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The Kurt and Lu Karr Family

Reprinted from the July, 1999 issue of Grease Paint Online

by Steve Arnold

     As the Palace Theatre Project nears its much anticipated completion, we focus of the family that has contributed so much to making the project happen, the Kurt Karr family of Vinton.  Kurt and Lu and their children Austin and Maggie have all been involved in ACT I for five years now and their support for our community theatre is evident in their involvement in bringing the Palace Theatre to life.
    Participation for the Karrs began when Maggie was cast in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, a show that marked the debut of so many of our most active younger members.  Gradually, the rest of the family was drawn into ACT I.  Maggie's credits remain the longest, as a veteran of twelve ACT I productions.  Among her best remembered acting roles is Liesl in The Sound of Music.  Her most recent effort was as co-director of our STAGE! production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe earlier this season.
    Both Maggie and Austin had several ACT I credits behind them before they ever did a show together.  That opportunity came with Life with Father, in which the entire family appeared on stage.  Playing boyfriend and girlfriend proved an interesting and enjoyable challenge for the brother and sister.  Austin portrayed Clarence Day Jr., a role he will reprise this coming season when we stage Life with Mother in June.  (Maggie's character does not return in the sequel.)  Austin's most memorable role to date has been the outrageous cross dressing Sophie Davenport, which he played with startling effectiveness and which proved his uncanny resemblance to Maggie!  Austin often takes a tech role instead of an onstage one, and in that capacity served as tech director for his sister's production of Lion / Witch.  Also among Austin's acting roles was Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie.



Austin and Maggie share a tender moment in Life with Father.

     Both Austin and Maggie have had numerous high school appearances at WHS, where they have both also been active in chorus, speech, and cross country.  Maggie has also made her mark on band, and is becoming quite expert at mime.  Maggie will be a senior at WHS this fall, and her career goal is to be a pediatrician.  She keeps herself busy with volunteering and taking classes -- this summer studying genetics at Ames.  Austin, a 1998 graduate of WHS, is now employed in the family businesses, Karr Tuckpointing and Apex Office Supply.  He continues to be very active in ACT I and to sing with the Methodist Quartet.
    Their children's involvement with ACT I meant that Kurt and Lu's own participation was not far behind.  Lu soon found herself serving three terms on the board and being involved in hundreds of other ways, frequently as house manager or in numerous backstage capacities.  Her one onstage role to date has been a maid in Life with Father.  Working with Julie Zimmer to get the theatre project off the ground, she has devoted extended hours to the project.  Giving up her career as a realtor a year ago in hopes of having more time to relax and garden, Lu has ended up devoting much of that found time to the Palace. Together, Lu and Julie have worked tirelessly, including such efforts as organizing the Palace Arts auction.  Like every other aspect of the Palace Project, the auction far exceeded expectations, bringing in over $24,000 when $10,000 had been projected.
     For Kurt, the pressure of running Karr Tuckpointing, which works in seventeen states, could have provided an easy excuse to pass up involvement with the theatre, but that has not been the case.  Two acting roles during the past two seasons not withstanding, Kurt has donated hundreds of hours to ACT I in his capacity as general contractor to the Palace Theatre.  Drawing on his considerable expertise in the construction field, Kurt has guided the project all the way from the earliest planning stages.  The effort has been a real labor of love for him, nourished by his interest in the arts and his desire to bring them to his home town in a first class facility.  Kurt is also a member of the Vinton Library board.
    Also involved in ACT I and the Palace Project have been Lu's parents and next door neighbors, Claudette and Mert Alpers.  Claudette is the treasurer of the Palace Project and Mert helps frequently with set construction on ACT I productions, as well as contributing hours to working on the Palace itself.
    Kurt and Lu, joined by their good friend Julie Zimmer, have been at the center of the project from the time several years ago that it was just an idea that seemed barely attainable, let alone in the incredible manifestation that will open its doors next month.  From planning to making public presentations to soliciting funds to meeting with countless vendors and subcontractors, it has been a gargantuan volunteer effort for Kurt and Lu, but one that will always be remembered and enjoyed by future generations.
    Our heartiest thanks to the Karr family for their involvement in ACT I and for their gift to the community in the realization of the Palace Theatre.

 

Update:

Lu keeps herself very busy as co-manager of the Palace Theatre and helping out frequently as an ACT I volunteer.  Kurt remains very busy with work concerns and the finishing of the Palace, for which Kurt was volunteer general contractor, took quite a load off his busy plate.  Kurt has also been recently added to the Board of Trustees of Cornell College in Mt. Vernon.  He has managed to find time to appear in two different ACT I productions since the opening of the Palace -- he played Dr. Humpherys in Life with Mother and Bruce Ismay in The Titanic Disaster Hearings, and at the end of June of 2002 Kurt and Lu join forces to emcee our vocal recital Family Affair.

Austin is on staff at the Palace Theatre and works on the technical side of most ACT I productions.  He last appeared on stage for us as Clarence Day, Jr. in Life with Mother.  Although working in the family business after graduating from high school, Austin decided to try college after all, and is now a student at the University of Northern Iowa majoring in interior design.  He is also engaged to be married.

Maggie is a student at Cornell College in a pre med program.

But the big news around the Karr's house right now IS the Karr's house!  What began as a roofing job has become, in the words of the "Before and After" program on HGTV, a "whole house" remodel; actually, even more than that!  Hopefully what Kurt and Lu learned from rebuilding the Palace Theatre is serving them well in their latest construction endeavor!

In June of 2004, Kurt was elected to the ACT I Board of Directors.  Congratulations Kurt!  During this same season, Lu will be directing our production of Live at the Palace.  It's great to have the two of you back with ACT I again!

                                                                                                                    Photo by Julie Zimmer

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