Zionsville Monthly-February 2022

MONTHLY

RICHARD ESSEX COLLECTIVE PUBLISHING PUBLICATION

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FEBRUARY 2022

ON LIFE AS AN AWARD-WINNING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER

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MONTHLY

20 COVER STORY

Richard Essex: On Life as an AwardWinning Investigative Reporter This month, we are pleased to feature Richard Essex, a Zionsville native whose family is no stranger to Boone County. Essex is a multiple-award winning journalist with more than two decades of experience in the news industry. Essex is currently a broadcast investigative reporter with WISH-TV Indianapolis, Indiana.

He shared what it’s been like investigating and reporting on countless impactful stories in the markets that he has covered throughout his career.

Writer // Janelle Morrison • Cover photo // Laura Arick

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ZIONSVILLE MONTHLY

Zionsville Middle School Proudly Presents: ‘The Addams Family’

PUBLISHER / Neil Lucas neil@collectivepub.com / 317-460-0803

The Civic Theatre Presents ‘Wait Until Dark’ Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael Presents: Lucie Arnaz The Center Presents: Vanessa Williams

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / Neil Lucas neil@collectivepub.com / 317-460-0803 PUBLISHER / Lena Lucas lena@collectivepub.com / 317-501-0418 DIRECTOR OF SALES / Lena Lucas lena@collectivepub.com / 317-501-0418

Attention High School Parents And Students: New SAT Requirements Take Effect This March In Indiana

HEAD WRITER / Janelle Morrison janelle@collectivepub.com / 317-250-7298

Boone County Commissioners Launch ‘Living In Boone County’ Website

Business Spotlight is sponsored content.

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For advertisement sales call Lena Lucas 317-501-0418 or email lena@collectivepub.com COLLECTIVE PUBLISHING, LLC - PO BOX 6326 - FISHERS, IN 46037 ZIONSVILLE MONTHLY

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Zionsville Middle School Proudly Presents:

‘The Addams Family’ Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Lauren Acquaviva and submitted

Zionsville Middle School (ZMS) is pleased to present “The Addams Family” this March! The production was originally scheduled to open in 2020 and was canceled as a result of the pandemic shutdowns. I spoke with the directors Michele Boehm and Rebecca Osgood and two of the leading cast members about how cathartic it’s been rehearsing and will be performing for live, in-person audiences. We also discussed how much fun the student actors, crew, staff and parent volunteers are having bringing a theatrical favorite to Zionsville.

Portraying One of America’s Iconic Fictitious Families

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wo of the lead cast members, Dylan Acquaviva and Liv Keslin, are no strangers to local community theater. Both are bringing their exceptional talents to this musical as Gomez Addams and Wednesday Addams.

When asked how they are developing their respective characters, Keslin shared, “I love Wednesday because she is so dark and mysterious, but then she has a side where she’s a hopeless romantic, and that really fits me. I love singing, and [Wednesday] has to belt and I love belting, so I like that part. I usually just watch the Addams Family movies, and she always had no emotion, but then when I watched the

musical clips on YouTube, I realized that she actually has a side where she loves someone, and I was like ‘Whoa!’ I bring my energy into it when she’s excited, and I bring my sadness into it when she’s upset.”

Acquaviva added, “Gomez is kind of flirtatious and comical. I really like the role of Gomez—it’s really fun. He wants what’s best for everybody, but he also has a hidden side where he doesn’t always tell the truth, especially with one secret that you’ll figure out in the show. The show is really funny and has lots of comedy. I love how Gomez carries around a sword like it’s nothing—no big deal—so there’s that kind of comedy, and it’s mysterious and filled with romance—middle school-appropriate romance!”

While these two are enjoying the

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experience of making these characters their own, they gave a sincere shoutout to their fellow cast and crew members, recognizing the importance of everyone’s participation and dedication to putting on an outstanding production.

The show’s co-directors and ZMS choir directors Boehm and Osgood could not be prouder of the entire cast and crew for their efforts and energy they are bringing to the show.

“We are so blessed to have the kids and parents that we have,” Boehm expressed.

“They have worked so hard and are so dedicated. They chose to do this, so it’s a choice and it’s their passion. Part of what we’ve missed [these last two years] is being able to train the kids in some of these leadership roles, [especially with regards to crew] and being able to get that culture back. It’s definitely been a year of rebuilding things.”

Boehm added, “It was not hard for us to cast this show. Everybody pretty much fit exactly where we needed them to, and they had done their research when they came in to audition. They were ready and had the background on their characters and some really good song choices. We’re blown away sometimes by their professionalism.”

Osgood emphasized the positive impact that working on this production has had on the students.

“Being in community with each other and having these opportunities is important to their social and emotional health,” Osgood said. “They all kind of knew each other and were friends before, but having that core group of friends that you’ll see after school every day that you get to support—they’re excited to have that again and to have someone smile at them at rehearsal every day.”

Boehm added, “The emotional and social well-being, you can’t put a price on that. This [production] is helping them heal and helping us [the adults] heal. I think we learn as much from our students as they learn from us—if not more.”

When asked why the community should rally and come fill the seats on March 20 and March 21, Osgood said, “I think it’s hilarious and it’s even funnier coming out of the mouths of 12-year-olds!”

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CAST Gomez Addams-Dylan Acquaviva Morticia Addams-Mikaili Patterson Uncle Fester-Thomas Murray Grandma-Casey Streepey Wednesday-Liv Keslin Pugsley Addams-Jackson Duncan Lurch Beineke-Anne Roberts Mal Beineke-Jonas Viskanta Alice Beineke-Allison Bowman Lucas Beineke-Rowan Zabel

Boehm concluded, “Come have fun moving in your seats and watching these kids take us all back to our childhoods while making magic onstage again!”

Tickets are available at the door prior to showtimes. The dates are Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19. Friday’s showtime is 7 p.m., and there are two shows on Saturday: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 per student and $8 per adult or $25 for a family in cash or checks made out to ZMS at the door, and there will be an opportunity to purchase candygrams, etc., for the cast and crew. Also, donations to the ZMS choir or musical fund can be made at the door and are sincerely appreciated.

