JEC

I spent many days and nights at Liberty Hall. If you go to the link for Houston Rocks>Venues>Liberty Hall and go down the page, there is the playbill for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The Director is C.C. Courtney who is my brother. Our relationship with Liberty Hall, Mike Condray, Lynda Herrera, and Ryan Trimble began at the very beginning. C.C. Courtney wrote a country-rock musical called Earl of Ruston and I was the sound engineer for the production. After a successful run at The Speakeasy in Baton Rouge, the traveling road show went to New Orleans but the theater was booked. So the group drove to The Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, performed there for a couple of months, and had a great 2 week run at the UT Drama Department. By this time shows were selling out on a regular basis and that's when we met the Liberty Hall group. This was fall of 1970 and I believe we were the first act to perform in the new Liberty Hall. I actually lived there while preparing the sound system, stage, etc. for the run. My father, C.E. Courtney Sr., was the greeter at the door. He was a hoot and did a great job of getting people prepared for this off-beat production. Once again, it was a successful run, selling out every night, and from there it went to the Billie Rose Theater on Broadway in NYC. Next was the production most of you remember, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Not only did C.C. Courtney direct the play but also played the lead role of Randle McMurphy. It was a powerful production and I use to hang out by the exit and listen to comments from people as they left the theater. The show made a real impression on most of those who saw it. In 1972 we returned to Liberty Hall to do a rock musical production called Ripped and Wrinkled. It was a fantasy, loosely based on the story of Rip Van Winkle, with a modern twist, written by C.C. Courtney. Once again I was the sound engineer and enjoyed working with some fine musicians on some original songs. But there were some tensions between C.C. and Mike, Ryan, and Lydia. I don't remember what it was all about, but I do remember one day when I was the only one at the Hall. C.C. rented a U-Haul real fast, we loaded up the sound and lighting equipment real fast, and we left Houston real fast. I hated it to end like that but that's what memories are made of. While we had our sound system set up, Loggins & Messina played a concert in the Hall. I remember them playing Vahevala. The song is about a ship at sea and as they began they turned up their amps, put pressure on their guitar straps, and moved their guitars to make a noise that sounded like a wooden hull in the water. It gave me chills. The concert was great. I remember riding my bicycle to and from the Hall. I remember Roberto. I remember The Family Hand restaurant. I remember staying at Mike and Lynda's house with my girlfriend (Hi Lorilee). It was one on the best times of my life. I love this thread and being able to contribute to it. Peace to all