HISTORY IN PICTURES!!!

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Last year, Jim Poor donated many photos and documents from his years of participation at Putnam County Playhouse to us.  We thought we would share a few of them with our readers.  Jim has been active at PCPH since 1962.  He is a long-time board member, and he also served as President of the board for many terms.

Jim gave us many scores and scripts from plays and musicals he was involved in over the years. Interesting newspaper articles and meeting minutes illuminate the early years of PCPH.

Lois Martin, Jim Poor. 1965 “Come Blow Your Horn”

After organizing in 1961 as Greencastle Summer Theater, the group presented its first full production Blithe Spirit in July, 1962.


As Jim wrote in his history of PCPH published in the Banner-Graphic in 2011 – “We were off and running.”

Tracy Alig & Hugh Glick in “Blithe Spirit.”
Another popular show presented during those early seasons (at the old Jr. High School Auditorium) was Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in 1963.

Ray Mizer as he Narrator.

Reed Williams & Sue Nickerson


The comedy Kiss and Tell was also popular with early Putnam County Playhouse audiences.


Top Row: Ray Brush, Frank Livernoche, Jim Bunnell, Reed Williams (below) and Ray Mizer.
Bottom Row: Dorothy Lowdermilk, Nancy Bordon, Larry Creech, Virginia Robbins, Sue Nickerson, John Bergman


Reed Williams & Sue Nickerson

Musicals were also a big part of the program for PCPH in the early years.  Jim appeared twice as Billis in South Pacific.


Jim Poor as Luther Billis in his grass skirt.
Pete Hill, Charley Aker & Unidentified working on music.

In 1981, Putnam County Playhouse moved to its current location.  While the board raised the funds to convert the larger barn into a theatre, they presented shows on the outdoor stage.  That stage was located in front of the small barn. Audiences paid $3 per ticket and sat on bleachers to enjoy the show.


Jim gives the curtain speech before a September, 1981, performance of “Mary ,Mary.”

Longtime PCPH Treasurer Don Holley sells tickets circa 1981.

Refreshments were sold inside the Big Barn.

Marc Adams, Ann (Cooper) Swanson, Bill Cook in “Mary, Mary” – September, 1981


Cast member Joetta Milligan and Director Judy Huter check out the stage before a performance of “Dial M for Murder” in September, 1982.

Thanks, Jim for sharing these photos with us.  We’ve come a long way!  The history and the story of Putnam County Playhouse is all about the people who have been with us along the way.


We encourage everyone to come out and get involved with us during our 2016 season.  Watch this website and our Facebook pages for opportunities.  



DIRECTORS CHOSEN FOR 2016 SEASON!!

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The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the directors for the 2016 season of Putnam County Playhouse have been put in place. Each director will be responsible for bringing a production from page to stage at the Hazel Day Longden Theatre.


Tim Good

Tim Good will direct the season opener Little Women, The Musical.
It will be produced June 2-4 and June 8-11. First produced on Broadway in 2006, it has a book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and music by Jason Howland.

There will be two sessions of auditions for the show. The first will be Sunday, April 3, at 3 p.m. The second will follow on Monday, April 4, at 7 p.m.

Tim most recently appeared at PCPH as Felix in the mystery-comedy The Game’s Afoot. He has also appeared in Blithe Spirit and Angel Street. He directed the PCPH production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

Jack Randall Earles

Jack Randall Earles will direct On Golden Pond, the July production. It will be presented July 14-16 and July 20-23. The comedy-drama was written by Ernest Thompson. It was the basis for a popular movie starring Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Jane Fonda. 

This production is a revival of the Putnam County Playhouse production presented in 1995 (originally directed by Peggy Tennis). Because it is a revival, members of the original cast have been invited to reprise their roles. No auditions have been scheduled.

Jack Randall most recently appeared as William Gillette in The Game’s Afoot. Also last season, he directed The Bad Seed. Earlier PCPH directing credits include On Borrowed Time, Man of La Mancha, and Guys & Dolls. 

Shelly McFadden

Shelly McFadden will direct the August production of 1776, a musical about the founding fathers and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. It will be produced August 11-13 and August 17-20. The book of the musical is by Peter Stone with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards.

Two sessions of auditions are planned. The first will be Sunday, June 5, at 3 p.m.  The second will be Monday, June 6, at 7 p.m.

Shelly directed 7 Brides for 7 Brothers last season. She also appeared as The Witch in Into the Woods. Some of her other PCPH directing credits are The Music Man, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Shelly has appeared onstage in many shows including Arsenic & Old Lace, Man of La Mancha, and The 1940’s Radio Hour.