ANCESTOR SOLOISTS Ankia Fraser Lee Rudisel Ethan Mobley Natalia Marchese Elliot Hunter Sarah Robinson

Sophia Lile Paige Henney Brooke Billeisen Eliza Greafnitz Ellen VanHyfte Madee Blake Charley Poe Sofia Suarez Ananya Tripathi Stella Hall

ANCESTOR ENSEMBLE Akshara Amudhan Elizabeth Anderson Eli Baker Sophie Cornell Tyler Cook Allison Crosby Caroline Deweese Ashlyn Diem Sarah Dillon Cameron Fitzpatrick

Abigail Gandy Willow Getz Lilah Hall Lucy Hunter Neira Keil Maslyn Kimpel Genevieve Kiser Elena Knickerbocker Hanley Kurth Ella Kumierczyk Kerrington Lehman Claire McComb Ainsley McCune Madelyn Modesitt Molly Nicoson Pierce Olson Hope Phipps Sophia Poulter Vivian Prihoda Kate Rickman Jacqueline Robling Tessa Santos Sophia Siciliano Evie Stoner Rachel Strueh Eva Suarez Kimaya Sundaram Hazel Toloday Samantha Vetor Madeline Walsh

Emmy Walborn Reece Walters Arya Warren

CREW Olivia Duke Landon Walsh Luke Page Ellie Vanderbur Allie Buroker Josh Hart Colton Morehead Nash Grider Amelia Molen Cooper Nehlsen Vivian Yeo Micah Day Lauren Comeford Molly Altman Cole Morgan Olive Hoffman Owen Shabi Abigail Volz Evelyn Prucka Luna Stoner Jiya Jethia Ana Bhatt Julia Weaver Lakshita Garg

Cornerstone Living Live near Downtown Zionsville and keep your independence After enjoying a meal with friends in our restaurant, head on down the hall to your haircut appointment.

Then walk around the corner to work out in the gym or watch a favorite movie in our indoor theater.

Cornerstone Suites offer everything you need for worryfree living under one roof. You’ll find companionship, scheduled transportation for your adventures and 24/7 on-site staff just in case you need us.

Cornerstone Suites: Your foundation for independence.

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‘Wait Until Dark’

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T he C i v i c Th eatre Presen ts

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Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Courtesy of Civic & David Cunningham

March 11–26, 2022

The Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre is pleased to present “Wait Until Dark” this March.

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sinister con man, Roat, and two ex-convicts, Mike and Carlino, are about to meet their match.

They have traced the location of a mysterious doll, which they are much interested in, to the Greenwich Village apartment of Sam Hendrix and his blind wife, Susy. Sam had apparently been persuaded by a strange woman to transport the doll across the Canadian border, not knowing that sewn inside were

several grams of heroin.

When the woman is murdered, the situation becomes more urgent. The con man and his ex-convicts, through a cleverly constructed deception, convince Susy that the police have implicated Sam in the woman’s murder, and the doll, which she believes is the key to his innocence, is evidence. She refuses to reveal its location, and with the help of a young neighbor, figures out she is the victim of a bizarre charade. But when Roat

kills his associates, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues between the two. Susy knows the only way to play fair is by her rules, so when darkness falls, she turns off all the lights, leaving both of them to maneuver in the dark until the game ends.

I spoke with the director and cast of “Wait Until Dark” about why they chose to audition for Civic and for their respective roles. And like the directors and casts before them, they are bringing a high

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level of professionalism to community theater, a tradition and expectation that has carried with Civic throughout its 100-plus-year history.

For tickets, visit thecenterpresents.org.

PARRISH WILLIAMS AS CARLINO I auditioned for this show because it’s a part that I like. They’ve done it here at Civic before in the late ’90s. I was a little too young to audition for it then, but it made an impression on me, and I’ve just been kind of waiting for it to come back around, and it finally did.

As far as the character [Carlino], I wouldn’t say that I identify with my character—it’s an unusual and challenging role for me to play.

I don’t typically do this type of character, and I think that’s maybe the reason, more than any other, that I wanted to play a different kind of character.

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MARY KATE TANSELLE AS GLORIA My situation is kind of unique.

I didn’t strictly audition; I was asked to play the role. I had some scheduling conflicts, but we’re working through it, and I’m very honored that I was asked and I’m very excited to play this role. I’ve done a lot of musicals at Civic, and I grew up at Jr. Civic, so I’ve been at Civic for a really long time, but I’ve never done a straight play and I’ve never performed in a black box theater, so those are reasons why I was excited to do this show.

As far as connecting with my character, kind of like what Parrish said, I don’t relate directly to [Gloria]. My life is very different than my character’s, but that is part of the beauty of acting—

familiar with the movie with Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin and because I haven’t been involved in theater a whole lot because of the pandemic. I was looking forward to getting back into it. In terms of my character, I’d say he does his own thing, and I like to do that too. Sam doesn’t really go by the expectations of others with his job, his photography and how he chooses to live his life. Which is what I like to do. I like to do things that interest me, and I don’t really worry about what others are thinking.

bringing to life somebody’s story that you don’t live every day and sharing it with somebody else.

IZZY ELLIS AS GLORIA (MARY KATE TANSELLE’S UNDERSTUDY) My situation is pretty similar to Mary Kate’s. We were both in ELF, and I was also honored to be asked to do this. I’m the youngest one here and the only one who can’t drive! It’s been a lot of fun and a little difficult to navigate, personally, because I’m putting pressure on myself and because I don’t exactly relate to [Gloria]. I’ve been trying to find ways to, and it’s been a learning experience.

I feel like the [previous] performances that I’ve done here have led me to right now.

JAY HEMPHILL AS ROAT I play Roat, and he is exactly like me! [Laughs] No, no, no—he is the villain of this story, and villains are always fun to play because they’re never a villain to themselves. He’s the hero of his own story and feels like people are in his way and are keeping something from him that belongs to him, and he has to get it back. He is so arrogant and doesn’t understand why things won’t go his way because they should go his way—that’s the way he’s planned them. This is my first production at Civic, and it’s been really fun.

