Harry Lewis and Rex Young are two Citrus County performers who were at least partially inspired by Valerie Players Artistic Director Patrick Erhardt when they formed the relatively new Lewis and Young Entertainment company.
Erhardt has formed the first resident troupe to perform at the Valerie Theatre, which was refurbished in the city of Inverness in 2015 and has offered live performances more frequently since the threat of the pandemic receded.
Lewis and Young’s Facebook page notes that Erhardt is “one of our ‘go-to people’ when we need advice.” They also awarded Erhardt their first Peeking Glass award.
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Lewis and Young had worked with Erhardt on a number of projects, they said. “Thank you, Pat, for all you’ve done for us and the ‘Board Support Community.'”
Both Lewis and Young have said they hope to expand their business and their first show could be the “Scarious Ghost Stories for Christmas” radio show they hope to perform at the Old Courthouse in December.
They may also produce other old-fashioned radio shows.
Other projects they’ve considered include making short films for Citrus Theater Beats and putting original theatrical productions online.
Yang said they started the company in part because they ran a business and had acting experience, and felt “we needed to do our own thing” rather than having to rely on “board meetings and too much advice” from others.
Lewis said he wants their business to be one of the local production companies that perform plays at Valerie.
He also mentioned developing short video projects with local actors.
As for Earhart, Lewis said he “has a lot of dramatic depth. He’s been on a lot of shows over the years. He’s got a lot of experience. He’s the best guy you’ll ever meet.”