Andrew Ranck

The season closer Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple Female Version will be directed by Andrew Ranck. It will be produced September 8-10 and September 14-17. One of Simon’s most popular comedies, it was first produced by PCPH in 1991.

There will be two audition sessions. The first will be Sunday, July 24, at 3 p.m. The second will be Monday, July 25, at 7 p.m.

This will be Andrew’s first directing assignment at PCPH. He has extensive experience at other theatres including award-winning productions at Buck Creek Players, Theatre on the Square, and Dramatic Club of Indianapolis. Andrew is a graduate of DePauw University where he was very active in theatre. Last season appeared in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers and as The Narrator in Into The Woods.

The 2016 season also includes SHAKESPEARED! planned for June 13-25. The Children’s Workshop will be July 25-29.

More information about all of the shows and workshops will be on the website soon.

Plan to join us for what looks to be one of our most exciting seasons!

WATCH FOR YOUR FUND DRIVE LETTER!!!

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Photo by Shelly McFadden

Your 2016 Fund Drive Letter is in the mail. Thank you for your continued support for Putnam County Playhouse.  



All donations are used entirely for the costs associated with producing our shows and maintaining our facility. 

If you haven’t received your letter, or you are not on our mailing list, you can download a form by clicking HERE.


FAQ About Season Tickets!

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Longtime Ticket Committee Chair Linda Gjesvold has answered some of the most Frequently Asked Questions about Season Tickets for us in the following article.

Season tickets to Putnam County Playhouse productions are primarily sold through mail order subscriptions. A brochure is   mailed in late April or early May to all persons on our mailing list.  Patrons return the attached order form with payment to our Post Office Box.  Reserved seating is assigned and tickets are mailed the third week of May.

    Tickets must be reserved for a specific Series – the same night for each show.  No mixed Series please.

    Tickets for individual shows may be exchanged at the box office.

    In appreciation for their continued patronage, past season ticket holders receive their order forms two weeks before the remainder of the mailing list.  This gives them the opportunity to order the same seats as they had the previous season(s).  After this two week grace period this advantage is no longer valid. You must send in your request during this two-week period to get your same seats!

If you attend as a season ticket holder under another patron’s name, we need to know that name to assign you the same seats. If your seat partners do not renew, we do not have your name as a season ticket holder.

    Orders are filled in order of postmark. No phone orders please.

    If you change your request to a series other than the one you received last year you may not be assigned the same seats.  Someone else sat there last year and has the first choice.

    Season tickets may also be purchased during box office hours.  The box office will open May 29, 2016, during our annual Open House.  Regular Box Office hours are 5:00 – 7:00 pm Monday through Saturday of each performance week. The Box Office is NOT open at any other time.

    In order to receive a brochure you must be on our mailing list. 

Putnam County Playhouse is an ALL-VOLUNTEER corporation. All the people involved give the time because they want to support PCPH. This includes all Board Members.

We do NOT have a paid Box Office Staff, so the Box Office is open only during show weeks and only during the posted time.

To contact us during the off season – please click on the Contact Us tab at the top of the page and send us an email.
Season tickets to Putnam County Playhouse productions are primarily sold through mail order subscriptions.  A brochure is mailed in late April or early May to all persons on our mailing list.  Patrons return the attached order form with payment to our Post Office Box.  Reserved seating is assigned and tickets are mailed the third week of May.

  • Tickets must be reserved for a specific Series – the same night for each show.  No mixed Series please.
  • Tickets for individual shows may be exchanged at the box office.
  • In appreciation for their continued patronage, past season ticket holders receive their order forms two weeks before the remainder of the mailing list.  This gives them the opportunity to order the same seats as they had the previous season(s).  After this two week grace period this advantage is no longer valid. You must send in your request during this two-week period to get your same seats!
  • Orders are filled in order of postmark.
  • No phone orders please.
  • If you change your request to a series other than the one you received last year you may not be assigned the same seats.  Someone else sat there last year and has the first choice.
  • Season tickets may also be purchased during box office hours.  The box office will open May 29, 2016, during our annual Open House.  Regular Box Office hours are 5:00 – 7:00pm Monday through Saturday of each performance week.
  • In order to receive a brochure you must be on our mailing list. 
Putnam County Playhouse is an ALL-VOLUNTEER corporation. All the people involved give the time because they want to support PCPH. This includes all Board Members.
We do NOT have a paid Box Office Staff, so the Box Office is open only during show weeks and only during the posted time.

– See more at: http://www.putnamcountyplayhouse.com/tickets.html#sthash.0D2MVm4s.dpuf

GOODBYE TO 2015!!