CARLY MASTERSON AS SUSAN I’ve worked with Emily Rogge Tzucker [the director] before on two other projects here with “Pride and Prejudice” and “Much Ado About Nothing,” and she was my professor at Ball State [University].

I was also very interested in the part itself because it presents its own set of challenges. Susan is a blind person who was sighted for the first 26 years of her life and got into an accident and became blind. She’s trying to live in her world now and is figuring out how to be her own person and stick up for herself. She lives in New York City with her husband, Sam, in the 1940s. A lot of stuff happens in this show where she has to try to learn how to take care of herself and has to learn that very quickly. Susan’s powerful and brave, and you see that more throughout the show.

EMILY ROGGE TZUCKER, DIRECTOR “Wait Until Dark” is one of our classic thrillers, so we all come with that expectation of there being twists and turns, of it being scary and exciting. But what I really like about this is that it’s a new version of the play—a new adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, who’s a well-known playwright and screenwriter. I think one of the great themes is really about finding your own voice and strength.

This version really does that for Susan’s character, and that’s what drew me to it. We really see both female characters really growing in strength and finding their own voices. Overall, it’s a very exciting and fun play. It’s very much about taking charge, and all of the characters in their own way think they have it all figured out, and then they realize they don’t. It’s a funny journey to go on!

LUKAS ROBINSON AS MIKE To piggyback off of “Roat,” this is also my first show here, and it’s an incredibly talented group.

It’s been great learning, performing and practicing with them.

I haven’t done theater in a while, and it’s worked out really well.

Mike is the kind of guy who’s good at what he does. He and Carlino are old buddies, but throughout the show, Mike realizes that it’s not quite as fun as it all seems, and he second guesses himself a lot throughout the show. He’s trying to figure out what he wants to be and what kind of path he has taken.

COLBY RISON AS SAM I chose to audition for this play because I’m

CAST LIST Susan - Carly Masterson Sam - Colby Rison Roat - Jay Hemphill Carlino - Parrish Williams Mike - Lukas Robinson Gloria - Mary Kate Tanselle (all other performances) & Izzy Ellis (3/19 & 3/26, 2 p.m. performances)

MARCH 11–26, 2022

Showtimes Fridays @ 7 p.m.

Saturdays @ 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Sundays @ 2 p.m.

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World Class Cabaret at Carmel City Center Marchy 4 & 5

BETSY WOLFE

Broadway Star Betsy Wolfe (WAITRESS, FALSETTOS, LAST 5 YEARS) belts her face off singing your favorites from her past shows as well as new favorites. The singular Betsy Wolfe lights up the stage for two shows only and is delighted to be returning to Indiana for the first time since her sold out cabaret and symphony shows in 2018 and 2019. Celebrated for her performances in 7 Broadway shows, films, and 60 symphony concerts, don’t miss this hysterical and warm-hearted concert series.

March 18

JOHNNY RODGERS Johnny Rodgers. is an internationally celebrated singer-songwriter, pianist, Broadway veteran, and recording artist who is described by Stephen Holden, from The New York Times, as an entertainer “who has show business in his bones” with “fused elements of Billy Joel, Peter Allen and Johnny Mercer.”

March 23 & 24

ERIKA HENNINGSEN

Ms. Erika Henningsen performs a night of music and stories from the Broadway Tony nominated “Mean Girls” the Musical. Raise Your Standards celebrates the songs and musical stylings that have stood the test of time and become go-to standards for Broadway’s Erika Henningsen. She was most recently seen starring as Cady Heron in the Tony-nominated hit musical Mean Girls.

April 1 & 2

JOHN LLOYD YOUNG John Lloyd Young is the Tony and Grammy award-winning Frankie Valli from Broadway’s Jersey Boys as well as the star of the Clint Eastwood directed Warner Bros film. John Lloyd Young: Modern Classics is a celebration of classic hits from the ‘50s and ‘60s presented in the authentic acoustic style of original rock ‘n’ roll, Doo-Wop and R&B standards.

April 15 & 16

SCOTT COULTER

In the middle of New York City, in the heart of Times Square, sits The Brill Building. From the halls and offices of 1619 Broadway came the sound of America in the 50s and 60s -- considered by many to be the greatest music ever written. The Brill Building was home to Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Lieber & Stoller, Neil Diamond, and Barry Mann & Cynthia Weill among others. Take a journey into the music -- and the stories -- of the singers and the songs that defined a generation with one of New York’s most honored vocalists.

For tickets go to feinsteinshc.com or scan QR

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March 11 & 12

KLEA BLACKHURST

From “A Cockeyed Optimist” to “The Yodeling Muchacha”, An Evening with Klea Blackhurst is a wonderful celebration of classic American popular songs, Broadway show tunes as well as a few contemporary surprises. Klea will have you listening and laughing at the lyrics of Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Yip Harburg, Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerry Herman and many more! Klea has performed in legendary halls like The London Palladium to Carnegie Hall.

March 19 & 20 STORM LARGE

She’s bringing the whole band for this. Show title: “Love, Storm” Storm Large and her band Le Bonheur, are back on the road, and they bring their new show, “Love, Storm” to Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael. Expect new songs like As The World Caves In, She Bob, and Stay With Me, plus some Storm favorites, as she writes this love letter to her fans after nearly two years apart.

March 25 & 26 MARK WILLIAM

Mark William is back for a two-night engagement! Featuring timeless songs from the Great American Songbook, Broadway, and beyond, Mark glides from Jule Styne to Peter Allen to Cher with charismatic ease and a spring in his step. He hypnotizes with a set of enduring classics, filtered through Mark’s fresh perspective and talent set.

April 7 & 8 LUCIE ARNAZ

For nearly three decades, LUCIE ARNAZ has toured her critically acclaimed nightclub acts throughout the United States and Europe, making stops in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Miami, Feinstein’s at the Regency and @54 Below, Birdland Jazz and the Caf Carlyle in New York, and now Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael in Carmel, Indiana.

Along with Ron Abel, the multi-award winning composer, producer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor and musical director this show is one you won’t want to miss!

