Month: July 2022

Caroline Good and her staff are working with the participants of the annual Putnam County Playhouse Children’s Theatre Workshop this week. You can see the results of all of their hard work on Friday, July 22, at 7 p.m. at the Hazel Day Longden Theatre. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

The event is sponsored by:

The students will present two original plays. The first is “True Crime Fairy Tales” written by Good. It features many of your favorite characters in new and unique situations including  Little Red (Gabby Robbins), Gretel (Audrey Smoot), Goldilocks ( Mariah Hall), and Jack (Lucas Vaglia).  They all find themselves in an hilariously hostile contemporary world, where the stories that originally made them famous, and have landed them in big trouble.

The Chief Inspector (Charlotte Tomamichel) and Woodsdale police officers Don (Blake Hamblet) and Jan (Hollis Barcus) interview each of our suspicious fairy tale characters. They then focus their attention on those who turned them in.

These include The Bear Family (Jackson Wells, Evelyn Ryan-Shager, and Keyli Hamblet), Granny  (Milan Schwipps), The Wolf (Alex Koulak), and Hansel (Caleb Waltkins). It seems all may be lost for our heroines.  Or is a happy ending still possible for them?

Chaos reigns within the second play “Into the Forest” also by Good.  Here our familiar fairy tale characters find themselves confused in the forest and in the wrong stories.  Featured among them are Little Red Riding Hood (Hannah Jernagan), Beast (Elijah Neeley), Granny (Lydia Bogaerts), and Cinderella (Hadley Roderick). 

Also included are Rumplestiltskin (Chris Sears), Sleeping Beauty (Layla Koulak), Prince Charming (Walker Henry), Hansel (Wyatt Schutter), Gretel (Nora Napier), Witch (Nancy Napier), Wolf (Tinzlee Coulson), Doc (Cece Wells), and the Dwarves (CTW Interns).

Rounding out the cast are Snow White (Lauren Wells), Sleeping Beauty’s Prince (Arlo Schwipps), Belle (Atlas McAllister), and Rapunzel ( Jessica Bogaerts). When they find themselves confused and in the wrong stories, they have to team up with each other to make things right. Or can they?

Assisting Good this year are Eleanor Howard (Acting), Craig Robinson and Sarah Armitage (Dance & Movement), and Molly Murphy (Voice & Diction). Directors for “Into the Forest” are Robinson, Murphy, and Howard. Playwright Good is directing “True Crime Fairy Tales” with assistance from David Johnson, and Kathi Elliott.

The CTW interns who are helping  with casting, costume, and working on the crew are Ruby Sullivan, MJ Cooper, Josie Cox, Marigrace Girton, Rebecca Hebb, Isabella Green, Samantha Funk, and Mya Weddle.

Director Ric McFadden will hold two sessions of auditions for the September production of The Miracle Worker at Putnam County Playhouse.  The first call is for Sunday, July 17, at 3 p.m. The second session will be Monday, July 18, at 7 p.m.  Both sessions will convene in the Michael McClaine Rehearsal Center at the Hazel Day Longden Theatre.

The Miracle Worker will be presented September 8-10 and September 14-17. Read more about the show HERE.

Read McFadden’s Director’s Note HERE.

It is being sponsored by Hopkins-Rector and Bittles & Hurt.

The two leading roles, Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller, call for performers who will be able play the very physically demanding scenes as written. Annie will be required to learn some sign language and finger spelling for the role. The actress playing Helen must be able to convincingly play a deaf and blind and mute youngster. Stage age for Annie is mid to late 20’s and stage age for Helen is 8-11.

Other roles include Helen’s parents, Captain and Mrs. Keller; their son, James; Aunt Eve; Viney, the family’s servant and her helper; Martha and Percy, children who are friends of Helen; and Doctor Anagnos, Annie’s teacher.  The Kellers will speak with Southern accents.

There are also parts for six youngsters to play blind students at Annie’s former school, the Kellers’ doctor, and a young boy to play Annie’s brother Jimmy who is a preteen.

Read about the story and cast HERE.

No monologs are necessary. Those auditioning will read from the script. There will also be a physical audition for those auditioning to play Helen. McFadden is also looking for backstage personnel to complete his production. Those wishing to work in that capacity should attend auditions and talk to McFadden at that time.

The 61^st season of the Putnam County Playhouse continues with a production of the mystery/comedy Clue: Onstage. It will be produced July 7-9 and July 13-16. All performances are at 8 p.m. and all tickets are $10. Reservations can be made by calling the box office at 765-653-5880 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, during performance weeks only. Tickets and reservations are available through the box office only. No tickets requests or questions can be answered online.

Clue: Onstage brings all of the familiar board game characters to life.  Director Shelly McFadden and her assistant Vickie Parker have assembled a cast of PCPH veterans and newcomers to solve the case of the murder of Mr. Boddy (William Dory).

McFadden has directed many productions at PCPH including 1776, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Drowsy Chaperone. Parker has been with the Playhouse for many years. Her directing assignments have included Annie (1984), Oklahoma!, and Kiss Me, Kate (twice).

The lively cast in addition to Dory includes Dustin Bond as Wadsworth, the Butler. Characters matching the game tokens are Brad Sandy (Mr. Green), Daniel Hankee (Professor Plum), Anna Harris (Mrs. White), Courtney Slough (Miss Scarlett), Ric McFadden (Colonel Mustard), and Lita Sandy (Mrs. Peacock). Each of them spend time under investigation and questioning as Wadsworth tries to solve the mystery under pressure from the local police and various surprise vistors.

Others at home in Boddy Manor include Tatum Boswell (The Cook) and Kyla Scheuermann (Yvette). 

Playing multiple roles are Sam Draper, Cameron Wunderlich, and Jack Randall Earles is the Chief of Police.  There is even a surprise mystery guest who makes a brief appearance. Michael McClaine is the voice of the News Caster.

Boswell, Hankee, and Slough are making their PCPH debuts in this production. Bond was last seen in You Can’t Take It With You which he also directed last season. Brad Sandy was seen in Picnic and Lita Sandy has appeared in leading roles in Steel Magnolias and Gypsy.

Harris played roles in The Mousetrap and The Game’s Afoot. Ric McFadden has appeared in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and in The Music Man and Camelot. Dory is returning to the PCPH stage after appearing in Footloose a few seasons ago. Draper, Wunderlich, Scheuermann, and Earles have all had supporting roles in many productions.

Ben South is the sound board operator and Grace Elmore will run the light board. Wunderlich is production stage manager.  On the active stage crew are Parker Helmer, Bart Jones, Rebecca Hebb, Emily Gray, and Henry Cox. The keyboard player is Morgan Asher.

THIS PRODUCTION IS SPONSORED BY:

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This year our Children’s Theatre Workshop for participants who will be in the 2nd through the 5th grades this fall will be held July 18-22. To find out more details and to enroll click HERE.