James Shay is a retired construction supervisor. Sometimes, he’s also a ghost.
The 84-year-old made his theatrical debut in The Mines Theater’s dinner theater production of “Swamps, Savoies and Santa” last November. His character? The ghost Uncle Boudreaux.
“People laughed and clapped,” Shay smiled. “I tried to dance a little bit, but I don’t know if they liked it or they just wanted me to get off the stage.”
Shay is one of several seniors to star in their first career productions since the Sulphur theater’s 2014 founding.
He starred in “Swamps,” a mystery show set in New Orleans, alongside his real-life brother, 79-year-old Robert Shay. Robert played Uncle Thibodeaux’s ghost, the squabbling counterpart to Boudreaux.
Robyn Settoon, the theater’s executive director and Robert’s daughter, said she specifically cast the pair since “their characters bicker, and, as brothers, they’ve had a lifetime of practice at that.”
Settoon has scouted other stars, too. She found 80-year-old Annell Geraci at a karaoke night at La Rumba Mexican Restaurant, where she frequently performs.
Geraci made her debut at Saturday’s “CopyCat Cantina,” belting C?line Dion hits in the celebrity impression show.
And Settoon coaxed R.K. Levens, a financial advisor in his 70s, into performing in a musical she organized with his Rotary Club last May.
In February, he returned to the stage as “The Perfect Husband” in a play of the same name. Set in the 1950s, the show features high school girls swooning over their future mates.
“The perfect husband—yeah, that describes me,” Levens laughs.
As with any theater, there’s behind-the-scenes work, too.
Robert, who works in construction, brings his crew to build new sets for each show. “The Perfect Husband,” for instance, required a massive, custom-built bed.
“There’s a lot of heart in these shows,” he said. “There’s a lot of details that we spend a lot of time on.”
He’s working on a bigger construction project, too: restoring the historic Fox Theatre on Napoleon Street that houses The Mines Theater.
Built as a movie theater in the wake of World War II, the Fox hosted the Kossa Dancers before Mines settled in this year.
Robert said he’s more comfortable with backstage restoration—pouring cement, gutting restrooms and building a museum to the Kossa’s legacy.
His brother, though, is looking forward to starring in future productions, including October’s “Murder at Moon Mansion” dinner theater.
“Moon Mansion” caught Levens’ eye, too. He also plans to enroll in singing lessons to expand to more musical roles.
“I don’t see the big deal with Tom Selleck and those guys,” Levens smiles. “They’ve got nothing on us.”
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