April 22 & 23 SPENCER DAY

Performing songs from his new “BROADWAY BY DAY” album, Spencer Day is the #1 Billboard jazz/pop singer and songwriter for a second time! Enjoy an evening of reimagined theater songs with surprising and inventive genre-blurring arrangements. As well as jazz, Latin, and some old and new standards. Widely regarded for his original songs that blend compelling melodies, smart lyrics and lush arrangements, Day has wooed audiences around the world.

1 Carmichael Square, Carmel, IN

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Thursday, April 7, and Friday, April 8, 2022 Doors 6 p.m. // Showtime 7:30 p.m.

A $25 food and beverage minimum will be required for all patrons.

For tickets, visit feinsteinshc.com.

presents

Lucie Arnaz ‘I Got the Job!’: Songs From My Musical Past With Award-Winning Composer and Musical Director Ron Abel Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Michael Childers

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or nearly three decades, Lucie Arnaz has toured her critically acclaimed nightclub acts throughout the United States and Europe, making stops in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Miami, Feinstein’s at the Regency and at 54 Below, Birdland Jazz and the Café Carlyle in New York, and now Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael in Carmel, Indiana.

Lucie began her career on television at 12 years of age, in a recurring role on “The Lucy Show,” starring her mother, Lucille Ball. On film, Lucie co-starred in “The Jazz Singer” with Neil Diamond and Sir Laurence Olivier, in several made-for-television movies, including “Who Killed the Black Dahlia,” “Washington Mistress,” “The Mating Season,” “Who Gets the Friends?” with Jill Clayburgh,

and “Down to You” with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Henry Winkler.

Lucie Arnaz and her husband of 40 years, Laurence Luckinbill, formed Arluck Entertainment, and their personal and professional collaboration has produced all of her concert work and his four one-man shows. Both have been the recipient of an Emmy Award for their television documentary “Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie.”

Lucie is the proud mother of three and the elated grandmother of three with Luckinbill and stepmother to his two sons. It is these credits of which Lucie is most proud.

Along with Ron Abel, the multiaward-winning composer, producer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor and musical director, this show is one you won’t want to miss!

JANELLE MORRISON: We are honored to have you grace the stage at Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael!

LUCIE ARNAZ: Thank you! I got a chance to play at the very first Feinstein’s at the [Loews] Regency years ago. They’re just the classiest clubs. There aren’t many really proper supper clubs around the country anymore.

They’re disappearing, and as fast as they’re disappearing, Michael [Feinstein] seems to be finding new places to create them. I just love playing them, and now I have a little mini tour [of Feinstein’s] to go to. It makes me feel great to be invited to all of them because you never get to play anywhere nicer.

I’ve actually played at the bigger stage at the Palladium there in Carmel where Michael keeps all the wonderful archives. And that was wonderful. I did my Latin Roots [concert] there several years ago.

JM: How great does it feel to be back out

there touring and performing for live audiences?

ARNAZ: After the shutdown, all of the rescheduling and then the re-cancellations and rescheduling of those re-cancellations, it’s going to feel good to get back there, doing what I do creatively, I’m sure. It’s been a very strange feeling for the last two years. I haven’t had that empty of a calendar since I was 15 … and I’m not 15 now. [Laughing] There had always been an acting job, a singing job or something that I’ve been involved with. It wasn’t until 8 or 9 months into [the pandemic] that my body went into like a withdrawal from not focusing on what I do creatively.

JM: The world has been pretty miserable

throughout this pandemic, and it’s been incredibly miserable for creatives not being able to create like we have prepandemic. It has also taken a huge toll on humanity, I think, not being in community with one another. I would love your observation on this.

ARNAZ: I think you’re absolutely right. If you look back at the last time there was a pandemic, I don’t know what kind of entertainment they were losing out on at that time, but there wasn’t half of what we have now. Thank God for the internet. If you couldn’t even connect to the internet, you were really quarantined and alone. I don’t think we’ve had

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a chance to experience that lack of creative input from the people who make arts and for the people who go out and absorb the arts. We’ve realized that things start to deteriorate, and we need that camaraderie, and we need to gather. Whether it’s dance or song or gallery openings, it really shows what happens to your psyche if you don’t have access to those things.

I’ve often asked while raising money for different arts organizations, schools, funding for theater or whatever, “Imagine if all of a sudden, all art was not available to you? People stopped making it. No more music, none. No theater, no movies, no TV. What if there was nothing pretty to look at or hang on your walls because no painters ever painted? What if no one could afford to be an artist anymore? Imagine your life without art. This [pandemic] was the only time we’ve had a tiny little taste of that, and it’s not a world I want to live in, you know? We always have to support artistic venues and artistic people because it could evaporate and go away if people can’t afford to do it anymore or if they don’t learn how as children in schools, colleges, conservatories and places like that. It would be a very sad universe.

We need to just go and forget our little household things and let somebody else infuse us with possibilities. I think great art should always leave you with better possibilities. Whether it’s an art gallery, nightclub or a theater—you should walk out of that space feeling like the things you want are more possible, not less possible. And even if it’s a dark experience or a dark play, if you’re moved by it or you’re challenged by it—things can get better. And if you make people think, they can be pretty terrific if they put their minds to it.

JM: What was the thought process behind

putting together your new show with your musical director Ron Abel and what memories and/or experiences did it conjure?

ARNAZ: I’ve been doing this for like 30 years now, believe it or not, since I started doing my concerts. In the beginning, it started with someone calling me and asking if I wanted to do an evening of Irving Berlin for his 100th birthday. So, I put a 90-minute show together, and that’s how it all started. When it wasn’t [Irving’s] birthday anymore, I took out some Berlin and added in some Gershwin or Cy Coleman, and so I was putting together a good, entertaining show. I want to tell the best stories through song. It’s helpful when they have nice melodies, but I pick good

stories and ones that I can relate to, say something before I sing them that makes people understand why I’m singing them.

This time, this show, I thought, wouldn’t it be kind of cool to take a look at all the years that I’ve been doing theater because that’s where I started—performing in plays and musicals on and off of Broadway. I have a lot of plays and musicals under my belt all the way back, literally, to high school. The first two shows I did were in high school, and then what came after was summer stock and first national tours.

