All posts by Donna Green-Townsend

Dracula– two versions

October 15, 2005Arts, FeaturesDracula, Hippodrome State TheatreDonna Green-Townsend

Dracula

Just in time for Halloween, the Hippodrome brings you a story you think you knew… until now! In the Hipp’s Dracula the audience members will be immersed in a world of danger, lust and temptation as they witness an epic battle of good versus evil with only one possible outcome.

The young solicitor Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania for work, but after meeting Count Dracula and his lovely Vampyrettes, he begins to lose his sanity. Back in England, he finds himself in Dr. Seward’s asylum providing clues about Count Dracula for Seward, Professor Van Helsing, and the boisterous American Quincey Morris. They must also try to save the bitten Lucy’s soul while Mina fights strange temptations.

Dracula was also presented on the Hippodrome State Theatre Stage in 2005, albeit a more traditional version….and when Dracula was being portrayed by a character with the last name of “Bloodworth,” let’s just say the audience experienced some chilling moments.

2005 Will McLean Song Contest Winner and Finishers

February 14, 2005Arts2005 Will McLean Song Contest Winners, Bob Patterson, Bruce Tetley, Cathy DeWitt, Dodgin A Hurricane, Here To Stay, Lucia Jenkins, Lullabye of the Rivers, My Heart Belongs to FloridaDonna Green-Townsend

Here are the winner, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers of the 2007 Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest

Winner Bruce Tetley “Dodgin’ A Hurricane”

2nd place Cathy DeWitt “My Heart Belongs to Florida”

3rd place (tie) Lucia Jenkins “Here To Stay”

3rd place (tie) Bob Patterson “Lullabye of the Rivers”

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or

Click here to go to the Will McLean Festival website

The Big Bang

August 29, 2004Arts, FeaturesHippodrome State Theatre, The Big BangDonna Green-Townsend

The Big Bang

Two wacky off Broadway creators, “Jed” and “Boyd”;, are in the borrowed Park Avenue penthouse of Mrs. Sidney Lipbalm to perform their new creation, an epic musical that spans the history of the world from the Big Bang to the present, for potential backers. Their play is budgeted for $83.5 million with a cast of 318 performers and 6,428 costumes.

Two zany creators accompanied by a third on piano perform eighteen side-splitting musical numbers, singing, dancing, narrating, and portraying every major figure in world and pop history (Adam and Eve, Attila the Hun, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Plato, Jesus, Cher, to name a few).

2004 Will McLean Song Contest Winner and Finishers

February 14, 2004Uncategorized2004 Will McLean Song Contest, Charley Simmons, David Milam, Florida Blessings, Mike Jurgensen, Oh! Florida, Song for GambleDonna Green-Townsend

Here are the winner, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers of the 2004 Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest

Mike Jurgensen2 — First place winner Mike Jurgensen

Winner Mike Jurgensen “Florida Blessings”

2nd place Charley Simmons “Song for Gamble”

3rd place David Milam “OH! Florida”

Just before the 2004 Will McLean Folk Festival Donna Green-Townsend spoke with contest winner Mike Jurgensen.

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Click here to go to the Will McLean Festival website

Gainesville Family Concerned About CCA Treated Wood

November 18, 2003NewsDonna Green-Townsend

In November of 2003 the Consumer Product Safety Commission surprised many in consumer and environmental circles by something they didn’t do. The agency, which is usually associated with recalling unsafe products from the marketplace, decided to deny a petition to ban wood playground equipment made with chromated copper arsenate or CCA. As Donna Green-Townsend reports, the issue has some special significance to one Gainesville family

2003 Will McLean Song Contest Winner and Finishers

February 14, 2003Arts2003 Will McLean Song Contest Winners, Bettina Makley, Bryan River, Jeffrey Smith, John Hammond, Mike Jurgensen, The Golden Fleece of Tarpon Springs, The Hawk, Up Where The Suwannee River Flows, Walking FloridaDonna Green-Townsend

Here are the 2003 winner, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers of the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest

Winner (tie) John Hammond, Bettina Makley “The Hawk”

Winner (tie) Jeffrey Smith “Up Where The Suwannee River Flows”

2nd place Bryan Rivers “Walking Florida”

3rd place Mike Jurgensen “The Golden Fleece of Tarpon Springs”

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Click here to go to the Will McLean Festival website

Audio segments of documentary Apalachicola Doin’ Time

October 30, 2002SpecialsApalachicola Doin' Time audio, Donna Green-Townsend, Tri-state water warDonna Green-Townsend

2000 Edward R. Murrow Award Winning Documentary

Pic I took at Apalachicola off Paddlewheel used for CD cover later — Fishing boats along the Apalachicola River bayfront (photo by Donna Green-Townsend)

Donna voicing the "Apalachicola Doin' Time" documentary at WUFT with co-hosts Daniel Beasley and Josh Azriel in 1999 — Donna voicing the “Apalachicola Doin’ Time” documentary at WUFT with co-hosts Daniel Beasley and Josh Azriel in 1999

Introduction- to Re-Release of the Documentary	Part One- The Issues
Part Two- Florida’s Oyster Capitol	Part Three- Apalachicola’s Waterfront
Part Four- Water Quality and the Tri-State Water War	Part Five- Apalachicola’s History
Part Six- Tourism on the Rise	Part Seven- Water Quantity and the Tri-State Water War
Part Eight- Close and Credits	Part Nine- Epilogue

See additional updates and material related to the Tri-State Water War . Learn more about the artists performing in the documentary.

Mark Brunell’s Loyalty to Jacksonville

August 9, 2002SportsDonna Green-Townsend, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jaguars, Mark Brunell, NFL quarterbackDonna Green-Townsend

Aired on WUFT on August 9, 2002

Jacksonville-Jaguars-Mark-Brunell — Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell has done more than lead his relatively new NFL franchise team to the playoffs for four straight seasons. Brunell is busy establishing a reputation on and off the field. In 1995 he began a bible study with a few other NFL teammates. That bible study has grown into Southpoint Community Church in Jacksonville with a congregation of nearly 15-hundred people. Brunell also started his own foundation to help sick children in the Jacksonville area. Despite big money offers from other NFL teams, the father of four remains loyal to Jacksonville.

2002 Will McLean Song Contest Winner and Finishers

February 14, 2002Arts2002 Will McLean Song Contest, Amy Carol Webb, Apalachicola Blues, Rivers Roll On, Steve Sternberg, Turtle TearsDonna Green-Townsend

Here are the 2002 winner, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers of the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest

Winner Amy Carol Webb “Turtle Tears”

2nd place Steve Sternberg “Apalachicola Blues”

Amy Carol Webb 2001 — 3rd place Amy Carol Web

3rd place Amy Carol Webb “Rivers Roll On”

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Click here to go to the Will McLean Festival website

Danny Wuerffel on Rex Grossman

December 1, 2001SportsDanny Wuerffel, Donna Green-Townsend, Gator Football, Heisman Trophy, Rex Grossman, University of Florida footballDonna Green-Townsend

(originally aired on WUFT in December of 2001)

Some may say Rex Grossman was robbed of the Heisman Trophy in 2001. The University of Florida Sophomore quarterback lost to Nebraska senior Eric Crouch by 62 points. It was one of the smallest margins in the history of the Heisman Trophy. In the 2001 season Grossman completed 65.6 percent of his passes for a total of 3,896 yards. He had 34 touchdowns. Some sportswriters remarked that maybe he didn’t win because he was a sophomore. Donna Green-Townsend talked with former Heisman winning quarterback, Danny Wuerffel, about his thoughts on Grossman not winning the coveted trophy.