35 years of music, puns, guffaws

Over the past 35 years, people have come and they have laughed. Mission accomplished.

But in the process, the simple dream became a dynamic business enterprise: a theater that boasts nearly sold-out performances six nights a week; three restaurants; a costume shop; and a commercial print shop.

Terry says most of the supporting businesses were accidental byproducts.

• He started Grandma Tony's Pizza - located at the theater and on East Wrightstown and North Pantano roads - when he bought a pizza oven to make his own pies after he calculated the cost of feeding his cast and crew between shows. Little Anthony's Diner, also at the theater, was an offshoot to offer a broader menu to theater patrons.

• He opened the costume shop when he realized he had a room full of costumes collecting dust.

• He bought a press to cut down on the cost of printing programs and menus. Before long, his press staff were so good at their jobs that he started accepting outside commercial work.

"I'm kind of a half-assed businessman who never had a business course in his life, but I know how to work," Terry says. "My whole philosophy has never been how much money can I make. It's how can I be the best theater, best pizza shop, best costume shop, best printer I can be. I've been blessed with this career that has been a whole lot of fun and it's fit my personality well."

The fact that Gaslight is a for-profit theater makes Terry's success all the more impressive, particularly given the economic challenges of the last several years. Nonprofit theaters can solicit private and public donations; for-profits rely on ticket sales to keep afloat.

"We've been really lucky. In fact the last two years have been some of our biggest years," Terry says. "On the other side of the coin, I'm working harder than I ever have in 35 years."

"Tony Terry is a great businessman," chimes in 30-year Gaslight veteran actor Joe Cooper, who recalled how Terry and the actors just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks started greeting the audience at the door. The idea was to thank them for coming and reassure them that they were in a place where they could escape the outside world.

"There's a lot of scary stuff happening out there. I want them to come in and for two hours I want them to forget everything and just laugh," says Terry. "Hopefully they will leave us and go, 'That's the most fun we ever had'."

The theater's 242 seats are always filled, or nearly so, by patrons who come to nibble on pizza and deep-fried appetizers, expecting to cringe at the corny puns playwright/director/actor Peter Van Slyke's peppers in musical take-offs of movies or plays, like the current show "The Phantom of the Opera, or, A Pain In the Mask."

"People know what to expect; they know they are going to have a good time," Terry says. "One of the biggest testaments to our success is people don't call up and say what's playing Friday night. They call up to make reservations, then ask, 'Oh by the way, what's playing?'"

That's not to say the actors themselves don't add a few surprises - catching an ad libbed line is part of the fun and helps keep things fresh with productions that run six to eight weeks. But if no one laughs, for example, when Cooper tries to trip up David Fanning in the role of Phantom then he'll win the cast's coveted horse's rear award.

No one comes to Gaslight expecting a thought-provoking, introspective theater experience.

"As long as we get them to laugh a few times … ultimately it was a good day," says longtime Gaslight cast member Mike Yarema. "And we're lucky to be so comfortable in a way to know that the following day, the following month or the following year, we're going to have a job. And we are going to be able to continue doing the thing we love."

Terry said he employs 240 people full- and part-time among the restaurants, shops and theater. He likes to think of them as his extended family, and he tries to treat them as such, sometimes forgetting where to draw the lines between buddy and boss.

"One of the most difficult things is riding the line of when to be an employer and when to be a family," he says, calling himself an old softy.

That family philosophy served Terry well when he underwent heart surgery in April 2011 to repair his mitral valve.

"I never missed a day of work in my life; I was at home for three months. It was difficult, but the staff jumped in and did a great job," he said. "It was comforting yet scary because they really didn't need me. I never really thought that I'm a real integral part of the whole thing. It's the magic of all the people coming together."

"This is a family," adds Cooper. "You love them and you hate them at the same time. But I tell you we have … a blast together, we know each other so well. It is a family. It's just a bunch of misfits in this bubble and we can't get out of this bubble."

Gaslight Theatre Fan favorites

Joe Cooper: He's easily the face of Gaslight, appearing in more roles than any other actor over the last 30 years, including in the cross-dressing role of Madame Giry in "Phantom." A native of Tucson, he started acting at age 9 in the Mary MacMurtry Children's Theater. He studied acting at the University of Arizona then struck out for Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a character actor in movies. Eight years later, he returned to Tucson and took a role at Gaslight. "I fell in love with it," says Cooper, 59. "I said, 'Hey this is it, man. I don't want to go back to LA.'" In the 30 years since, he estimates he has appeared in 95 percent of the shows Gaslight has staged. "Acting is not a passion for me; the Gaslight is. I think I touch more people at the Gaslight than I would if I was a regular actor."

Charlos "Charlie" Hall: The native Tucsonan had never stepped foot into the Gaslight Theatre until he came in to audition in 2006 for a role in "The Three Musketeers." He got the job and "Immediately I thought I better go see a show," he recalls. He saw "Gunsmokin'" and became an instant fan of the theater's zany melodramas. Hall, 27, has since appeared in more than 30 productions in the roles of 60 characters including the Great Sorelli in "Phantom." Hall also parlayed his love of blues into the Blues Brothers tribute act, first with former Gaslight cast member Robert Shaw and now with Mike Yarema. The pair perform occasionally in the Gaslight's family concerts series and in the after-show olios.

Mike Yarema: Guys like Joe Cooper and Peter Van Slyke were Yarema's heroes growing up in Tucson. He remembers telling his father when he was 13 that he would one day act at Gaslight. He's now 32 and has been in the cast since 1999. He's performed in more productions than he can count, including juggling three characters in "Phantom": Buquet, The Persian and Madame Giry. "I get to go to work every day and doing something that I enjoy, which is making people laugh. I feel like the luckiest person in the world."