When I was in my early 20s and was doing my first summer stock shows, my dad [Desi Arnaz] said to me [impersonating her father’s accent], “You know, honey, you should put together a show, a nightclub show. You could do all these wonderful songs that you do in the musicals in the nightclub and tell stories and stuff about them.” I gave him one of those “Oh God, Dad” looks because, you know, he’s your father and everything he says is going to be corny and “old-fashioned.”

But when I was talking with Ron [Abel], I said, “You know, [Dad’s] idea was really a pretty good idea. Back then it would’ve been stupid because I’d only done like three shows. So, thanks to my father, we had the idea to put together a mini retrospective of my life and my journey through the musicals that I’ve done. It’s the most authentic show that I’ve ever done because it really is my whole life this time, and I’m not just picking great songs from the Great American Songbook and trying to find some connection to my own life somehow. This is truly my life, and it’s very exciting to do.

JM: I can only imagine the memories and

emotions that came with putting this together. When you look back, can you describe in your words some of those emotions that you feel?

ARNAZ: It’s pretty amazing, considering it was my father’s original idea that I pooh-poohed.

It’s funny how he had a premonition that this [show] was going to be a good idea. I’ve been incredibly fortunate in my career and have been so lucky. The people that I’ve worked with—really famous directors like Michael Bennett and famous composers like Cy Coleman, Marvin Hamlisch and Irving Berlin when they were still with us. Theater stories are amazing. It’s horrifying when things go wrong on stage and hilariously funny later on when you talk about it. Just the memories of how we created something and what it’s like to share with the audience and what it’s like to be in the middle of making a brand-new musical and all the things that go on. A lot of people have no clue what it takes to put on a show and how sad it is when you work that hard for that long and it opens and then it closes. They give it 180% to make it good.

They don’t go out there and do this so [the

show] fails. They’re thinking they’re working on a hit, and then sometimes it just hinges on one reviewer that didn’t like it and the show is dead. It’s horrible, and it’s a very hard business. Irving [Berlin] was right—it really is a crazy business but a wonderful business. I love it from the moment I get up in the morning until I come home at night and take my makeup off. I love what I do. I like the tightrope walk. The curtain goes up—live audience—and it’s you. Nobody there to save your ass, which is why I’ve stayed primarily in theater and in nightclubs. Theater is of the moment, and then it’s gone. If you weren’t there that night, you didn’t see the performance. I love that because it’s all about what you do, and you either do it right or you don’t, and I like the challenge.

JM: Why do you feel it’s important to

preserve our musical past and national treasures such as the Great American Songbook?

ARNAZ: It’s important to have parents that appreciate the Great American Songbook.

I was lucky. My dad, that’s what he did.

He was a bandleader and a singer. He had these great charts. That’s the reason why I do what I do right now in concerts. It’s because of his music. When he passed away, I found some tapes of his original live performances in these great clubs around the country and live radio show performances.

Of course, I knew his music and that he sang with a band because it was on “I Love Lucy,” but to hear the actual beginnings in the ’30s and ’40s, when he was first doing this, I was so inspired. His choice of music was impeccable. There were Broadway tunes and Great American Songbook tunes and a few Spanish things thrown in, but always really good music. I had that music around me, and even when my parents divorced, my mother [Lucille Ball] married Gary Morton, who was a stand-up comic who opened for all the great singers at that time: Sinatra, [Mel] Tormé, Sammy Davis Jr., Lena Horne and all the greats. So, he had a tremendous library of albums and music for us to listen to at home. It was constantly in the background, so I grew up understanding that music and the stories that those people told.

JM: These songs and collections are such

an important part of our past and are equally important to our future. Are you concerned that “great” music will be lost in future generations?

ARNAZ: I like a lot of what I’m hearing with the younger generations. In the last 40 years, music has changed, and I appreciate it on various levels as it comes and goes. My mom thought The Beatles were ridiculous, so every generation has to question the coming generation, I guess.

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T he C en ter Presen ts:

Vanessa Williams Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Rod Spice, Mike Ruiz, Kate Best and Gilles Toucas

The Palladium // APRIL 1, 8PM

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ultifaceted singer-actress Vanessa Williams has sold millions of records worldwide and posted Billboard Top 10 singles in genres including pop, dance, R&B, adult contemporary and jazz.

Her hits have included “Dreamin’,” “Save the Best for Last” and “Colors of the Wind” from Disney’s “Pocahontas.” She found similar success on Broadway (“The Trip to Bountiful,” “After Midnight”) and in film (“Soul Food”) and television (“Ugly Betty,” “Desperate Housewives”).

Williams’ career honors have included 11 Grammy nominations, four Emmy

nominations, a Tony nomination and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has performed with the world’s most prestigious symphony orchestras, most recently with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.

Tickets are available at thecenterpresents.org.

JANELLE MORRISON: We are so excited to have you grace our stage in Carmel. How great is it to be back out performing in front of live audiences?

VANESSA WILLIAMS: It’s great to be back in big arenas and concert venues, and it’s great to

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have audiences in the seats. I guess I was one of the lucky ones—I worked throughout the pandemic and did three concerts during the pandemic. I did a concert with myself and Renée Fleming at The Kennedy Center in September of 2020 that we streamed with a socially distanced [live] audience, and I did a Christmas TV special [“Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas”] for PBS that we shot outside in December of 2020. And I also did “Live from the West Side,” which is a Broadway streaming show.

JM: The passing of the great Stephen Sondheim last year shook the theater world.

He is truly an irreplaceable icon. Share with me what it’s been like having worked with some of greats like Mr. Sondheim throughout your career.

WILLIAMS: I had an amazing weekend performing at the “50 Years of Broadway at the Kennedy Center”event. We did a whole section on Steve [Sondheim]. I’ve been so fortunate to work with incredible people that have come before me and created a path for me so that

JM: Rather than be idle over the last two

years, you’ve continued your passion for advocacy and co-founded the Black Theatre United. How important is it for people to support and to create equity in the arts—in your opinion?