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At the end of every season, the Hazel Day Longden Theatre is put to bed. This year, “closing the barn” took place on Saturday, September 25. Board members and friends worked to make sure everything was cleaned and put away.

Fiona Good and Melissa Green worked on the flower beds while Ric McFadden and Jim Green painted the fences around the air conditioners.

Dustin Bond and Caroline Good worked in the shop helping to sort through a season’s worth of work and deciding what to keep.

Ric and Jim made short work of a difficult job.

Kathryn Dory worked on the box office and lobby.

TJ Tincher and Linda Gjesvold worked on painting the display letters from the front and east side of the barn. They will be stored for the winter and put back up in the spring.

Meghan Armitage helped sort and stuff the envelopes for the mailing that announced the annual meeting and the Upstage Award nominees.

Brad Sandy, Drew Brattain, Jim Rambo, Kathryn Dory, and Lita Sandy made a great team working to get the letters in the envelopes.

Shelly McFadden, Cecily Girton, and Bethany Bax joined them to finish up the job.

PCPH Board President Michael McClaine was given the most prestigious job.

The board will continue to meet in the off season to make sure that the 2016 is the best it can be.  Housekeeping and maintenance details will continue to be worked on.

No electronic equipment is kept on the premises for the off-season. No trespassing is permitted on the private property.  Camera surveillance and regular inspections by board members and local law enforcement officials help keep the facility safe.

Thanks to everyone for their great support for the 2015 season. Watch the mail in November for your Fund Drive Letter, and please make plans to join us for our 2016 season.











HAMMY FINDS ITS WAY HOME!!!

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Director Shelly McFadden & Chet Clodfelter

Upstage Award winner Chet Clodfelter was unable to attend the Annual Meeting on October 11.


Director of 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Shelly McFadden, delivered the award to him earlier this week.

Congratulations to Chet!

ANNUAL MEETING HIJINKS!!!

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Upstage Award Nominee Vickie Parker arrives.

The annual meeting of Putnam County Playhouse was held on Sunday, October 11, at 3 p.m.  Board members and friends attended to hear reports from committee chairpersons.


President Michael McClaine, Board Member Jim Green

The meeting was conducted by PCPH President Michael McClaine. Other board members present included Linda Gjesvold, Drew Brattain, Jim Green, Jim Rambo, Sandi Rossok, Jack Randall Earles, Kathryn Dory, Dustin Bond, Meghan Armitage, Beth Bax, and TJ Tincher.


Board Member, Sandi Rossok

Also present were three of the four nominees for the Upstage Award. In addition to Vickie (nominated for The Game’s Afoot), Eleanor Howard (nominated for Into the Woods), and Allison Creekmore (nominated for The Bad Seed).


Nominee Eleanor Howard with husband Brian.

Several cast members from The Bad Seed were there to support Allison’s nomination.


L-R: Nominee Allison Creekmore, Sonora Irwin, Jim Green, Denee & Kevin Irwin

Board member Beth Bax and actor Clarence Long from The Bad Seed were also in attendance.


Clarence Long and Beth Bax

At the end of the meeting, PCPH Treasurer Mark Hammer announced the winner of the Upstage Award. 


Upstage Award Winner, Chet Clodfelter

It was given to Chet Clodfelter for his role in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers.


Secretary Kathyn Dory displays the award.

The October meeting of the board was held immediately after the Annual Meeting.


Friendly chatter before the annual meeting.

Thanks to all who attended and participated!


Refreshments were served after the meeting.

Officers were elected during the regular meeting and plans for 2016 were discussed.


L-R: Jack Randall Earles, Drew Brattain, Jim Rambo

The board will meet next in December.


PCPH friend Mollie Beaumont & Board Member TJ Tincher












The Envelope Please…….

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The nominees for the 2015 Upstage Awards have been selected. The presentation of the award will be at the Annual Meeting of Putnam County Playhouse on Sunday, October 11, at 3 p.m.

The meeting will be held at the Rehearsal Center of the Hazel Day Longden Theatre in Greencastle. It is a free event, and the public is invited. Light refreshments will be served.

The Upstage Award is given annually to that performer in a small role who makes the most of that opportunity. 

And now, the nominees:

From 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Chet Clodfelter in the role of Mr. Sanders.

Chet Clodfelter:  7 Brides for 7 Brothers.

From The Bad Seed, Allison Creekmore in the role of Mrs. Daigle.


Allison Creekmore, The Bad Seed.

From Into the Woods, Eleanor Howard in the role of Granny.


Eleanor Howard, Into the Woods.

From The Game’s Afoot, Vickie Parker in the role of Martha Gillette.