Behind the scenes

Brian Gawne: The oldest son of Gaslight founder Tony Terry literally grew up in the theater. "I remember my mom took me back to see Armen Dirtadian put on his makeup to do Frankenstein so I wouldn't be scared," recalls Gawne, 29. As a kid, he hung out at the Gaslight. When he was 18, he went to work as a backstage tech. He's now the stage manager. The theater is also where he met his wife, actress Maria Alburtus. "Gaslight really means everything to me," he says. "So many of my memories were made there and my new ones are being made there."

Becky Gilmour: Gaslight's biggest cheerleader has been a devoted fan since she was 6 years old and started coming to shows. "I knew when I was 12 that this was where I was going to work," says Gilmour, 37, who back then imagined herself acting on the stage, not working behind the scenes. She gave Hollywood a try while she was in her teens, taking acting classes and appearing as an extra in a handful of TV shows including "Boy Meets World" and "Beverly Hills, 90210." She returned to Tucson in her mid-20s for a shot at Gaslight. She never got past the audition stage and was ready to move back to California when she landed a very part-time job as a box-office clerk. That was 10 years ago. Today she is the general manager. "I come to work with a smile. I honestly can't wait to come to work. To sit here and listen to the crowds and know they are experiencing what I experienced. To me it's the greatest place, the happiest place on earth aside from Disneyland."

Peter Van Slyke: He's the wit, the pun and the pen behind more than 100 of Gaslight's productions, including "Phantom." He also directs and acts in many shows. He has passed along his love for Gaslight to daughter Tarreyn Van Slyke, a recent University of Arizona graduate who sings with bands around town. She appears as Madame Poligny in "Phantom" under her father's direction.

Linda Ackermann: The classically trained pianist has played there since 1996 and has been the theater's music director since 2004.

Lisa Otey: Tucson blues-boogie-woogie piano-pounding diva is the go-to fill-in pianist for Ackermann. For Otey, it's like coming home. She was the Gaslight's musical director and pianist from 1992 to 2004

This 'n' that: Tidbits about Gaslight actors, ticket prices

Affordable fun

Gaslight tickets are $17.95 for adults, which makes it one of the least expensive theater tickets in town. Examples: It will cost you $30 to $55 to see Arizona Theatre Company's new production of "Lombardi," which starts Saturday and runs through Nov. 10. The University of Arizona is charging $31 for Arizona Repertory Theatre's production of "Avenue Q," on stage at the Marroney Theatre on campus through Oct. 28.

New York and beyond

• Heather Stricker-Dispensa: The Tucson native was a full-time cast member from 2000 to 2002 while she was in graduate school at the University of Arizona. For the past couple years, she has appeared in one or two shows a year while she nurtures a career in New York with her Manhattan Dolls swing and jazz troupe. She started the venture after a stint with the USO in 2008. "It was such an amazing experience and when I left there I wanted to keep it going," she says. In the three years since its launch, The Manhattan Dolls have performed around the country and abroad; last summer, they debuted in Scotland and Norway. They will return to Europe for a New Year's Eve gig in Switzerland, but not before Stricker-Dispensa, 33, brings them back to the Gaslight for "Sentimental Journey," a concert of World War II era music on Nov. 5 featuring Gaslight colleague David Fanning. "(The Gaslight) is the hardest place to leave. It's nice to know I can always come back and do a show."

• David Fanning: The Illinois native spent his teen years in Green Valley. He started doing Gaslight shows in 1993 and was a regular cast member until he moved to New York City six years ago. Since then, he's come home once or twice a year to do a show. That could become less frequent - he and his wife bought an 85-acre farm outside his wife's rural New York home near Albany last year. The 49-year-old Fanning says he's not sure what role his acting and singing career will play down on the farm, but he's sure he'll find his way back to Gaslight. "What other job do you get where you can walk out and get applause for doing what you do? It's a lot of fun. I love the people I work with." Catch Fanning in his latest concert "My Life" in two shows on Monday. The evening show is sold out. He also will share the stage with Stricker-Dispensa and her Manhattan Dolls at Gaslight on Nov. 5

Notable alum

• Robert Shaw: Tucson's venerable Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash impersonator has taken his act to stages around the world. In recent years he formed Lonely Street Productions, based in Tucson and Nashville, Ind., to produce nostalgic tribute shows to Cash, Elvis, Bobby Darin, the Rat Pack, Jerry Lee Lewis and Sun Records artists.

• Jack Wagner: The soap opera star got his first professional acting job with the Gaslight in "Safari So Good!" while he attended the University of Arizona in the early 1980s. "Actually he wasn't a very good actor. He was handsome but he couldn't sing worth a dang. But he's come a long way," joked Gaslight founder Tony Terry. Wagner's career since has included roles in "General Hospital," "The Bold and the Beautiful," "Melrose Place," "Titans" and "Sunset Beach" as well as several made-for-TV movies including "Frequent Flyer" and "Lady Killer." In addition to acting, he also has had a modest singing career that included scoring a No. 2 hit single with "All I Need" in 1984.

If you go

• What: "Phantom of the Opera, or A Pain in the Mask."

• Where: Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway.

• When: 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 6 and 8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 and 7 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 11.

• Tickets: $17.95; $15.95 students, military and seniors; $7.95 kids 12 and younger.

• Up next: "Scrooge A Gaslight Musical" Nov. 15-Jan. 6.

Family concerts:

• David Fanning "My Life," 3 and 7 p.m. Monday; 7 p.m. sold out.

• Big Band Express, 7 p.m. Oct. 29.

• The Manhattan Dolls "Sentimental Journey," 3 and 7 p.m. Nov. 5.

• Tickets: Prices vary, call 886-9428.