{"id":3941,"date":"2013-03-14T13:50:22","date_gmt":"2013-03-14T17:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/?p=3941"},"modified":"2026-07-13T21:48:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:48:05","slug":"umes-dinner-theater-returns-april-12-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/umes-dinner-theater-returns-april-12-13\/","title":{"rendered":"UMES Dinner Theater returns April 12-13"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thursday, March 14, 2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"250\" height=\"203\" src=\"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/219\/2021\/09\/DELLA-FINE-ART-PRINT-2-edit-.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3942\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>UMES Dinner Theater set for April 12 and 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>PRINCESS ANNE, MD<\/strong>&nbsp;&#8211; (March 15, 2013) &#8211; University of Maryland Eastern Shore&#8217;s drama director is set to stage one last play-as a full-time professor and director, that is-before retiring after 38 years.&nbsp;&nbsp;The play by Vernel Bagneris slated for UMES&#8217; annual Dinner Theater is appropriately named, &#8220;One Mo&#8217; Time&#8221;. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dameron-Johnson describes those years as a dream.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Coming to work every day to teach, direct and perform never felt like a job to me,&#8221; she said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8220;I love my students, first and foremost, and my colleagues on campus.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&#8217;ve had a good run.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;It&#8217;s obvious the sentiment is returned.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dameron-Johnson is nestled in her office, a nook in the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts.&nbsp;&nbsp;A bulletin board is so full of photographs from past productions and former students that it spills onto the surrounding walls.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&#8220;They send me cards with wedding and baby pictures,&#8221; Dameron-Johnson said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8220;Some will stop by so their children can meet me.&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;Students-past and present-affectionately call her &#8220;Mama-D.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&#8220;There&#8217;s only one thing I dread (about her retirement), having to pack up my office after 38 years.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&#8217;ve accumulated a lot of stuff,&#8221; she said as she glances around the room.&nbsp;&nbsp;The sea of photos are but part of a collection of gifts from students, plaques, play bills and other memorabilia from her career.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Ronnie Holden, vice president for administrative affairs and Dinner Theater committee chair, has known her for 36 of those years.&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8220;She has always put on outstanding performances-this will be her grand finale.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">April 12 and 13 the university&#8217;s drama society, under Dameron-Johnson&#8217;s tutelage, takes to the stage in the Richard A. Henson Center for the Dinner Theater production.&nbsp;&nbsp;The musical, she said, is set in New Orleans in the 1920&#8217;s and is &#8220;presented in lively vaudeville and burlesque styles.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The menu fits the setting.&nbsp;&nbsp;UMES&#8217; Dining Services will treat audience members to a Soul Food buffet, which it is known for regionally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We want each customer to have a premium experience,&#8221; said David Scott, director of dining services.&nbsp;&nbsp;Don&#8217;t let the words &#8220;Soul Food&#8221; cause hesitation, he said, &#8220;there will be something for everyone.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dinner seating starts at 6 p.m., with curtain time at 8 p.m.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tickets are $45 for Friday night and $50 for Saturday night.&nbsp;&nbsp;Call 410-651-6230 for tickets or for more information.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"mailto:gcstephens@umes.edu\">Gail Stephens<\/a><\/strong><em>, assistant director, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-651-7580.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thursday, March 14, 2013 UMES Dinner Theater set for April 12 and 13 PRINCESS ANNE, MD&nbsp;&#8211; (March 15, 2013) &#8211; University of Maryland Eastern Shore&#8217;s drama director is set to stage one last play-as a full-time professor and director, that is-before retiring after 38 years.&nbsp;&nbsp;The play by Vernel Bagneris slated for UMES&#8217; annual Dinner Theater&#8230;<span class=\"cpschool-read-more-link-holder\"><a class=\"btn btn-basic cpschool-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/umes-dinner-theater-returns-april-12-13\/\">Read more <span class=\"sr-only\">UMES Dinner Theater returns April 12-13<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3942,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-3941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3941"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=3941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}