Vickie Parker in The Game’s Afoot.

Congratulations to all of the nominees.  We hope we see all of you at the annual meeting!





A Talk With Vickie & Jack!

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Jack Randall Earles & Vickie Parker backstage at The Game’s Afoot.

If the history of Putnam County Playhouse could be written in the lives of two people, it might be in Vickie Knoy Parker and Jack Randall Earles. Each of them has a history with PCPH going back more than 30 years. We sat down recently to talk with them during a break in rehearsals for the current PCPH production The Game’s Afoot in which they appear onstage as acting partners for the first time in their careers.
PCPH: When did you both start your PCPH careers?

VKP: My first experience with PCPH was when I played Snow White in Jim Poor’s production in 1967. It was in DePauw’s Speech Hall with a tiny backstage area, a green room, and bats!

Newspaper photo from Vickie’s first show. (1967)
JRE: In the summer of 1979, I was working part time with my cousin Lita [Barnett] Sandy at her dance studio in downtown Greencastle. One of the other teachers had seen an audition notice for a PCPH revue called An Evening With Cole Porter. She asked me to audition with her, and I was cast as a dancer in the show.

VKP: Soon after that I switched my college major from elementary education to high school Speech, Theatre, and English.

JRE: One of the cast members in my first show was Ann Cooper. Later in the year she came to the dance studio to take some jazz dance lessons. She then asked to me to choreograph the 1980 revue Rodgers & Hart: A Celebration. I was very excited to do it. The music was great. Mark Fields, a DePauw student was the director of the show. I was also a dancer in the show.

Jack in Rodgers & Hart: A Celebration (1980)
PCPH: You’ve told us about your first shows, tell us about your first directors.

VKP: Well Jim Poor definitely gave me my love for theater. I also learned a lot from Steve Sommers, and the late Jeff Mont and the late Dr. Jim Elrod. I first worked as the assistant director to Jeff for Hello, Dolly!  That show starred my mother as Dolly Levi. Jeff taught me about the sparkle and magic of theatre, and all of my cast members know how important “sparkle” is to me.

JRE: Evelyn Robbins was my first director at PCPH. After Mark, I started working with Vickie and Jim Poor. I tell you working with them was an invaluable theatre education. I learned from them how to treat a cast with respect, how to plan a rehearsal schedule, how to block a scene, and how to make all of the elements work. They didn’t sit down and teach me – I watched and learned by following their examples. And Vickie taught me a very important lesson: During the show, a director’s place is anyplace except BACKSTAGE.

PCPH: What was the first show you directed at PCPH?

VKP: My first directing assignment was My Fair Lady [1972] in McAnally auditorium at Greencastle High School – which is now Parker Auditorium, how serendipitous is that? It was a large cast with a full orchestra, and I just jumped in with both feet!

My Fair Lady (1972) with Jim Poor as Alfred Doolittle

JRE: The first show I directed was The Pajama Game in 1984. Ann Cooper was the musical director and it was so much fun. I also did the choreography. By then I had done a couple of shows with Vickie, so I thought I knew everything! HA!

Jack (right) directing The Pajama Game. (1984)

PCPH: When did you two first meet?

JRE: Lita introduced me to Vickie, it may have been at the talent show at the Putnam County Fair. I know Lita and I visited you at your house one day when the two of you had some things to talk over, probably about a show you were doing. You had just come back from Florida and you were just so full of energy and theatre that I was hoping we would get to talk again.

VKP: I remember you became fast friends with both my mother and me. You went with us once to see the Houston Ballet at IU when they did “Swan Lake.” That was a fun evening.

PCPH: What was the first show you worked on together?

BOTH: Oklahoma!(Laughing)

VKP: In 1981, that was the first year we were out here on the property that we had been given by Mrs. Hazel Longden. We were on the outdoor stage for those first two years.

JRE: Lita was the choreographer, and you asked me to be your assistant director. I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to get started.

VKP: You played Slim.

JRE: I role I certainly couldn’t play now!

VKP: It’s been more than 30 years, but I still see you on that outdoor stage dancing, holding the ladder for my mother during the auction scene, and stealing scenes whenever you could.

JRE: I remember those performance nights, too. It was so great to work with Adeline, too. I had met her during my first show down in the basement at McAnally and she was telling me about how great PCPH was – I didn’t need much convincing.

VKP: That show is really my first real memory of getting to know you.