WILLIAMS: The most powerful thing I did through the arts was to establish “Black Theatre United” with 16 of my other Broadway pals. Audra McDonald and LaChanze both reached out to me right after the George Floyd murder, and we were all stunned and basically motivated to do something. We didn’t know what we were going to start with and what our agenda was going to be at first, but we knew that we had to take action, and so the most meaningful move forward—that we did in unity—was to bring attention to disparity and the lack of equity in Broadway and the business of commercial theater and repertory theater in general. Stacey Abrams was one of our first town halls with Dr. Jeanine Abrams McLean, VP of Fair Count. We had Viola Davis as one of our facilitators for our platforms, and we talked about the law, and we talked about how you need to show up to make things happen.

Beyond having our town halls, we got a chance to sponsor EDI [Equality, Diversity and Inclusion] training for commercial theater—across the board—including theater owners, creatives and the union. And not just the productions in the front—yes, we need to be seen and have more facing productions that you see on the stage, but we’re talking about behind the scenes as well, in boards, management, staffing, theater ownership and concessions. So, we’re addressing all of that stuff, and I think that’s been the most meaningful thing that’s come out of the deep dive at what’s happening in everyone’s lives right now.

is equal—there is no less than or more than.

For me, it’s what’s worked for me in my life.

I was 20 years old and a junior in college when I became famous overnight, but that’s my journey. That’s my story. So, when I talk with people one-on-one, I tell them that the bottom line is to sell your skill set. What are you good at? What do you like to do? Let’s start from there and see where that takes you because you never know who’s going to be watching you that could be giving you your next opportunity in life. Yes—it’s great to have plans, but be a futurist. You’re in charge of your future. It’s not just “Dream it and it will happen.” You have to work toward what you want to do; believe in it and visualize it and then go after it.

JM: How do you define success?

WILLIAMS: I think “success” changes through stages of life. I wanted to achieve, to prove that I could do it, but maybe that’s just my personality. I’m ambitious and adventurous, and that gives me satisfaction. I know a lot of people think that success means monetary achievements, which of course you hope that happens when you’re doing what you like, but again, [success] is personal and it’s relative.

In the grand scheme of things, it is what gives you peace and ease. If you’re doing what you love and you’re happy—then that is success.

I can continue to create avenues for people behind me. I’ll be 59 next month, and part of me is like “Oh my god, I don’t feel 59—where has the time gone?” And now, when I walk into rooms, I’m usually the oldest person there and people see me and my career differently.

Where I’m just happy to start my next gig or adventure, they see the culmination of everything that I’ve done and talk about the influence that I’ve had. So, it’s a very interesting time in life that I can reflect on. I am really thankful that I worked with Steve twice and worked with him on “Into the Woods,” and to have had these amazing opportunities and memories.

JM: What advice do you give to the up-and-comings?

WILLIAMS: I don’t give advice. I can only give examples of what has worked for me because everybody is their own individual and

JM: What would you like the audience to take away from a night with you?

WILLIAMS: Music is a beautiful language, and I get a chance to kind of display a variety of different sides I have, and my likes through music and my ensemble—which is my band that’s been with me for forever.

They will get an opportunity to see and listen to stories and get a slice—for a couple of hours— of who I am and what I have to offer.

JM: What’s next for you? Your kids are

older now, and so as you are enjoying this next phase of your life, what are some projects that you are working on or would like to do in the future?

WILLIAMS: I’m rehearsing next week for “Anyone Can Whistle” at Carnegie Hall on March 10, and I start rehearsals for a play on Broadway called “POTUS.” We open April 14, so I will be in the thick of it through the middle of September.

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Attention High School Parents and Students:

New SAT Requirements Take Effect This March in Indiana Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Submitted

With the new SAT protocols being implemented this March throughout Indiana, I thought it prudent to reach out to Zionsville Community High School (ZCHS) College and Career Transition Coordinator and Counseling Department Chair Cathy Patane to find out the facts about the relevancy of the ACT/SAT when it comes to college and university applications in this current pandemic environment, as well as how the state’s changes to standardized testing as they relate to the SAT are going to impact Indiana high school juniors.

I

ndiana high school juniors will take the SAT starting in the spring of 2022, and scores will be used to evaluate Hoosier schools’ quality. Lawmakers made the change in 2018 as part of a bill to change Indiana’s diploma structure to align with federal accountability, and to align the high school exam with new graduation requirements approved by the state board.

Test-Optional vs.

Test-Flexible Policies Today, more colleges and universities across the nation are going test-optional or test-flexible, either temporarily or permanently, as a result of the pandemic. But even prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, some colleges and universities had already amended their admissions policies that put less emphasis on SAT

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or ACT scores and more emphasis on a holistic-review approach and multiple factors when reviewing student applications. This was a response by many colleges and universities to address concerns about equity and access barriers for students seeking higher education.

However, many merit-based scholarships still require ACT or SAT scores for consideration.

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“We’ve seen a trend of colleges and universities moving away from required testing—even prepandemic,” Patane said. “Especially at liberal arts colleges.

But we do expect there to be some colleges and universities that will still expect SAT scores, especially after the pandemic effects have waned. One of the things I tell students is that it’s always best—in my opinion—for them to attempt the ACT or SAT at least once.

And now, all juniors will have to take the SAT. Even though some of the colleges and universities don’t require the scores for admissions, they require the scores for merit money. It’s just best to have the [SAT] score in in your back pocket, and then you can choose if you’re going to submit it later on.”

So, what is the difference between test-optional and test-flexible? Test-optional means the college or university does not require applicants to submit standardized test scores when applying for admission. Test-flexible means the college or university gives the students the option to submit other standardized test scores for consideration, such as an International Baccalaureate exam or an Advanced Placement Test in lieu of an ACT/SAT score, but are welcome to submit an ACT/SAT score if they so wish.

New This March—All Indiana High School Juniors Are Required to Take the SAT The SAT is the new state accountability exam required by the State of Indiana, starting with the class of 2023. Any ZCHS class of 2022 seniors who have not already taken the SAT or ACT will not be eligible to participate in the SAT testing day on March 3, 2022. These seniors will have to register and take the exams on a designated Saturday test day.

High school juniors are not able to opt out of taking the SAT even if they have taken the test previously, have future

“

”

plans to take it or don’t intend to take it in the future. Students unable to take the SAT on March 3 due to an absence or illness will have to complete a make-up test at school, within the state’s designated testing windows.

