on hold" as musical director for Big Country Performing Arts. She will fill that role for "Shrek," which is scheduled for Aug. 5-7 at the Paramount.

Greg Jaklewicz is editor of the Abilene Reporter-News and general columnist. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. 

If You Go

What: "Hello, Dolly!", Paramount Theatre's 29th summer musical

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Again at 7:30 p.m. July 1-2.

Where: 352 Cypress St. Abilene

Tickets: Range in price from $15 for some balcony seats to $25. Go to paramountabilene.com to buy. Call 325-676-9620 for information.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Centerstage with: Paige Sproles, of 'Hello, Dolly!'