Enjoy the classic story of a boys’ band coming to River City, Iowa, with a twist — all the performers are 55+!
Dancing Man Productions is bringing the second installment of Broadway Senior shows to the Raleigh Little Theatre February 9-14. The shows have been condensed to a convenient 1-hour run time and begin at 2 p.m.
We took a peek behind the curtain with the show’s producer and director/choreographer to learn more about this special series.
Introduce yourself!
Mark Steward and Freddie Lee Heath – local Raleigh arts lovers, creators, and participants for many decades. Freddie Lee Heath is a retired Wake County Teacher who taught dance at Ligon Middle and Enloe Magnet, and his last 10 years before retirement he held the office of the Senior Director of Arts Administration.
Mark has been on the United Arts Council Board of Wake County for over a decade promoting and funding local arts organizations. Freddie has been the choreographer of Ira David Wood’s A Christmas Carol for the past 12 years, and Mark performed in the show for 10 years.
What is Dancing Man Productions, and how did it come to be?
Our mission is that we strive to celebrate creativity and cultural expression through various art forms. Our goal is to provide a platform for artists and entertainers to share their work with the world. We envision a vibrant world where creativity knows no age and every voice finds expression. We aim to be a global platform that not only showcases diverse artistic talents but also empowers individuals — especially senior citizens — to rediscover purpose, joy, and connection through the arts.
Our contributors are a diverse group of artists, writers, and industry professionals who share our passion for the arts. They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our website, and their contributions help us to provide a fresh and unique perspective on the world of arts and entertainment.
The cast of Guys and Dolls Sr.
We experienced the difference of enjoyment of life in seniors when they participate in activities versus leading sedentary lives. Freddie has been teaching senior groups of ladies 55 to 90 years old to dance for over 23 years, and they are fulfilled and happy and have formed community among their groups.
We saw an announcement by Music Theatre International, the licensing company for Broadway shows and creators of the Broadway Junior show series, that they were going to have a new division, Broadway Senior shows. We immediately applied for the license to have the performances in the Triangle area, and we received our license within a week. We met with Raleigh Little Theatre’s Michele Weathers, and she said we could have the performances there. In October 2025, Guys and Dolls Sr. had 900 ticketed people enjoy the show!! The response was so positive that we planned to do The Music Man Sr. in February.
Tell us a bit about the performers and crew. Do they have backgrounds in acting/theatre?
The performers and crew all have backgrounds in theatre — performing, dancing, teaching the arts. Our crew are all retired teachers of theatre, chorus, dance, music. They have taught in classroom and privately for over 30 years each, so we have an amazing crew of people to guide the performers.
The performers have backgrounds in theatre in addition to professional occupations other than theatre. All are local Triangle area seniors that performed in theatre — many having leading roles in the shows 30 years ago on the Raleigh Little Theatre stage. As time moved forward, very few roles are written for 55+ performers, so now we have 25 roles that are only for 55+, so we have the best of the best on stage!
What can people expect from the upcoming show, The Music Man SR.?
It is a musical, comedic show that has allows the performers to create an atmosphere of joy where the audience will dance in their seats and enjoy the songs.
What type of response have you seen from the community?
We are very happy to say that we didn’t know what to expect at the beginning of the concept, and once everyone saw the first performance day, we sold out the theatre the next three performance days. The community had the dates of The Music Man Sr. marked on their calendars. When tickets became available, we quickly had 30% of the seats sold for the five days of performances.
How can people get involved in future productions?
Our website has lots of information on it. People can send us a message they would like to be included in the audition information via email every time. They can follow the Facebook page, Dancing Man Productions, where we also announce the audition dates a month out from the auditions happening.
We encourage all to participate in the future productions in whatever way they are able. They can perform in the show, assist backstage, costuming, or tech crew.
Anything else you’d like to add?
We are very appreciative to the Senior Living Centers who are bringing in their shuttle buses of residents to see the show.
Tickets are only $18 so that it is not a financial burden to attend.
Our shows are only 1 hour long in the afternoon so that it doesn’t interfere with lunch and makes for a nice outing activity.
The media such as your group of magazines have been generous to feature our show and story so that seniors who are sitting at home sedentarily wishing for something fun to do, now have an outlet to participate in the monthlong show rehearsals and performances or just come for 1 hour of laughter that will give them joy and memories until the next one.