JRE: Vickie made us rehearse that auction scene so many times. There was one actor who just couldn’t come in on time with his bid. She didn’t want to call him out in front of everybody, so we all had to do it over and over. I can still see Adeline’s face when Vickie would yell: “Jack, get the ladder, let’s run the auction scene.” What was really great was that Act Two began just as the sun was going down behind the big barn. I could stand holding that ladder and watch Adeline as Aint Eller conducting the auction while the sun set.

Oklahoma! (1981) L-R: Greg Swearingen, Jack,Greg Pierce, Brad Sandy

VKP: Since then, you’ve performed in so many of my shows and done so many characters, but my heart always goes back to Slim.

PCPH: What is your favorite show you’ve done together?

VKP: We’ve worked on so many shows together.

JRE: I’ve enjoyed them all in one way or another.

VKP: We’ve always worked in tangent, as equals. I can’t count the number of times after everyone left the theatre, we laughed until we cried, or we were pulling our hair out, and really crying! You were my assistant for The Sound of Music in 1982, also on the outdoor stage. You became my voice of reason during rehearsals and the threatening weather. I think that’s when we began reading each other’s minds.

Vickie (center) directing Little Shop of Horrors  (1994)with Stephen Moell and Greg Stephan.

JRE: That was so great. You made me feel like my input was important to you from the first day. That gave me so much confidence. It really translated to my non-theatre life as well.

PCPH: Why do you think you work so well together?

VKP: We work well together because we have so much respect for each other. We usually come at things from two different directions, but always meet and at the crossroads and then go on the same road together. Of course we don’t always agree.

Vickie directing Kiss Me Kate ((2009)
JRE: We’re both a bit hard-headed, but we know that what’s best for the show is always the best solution. After our first couple of shows, we had kind of a shorthand going. We just had to look at each other during a rehearsal to know when something wasn’t working or when it was “right “. Mostly we just made it fun. It can’t be fun for the cast if the creative team is in turmoil.  I couldn’t wait to get to rehearsal, and I think our casts felt the same way.

PCPH: Do you have any special memory of working together?

VKP: How much time do you have? [laughs]

JRE: For me it’s been the special events, the fundraisers and the Grand Opening of the Barn.

Jack and Vickie dancing during a 1980’s fundraiser.

VKP: And all of the events during the 50th Season Celebration in 2011. Showboat (1990), Fiddler on the Roof (1991), and Camelot (1993) come to mind. All of them were such solid shows with outstanding casts.

Vickie, Jack, Peggy McClaine at the Mayor’s Proclamation in 2011.

JRE: And Annie (1984), Kiss Me Kate (1983, 2009), 42nd Street (1996), and now The Game’s Afoot. We finally get to act together on stage playing characters.

VKP: After all those years of working together offstage – I think our long standing friendship shows in our characters.

JRE: I think one of my fondest memories of working with you was when we spoke at the Remembrance of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 at Roban Park. Vickie and I read the sequence of events. It was a very difficult thing to do. When we were rehearsing it at the Playhouse, I would always break down when we got to the part about the hijacked airplane and the heroic actions of the passengers. Finally Vickie said: “This is NOT about us – you have to get through this for them.” And she was right….as usual.

Vickie & Jack at the 0/11 Remembrance. Photo by Eric Bernsee
PCPH: Do you prefer acting or directing?

VKP: Over the years, directing has been my first love because I think I direct better than I can act.  The most fun is directing AFTER auditions and before opening night! The least fun is auditions – then sitting through the show seeing things I could have done even better! However acting with you, is right up there and equal to my most fun!

JRE: I love both acting and directing –I certainly agree that the best part comes AFTER auditions and casting. Right now I’m leaning toward directing just because of my age. The old instrument doesn’t respond as quickly as it used to. But I will do both until they won’t let me do them anymore. Well, that’s not true. I will know when it’s time to stop. Adeline always said: “Don’t stay onstage until they wish you were gone – leave while they still like you.”

PCPH: What’s your favorite scene in The Game’s Afoot?

VKP: I know you enjoy saying I’m very, very OLD, but my favorite moment is when you realize you’ve said it to my face. I have to work hard to stay in character when I see the look on your face! In fact I love that whole scene. Lots of great interaction between us.

JRE:  I like that moment, too.  There’s also a scene when we say “I love you” to each other as mother and son. It seems like all of these years of working and spending time together is wrapped up in those two sentences. And we say it in front of a couple of hundred people every night!

[An insider tells us that during that scene there is an embrace, and both performers preferred the ‘face downstage’ side. Director Dustin Bond compromised and let them both have the moment, with a change in the position during the dialog.]

Vickie & Jack backstage The Sound of Music (1982)

Thanks, Vickie & Jack, for sharing your memories with us.


Vickie & Jack backstage The Game’s Afoot (2015)