The students will not have to register themselves nor pay to take the SAT on this date. ZCHS will make all necessary arrangements for students to take the test. The SAT will be taken on a computer by all ZCHS juniors. This is a different testing format than students will use if/ when they take the SAT during College Board-scheduled administrations, which are paper/pencil exams.

While students are required to take the SAT for state accountability purposes, it is not a graduation-qualifying exam like the ISTEP was previously. In other words, a student does not need to achieve a certain score on the SAT in order to graduate from high school.

When asked about the benefits of taking the SAT in the school environment during a school day, Patane replied, “The convenience [factor], and that all students have the ability of taking the [SAT] at least once, I think are benefits. So, I like the equitability of having the test during the school day because we know that all the students that are enrolled in a public school will have access to it and

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The convenience [factor], and that all students have the ability of taking the [SAT] at least once, I think are benefits.

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can actually get to the test site without the issues of transportation and cost—even though there are [financial] waivers available.”

SAT Prep and Tutoring

There are numerous test prep resources available to students, some of which are free. The best place to start is by using the official SAT prep offered by the College Board in partnership with Khan Academy. This free test prep resource provides access to practice test questions and full-length practice tests.

“College Board has free resources,” Patane shared. “There’s a student guide that we are actually handing out to the current juniors—in advance of the SAT— that has some examples of questions that they’ll have on the test.”

Patane explained that if a student wants to retake the SAT to improve their score, they can, but they will need to register and pay to take the test during a test date offered by the College Board.

The same applies for students who want to take the ACT in addition to the required SAT. The student will need to register and pay for the ACT through the College Board.

For a comprehensive list of test-optional colleges and universities throughout the U.S., visit fairtest.org.

FEBRUARY 2022

2022-02-28 4:34 PM

RICHARD ESSEX ON LIFE AS AN AWARD-WINNING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Laura Arick, submitted and courtesy of WISH-TV

This month, we are pleased to feature Richard Essex, a Zionsville native whose family is no stranger to Boone County. Essex is a multiple-award-winning journalist with more than two decades of experience in the news industry. Essex is currently a broadcast investigative reporter with WISH-TV Indianapolis, Indiana.

He is a graduate of Indiana University and joined News 8 at WISH-TV as a reporter in January 2018. Essex has also worked in the Lexington, Kentucky and Raleigh, North Carolina markets and was with WTHR in Indianapolis for almost 10 years.

I

spoke with Essex about his family’s ties to Boone County that go back almost as far as when the wagons rolled into town and about growing up in Zionsville, where he attended and graduated from Zionsville Community Schools in 1982. He shared that he is on the ZCHS Class of 1982’s 40th Reunion committee. He also shared

what it’s been like investigating and reporting on countless impactful stories in the markets that he has covered throughout his career.

THE PATH TO BECOMING A TRUTH SEEKER Essex’s parents, Richard and Judith, served as proprietors of The Brick Street Inn in Zionsville. Judith is a former

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Zionsville Town councilperson and Essex’s great-grandfather was a minister in Whitestown, so the family has deep roots throughout the county.

When asked about his upbringing in Zionsville and the path that led him into journalism, Essex replied, “I had a paper route and delivered The Indianapolis News in my neighborhood while I was in elementary school. During that time, [President] Nixon was impeached, so there were people literally waiting at their doorstep for me to bring the paper. That’s when I realized how important it was that the news gets delivered every single day.”

Essex recalled another moment in his youth that would motivate him even further to explore the news industry.

“Somewhere between 1978 and 1981, we had a neighbor, Chuck Keenan, who moved to Zionsville from Boston,” Essex recalled. “He had been an FBI agent and was well known in Zionsville.

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2022-02-28 4:43 PM

He hadn’t been in town very long, and one morning, my dad and I were in the kitchen, and we saw a photographer running through the yard. Then a sound man came running through the yard.

And then a couple of other people, followed by Geraldo Rivera, came running through our side yard. And well, you don’t see that [in Zionsville] every day.”

Essex added, “Geraldo and his team were here in town for three or four days, and it’s hard to remember exactly what the story was and how it involved Chuck, but that’s what really sparked the interest [in news] for me.”

Additionally, Essex shared his memories of Tom Carnegie, who was the voice of the Indianapolis 500 from 1946–2006 and was a resident of Zionsville.

“Tom was sports director for WRTV and had this big, booming voice,” Essex shared.

“He would come in to McKamey’s [Village Pharmacy] in the morning, and everyone knew who he was. He had this kind of aura about him—this glow—which turned out later to be cigarettes and bourbon, but we were all so taken in by this guy, and you would turn on the news in the afternoon and there he was, or he was at the track [IMS], and he was around all these interesting people, and he brought many of them to Zionsville.”

Back in his day, ZCHS didn’t have a media department that taught radio, TV, etc. Essex shared that the district just didn’t offer that kind of exposure to the news industry, but he would read the Zionsville Times, the Indianapolis Star and the Lebanon Reporter. And even while attending IU, he shared that his pathway to journalism was unconventional.

“My [college] adviser told me that IU graduates more people every year in communications and journalism than the industry can absorb [at that time],” Essex said. “So, I have a degree in English literature. I got out of school and started working in and around the State House.

In the mid-’80s, it was a tough time for anybody coming out of school. The job market was really bad, and the economy was rough.”

After a stint as a self-employed construction contractor and a chance conversation with his grandmother, Essex headed down to Florida, where he stayed in his grandmother’s winter home and ended up getting a job at a small AM radio station in Daytona. After six weeks, he was poached by a radio station out of Orlando and gained much more experience in that larger market.

DEBUTING IN BROADCAST TV He made the jump to television in 1998 as a weekend weather anchor/reporter at KLAX in Alexandria, Louisiana.

As Essex was networking and looking to make the next leap, Essex hired a photographer to put together his first TV resume reel that he could distribute to broadcast media outlets in hopes that one would sign him on.

