1997 CHICAGO JOSEPH JEFFERSON CITATION AWARD WINNER DARRYL MAXIMILIAN ROBINSON FOR "MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS" AT THE MUCH-MISSED HEARTLAND CAFE STUDIO THEATRE OF ROGERS PARK RECALLS TWO WONDERFUL 1980S SUMMERS ONSTAGE AT THE ENCHANTED HILLS PLAYHOUSE OF SYRACUSE, INDIANA!:
Long before 52-year-long Chicag-born and stage-trained thespian Darryl Maximilian Robinson, Founder, Artistic Director and Producer of the multiracial theatre groups The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and The Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project would be honored ( in the 1990s ) for his work in The Windy City, he was blessed to be honored for his stage work at a more rural area of his beloved Midwest.
"The News-Sentinel's first seasonal Reviewer's Recognition Award to a local or area thespian is bestowed upon Darryl Maximilian Robinson, a 6-foot-4-inch, 150-pound young professional whose stage presence, charisma and talent say to both intuition and intellect he's definitely stage stardom material. We'll come back in a year or two to let you know if predictions are accurate." -- Sharon Little, 'Young actor Darryl Robinson: He's one in a Maximilian,' The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, Saturday August 29, 1981.
Darryl Maximilian Robinson first attracted critical attention at the Enchanted Hills Playhouse of Syracuse, Indiana, where—as a Chicago-born, theatre-trained actor—he earned praise for his intensity and stage presence during the 1980s summer stock seasons.
In the Playhouse’s landmark 1981 revival of Lionel Bart’s Oliver!, Robinson’s towering, charismatic Fagin garnered him the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel Reviewer’s Recognition Award—the first such seasonal honor bestowed on a local or area performer—and cemented his reputation as a rising star.
That same season he showed remarkable range playing El Gallo in The Fantasticks, joined onstage by Josef McKesson, Cecil K. Eastman and Dave Keifer, demonstrating that his talents extended well beyond villainy into nuanced, narrative-driven roles.
Robinson kept the momentum rolling through the mid-’80s: in 1984 he portrayed the King opposite Elizabeth Lee Taylor’s Anna in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I, and also delivered memorable turns in Cabaret, Peter Pan, My Fair Lady and Camelot—all of which drew enthusiastic reviews and solidified his status as a commanding presence on the Enchanted Hills stage.
Honoring those formative summers, Robinson later curated his “1980s Enchanted Hills Playhouse Scrapbook”—a collection of press clippings, reviews and photos—presented virtually, and archived in EverybodyWiki’s theatre story gallery, preserving the legacy of both his early career and the Playhouse itself.
Beyond these standout productions, Robinson’s summers at Lake Wawasee exemplify how the Enchanted Hills Playhouse served as a vibrant incubator for emerging theatrical talent, setting the stage for his later achievements as an actor, director and educator.
45 years ago, on the evening of June 17, 1981, Darryl Maximilian Robinson made his stage dedut at The Enchanted Hills Playhouse of Syracuse, Indiana portraying the comedic and mischievous Persian Peddler Ali Hakim in the EHP summer stock revival production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!."
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