Finding their places in theater’s spotlight

RUSSELLVILLE Keylee Mayfield, a sixth grader at Russellville Middle School, has always been drawn to the spotlight. At age five, she asked her parents to enroll her in voice lessons, which led to her performing at the annual Watermelon Festival in her hometown and the W.C. Handy Festival in Florence several years in a row.

Within the first year of her taking voice lessons, Keylee found herself auditioning for community theater productions at the Roxy Theatre. Since taking her first role, she said she jumps at every opportunity to perform.

“I think it’s because I like interacting with the crowd so much,” she said. “I just love to see their reactions. I’ve always loved the stage and the excitement of being on stage.”

Her mother, Jordan Mayfield, said Keylee came to that love all on her own. Neither her mother nor her father had any experience in live theater before Keylee approached them to audition for her first play at the Roxy, “Christmas Spectacular,” which has shown annually at the local theater since 2019.

“When they did a ‘Salute to Broadway,’ she was in that also.” Jordan said. “She’s been in ‘Christmas Spectacular’ every year since the very beginning. She hasn’t missed a show since.”

Keylee, who will take the stage as the titular character in “Annie” this month, returns to the Roxy alongside her co-star, Matt McDuffa, who will play Oliver Warbucks in the upcoming production.

McDuffa has just as many years of acting experience — plus some — although he didn’t get his start quite as early as Keylee.

While he did get involved with the Drama Department at Russellville High School as a student, he said most of his time spent in theater was in building and painting sets. He still donates much of his free time to painting and set building for the community theater productions he is in these days, but he also makes time for performing.

McDuffa said he worked up courage in 2003 to audition for his first show as a college student at Northwest Shoals Community College in Phil Campbell.

“The first thing I was ever in was ‘The Legend of Toyland’ at Northwest Shoals,” McDuffa said. “I remembered going to it as a kid. I enjoyed seeing that, and I thought then, you know, I wanted to be a part of it.”

It wasn’t necessarily the story, or even the spotlight, that captivated McDuffa. He said it was more about the show’s message, and the realization that performing could make a difference in someone’s life.

“For‘Legendof Toyland,’ they tell you that this might be some kid’s only Christmas. So, that kind of pushed me to want to give back to children,” he said. “I want to give them something to enjoy. That’s why I come back year after year to ‘Christmas Spectacular.’ It’s the same thing, but on a smaller scale. It’s the thrill of hearing the students in all our school shows. They’re cheering because they think you’re these characters. Making them happy is what makes me happy.”

This summer, McDuffa gets to give back through his role in theater in an even more meaningful way. Part of what enticed him to audition for a role in “Annie” was knowing that proceeds from the production will go to benefit the foster program in Franklin County.

“As for the content of the show, ‘Annie,’ the theme of adoption especially means a lot to me,” McDuffa added. “My parents left me when I was young, and my grandparents ended up adopting me and raising me. This story speaks to me a little bit.”

While McDuffa is thrilled to have been cast as the adoptive father, Mr. Warbucks, he said it wasn’t actually the role he was seeking when he turned up for auditions earlier this year. At first, he had read for the role of President Franklin Roosevelt, a supporting character in the play for his part in helping Warbucks locate Annie’s parents.

As for Keylee, she’s had her eye on the role of Annie since the moment she was cast in a small part in the “Salute to Broadway” production several years ago at the Roxy Theatre. In that abridged version that featured a variety of Broadway hits, Keylee said she was cast as another orphan, Molly.

From left, Blakely Dowdy as Molly, an orphan; Lottie as Sandy the dog; and Brookleigh Cockrell as Lily St. Regis.
PHOTO BY MARIA CAMP

“I’ve always wanted to be involved in all the shows, but I hoped we would do ‘Annie’ here at some point,” she said.

“When ‘Annie’ finally did come up, she just squealed,” her mother, Jordan, added with a laugh.

Keylee and McDuffa each said they’ve found joy not only from the story, but also in fellowship with the cast and crew. It’s something they hope to pass on to audiences who come to see the show.

“You make friends along the way who really become your family,” McDuffa said. “It’s just like in this story with ‘Annie,’ the more we get to know one another, the more we take care of each other. We really have become a family here. I think for me, this is a reminder that family’s not always blood. You know, just like Mr. Warbucks adopting Annie. That becomes a bond they shaped together as family.”