“We shot all these stand-ups and B-roll and some interviews, and then

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I gave him my script, and the photographer put everything together,” Essex shared. “When I wen to pick up the tape, he said, ‘You are so bad that I’m not going to charge you.’ He handed me the tape, and then I took it to a duplicator and made 100 copies and started sending them out. One of the first 12 that I sent resulted in me getting a call and hired as the weekend weatherman and general assignment reporter for KLAX in Alexandria, Louisiana. It was a scream— I was 34 years old starting my career in television.”

After about a year, Essex was poached

by KTAL in Shreveport, Louisiana.

“It’s a little bit more of a competitive market, and I was still very much cutting my teeth, but I was finally working alongside people my own age in a more mature market,” Essex said. “It’s there that I learned the principles of broadcast storytelling.”

Essex moved back to Indiana, got married—which led to having two children—and was working for WTWO in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 2000. His next move to WTVQ in Lexington, Kentucky, is where he developed a thirst for investigative reporting.

“What drives me as a consumer investigative reporter is to see people in power taking advantage of people—taxpayers— misusing taxpayer money and abusing

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power,” Essex explained. “It doesn’t matter where you are, it’s happening, and you just have to keep going after it and keep asking hard questions.”

One of the stories that Essex broke while in Lexington involved an investigation on a pharmacy company that was shipping pharmaceuticals to their stores from a warehouse in West Virginia via trucks that were not temperature-controlled.

“It ended up being a year-and-ahalf-long story,” Essex said. “It may not have changed the laws, but it made the pharmacy change the way they were delivering their products, and it made consumers aware. That’s when I really knew this is where I belonged and what I needed to do.”

Essex went on to work for WTHR in Indianapolis, where he covered breaking stories such as the Indiana State Fair stage collapse in 2011, the Richmond Hill explosion in 2012 and many other jolting news stories.

SHUTTERS

He returned to the Lexington market and then worked in the Raleigh, North Carolina market before returning to his Hoosier community in 2018, where he has been working as an investigative reporter for WISH-TV.

REFLECTIVE THOUGHTS ON LOCAL JOURNALISM Just as local elected officials and community leaders are important to any community’s foundation, local journalists are equally as influential and necessary to the balance of any functioning community. Essex reflected on his career and his personal experiences as a “watchdog” for the people.

“Being a reporter has opened doors that would’ve never been opened otherwise, and I certainly know people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise,” Essex contemplated. “When you walk into the statehouse with your photographer, all of a sudden the doors open that were once closed. Journalists have a tremendous amount of influence, and they have

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2022-02-28 4:44 PM

B oone C ounty C ommi ss ion e rs L a u n c h

‘Living In Boone County’ Website Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Submitted

The Boone County commissioners have launched a comprehensive website with the purpose of encouraging residents of all six communities within the county to engage in dialogue with the commissioners and county government department heads. “Living In Boone County” serves as a repository for credible and timely information on a myriad of topics and projects that county’s leadership is actively working on.

T

he topics that are posted on the Living In Boone County website and respective social media platforms are current and relevant to the county’s taxpayers.

And the commissioners wish to use this user-friendly website as a place to create open dialogue and to seek input from the county’s residents and business owners. The official boonecounty.in.gov is independent of the livinginboonecounty.com site and is still operating as the county’s reference and resource site with county departments’ and government offices’ functions and operations listed on that site.

DRILLING DEEPER INTO THE FUNCTIONS OF BOONE COUNTY GOVERNMENT

There are dedicated tabs on the Living In Boone County website that highlight the various areas of government and interest that impact the overall quality of life for residents of the county. One can seek detailed information on projects and topics related to public health, public safety, county infrastructure, county departments and on the proposed justice center.

“I think what Living In Boone County does is it really communicates the significance and the contributions that Boone County government makes to the overall

quality of life,” Commissioner Tom Santelli stated. “We are growing as a county, and we want to help people understand the importance and the impact the county government has on local businesses and daily lives. We build the infrastructure that attracts organizations such as the Little League and other major developments that have located within Boone County. In the last seven years, we’ve added billions of dollars of new opportunities and new developments. All of the county’s leadership, such as the commissioners, the sheriff, the judges, the prosecutor, community corrections, the coroner, etc., have a dramatic impact on the quality of life.”

Santelli added, “When I sit down with somebody for a couple of hours, they say, ‘We just didn’t know of the importance and the impact.’ So, communicating that so that people can be involved, so that we can get their ideas is important and is the purpose of Living In Boone County. And it adds another level of transparency and comfort that the residents and business owners can walk away with.”

Visitors of Living In Boone County will be able to drill deeper into a topic or a project that is being managed by commissioners and/or other elected and appointed county officials. Boone County Commissioner and President of the

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County Commissioners Jeff Wolfe shared his thoughts on the purpose of Living In Boone County.

“The commissioners have a goal when we go to a public meeting or when we go to an event that somebody doesn’t walk up to us and say, ‘We had no idea what you were doing.’” Wolfe said. “We want to get rid of that doubt that the public has as to what’s happening behind the scenes. Because we want to be transparent. We want to put information right in front of everybody and say, ‘This is what we’re working on.’ We want people to understand why we make the decisions that we’re making to push the community forward. And I think reassuring the county that we’re not hiding anything from them is key.

We want you to know what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and how much money we’re spending to do it. We want you to be a part of it and for you to know that we are wide open to your questions and your input. I think a lot of what happens with public relations is that it becomes a defensive tool, and I don’t want it to be a defensive tool. I want Living In Boone County to be a source of open dialogue with the Boone County community.”

There are Q&A sections of the website that are posted and updated that reflect some of the community’s questions that have been submitted to the commissioners over the last several weeks, and there is an opportunity under the “Contact Us” page where folks can leave a question that will be answered by one of commissioners or respective department head, and a response will be provided in a timely manner.

Additionally, under the public health, public safety and infrastructure tabs on the website, folks can read about resources that are available in the areas of behavioral health for adults and youth, substance abuse and addiction disorders, pandemic-related information from the Boone County Health Department, child advocacy, infrastructure projects for buildings, roads and bridges, and so much more.

Be sure to check out the website at livinginboonecounty.com and follow Living In Boone County on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates on county projects and related topics.

FEBRUARY 2022

2022-02-28 4:36 PM

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2022-02-23 4:27 PM