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Full slate of music and drama this summer at regional playhouses
June 01, 2012
Editor@montanaliving.com
From Whitefish's Alpine Theatre Project to the renowned Bigfork Summer Playhouse, there is a full slate of musical and dramatic productions offered this summer in northwest Montana.
Alpine Theatre Project
Whitefish's Alpine Theatre Project brings Broadway singers and actors to town for a summer filled with professional productions.
ATP's season starts with “Master Class.” Barbara Walsh, a Tony Award nominee and Broadway veteran, stars as opera singer Maria Callas. The show by Terrence McNally earned three Tony Awards and takes viewers to one of Callas’ master classes where she dares the next generation to make the same sacrifices and rise to the same heights that made her the most celebrated, reviled and controversial singer of her time.
“Master Class” shows June 15-24.
• “Little Shop of Horrors” show July 5-21. The play, one of the longest-running off-Broadway shows of all time, is an affectionate spoof of 1950s sci-fi movies. The score was written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the team that also wrote Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.”
LIttle Shop stars Broadway and TV veteran Stephen Berger.
“Legends: Stephen Sondheim” continues a series the theater company began last year that showcases Broadway’s greatest composers and lyricists. Legends: Stephen Sondheim will feature the work of Sondheim, who wrote “West Side Story,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Sweeney Todd” and other hits.
Legends: Stephen Sondheim will be offered only on July 30, and showcases the stars of “Little Shop of Horrors” and Broadway veteran Jodie Langel.
“Hedwig & the Angry Inch” may be Alpine Theatre Project’s boldest programming choice to date. The multi-award-winning rock musical has developed a rabid cult following for its portrayal of “internationally ignored song stylist” Hedwig Schmidt, a fourth-wall smashing East German rock ‘n’ roll goddess who is also the victim of a botched sex-change operation.
The show is recommended for mature audiences only and will run Aug. 9-19.
All Alpine Theatre Project shows will be staged at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. Tickets to each production range from $20 to $39.
For tickets and additional information, call 862-SHOW or visit alpinetheatreproject.org.
Bigfork Summer Playhouse
Bigfork Summer Playhouse lifts the curtain on its 53rd year.
• “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” is a series of vignettes connected by the central theme of love and relationships.
• “9 to 5: The Musical” opens June 2. The play is based on the book by Patricia Resnick and features music and lyrics by Dolly Parton. The show features three women — an overworked office manager, a jilted wife and an objectified secretary — who conspire to depose their smarmy boss and make women-friendly changes in the workplace.
• “Damn Yankees” tells the story of Joe Boyd, for whom every baseball season is painful because his team, the Washington Senators, always loses to the Yankees. Joe makes a pact with the devil that allows Joe Boyd to turn into slugger Joe Hardy, who becomes the savior of the Senators and a star in the major leagues. The problem is that Joe also has agreed to let the devil have his soul.
The show opens June 5.
• “The Music Man,” which opens June 19, is the story of con man Harold Hill, who convinces the people of River City, Iowa, to create a boys’ band but plans to run away once the boys have paid for their instruments and uniforms. His scheme works perfectly until Harold falls in love with the town piano teacher, Marian.
• “High School Musical” focuses on high school athlete Troy and nerd Gabriella who discover a mutual love of singing. Their friends try to stop them when they decide to audition for the school musical. The show focuses on issues of popularity, first love, balancing education with extracurricular activities and the value of friends and family.
The show opens July 3.
Evening performances are 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Sunday matinees start at 2 p.m. Shows are staged at the playhouse, 526 Electric Ave., Bigfork. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com. Tickets are also available by phone, 837-4886, or at the playhouse.
Whitefish Theatre Co.
Whitefish Theatre Co., mainly a winter attraction, will produce one show this summer.
“Always ... Pasty Cline” is back by popular demand after the show’s resounding success last summer. The Ted Swindley production is a tribute to the legendary country music singer and the story of Cline’s real-life friendship with a fan from Houston named Louise Seger, who corresponded with the star from 1961 until Cline died in 1963.
The show is in a cabaret setting. Hit songs include “Crazy,” “She’s Got You,” “Back in Baby’s Arms,” “Walking After Midnight,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Your Cheating Heart.”
Tickets are $25 for table or mezzanine seating. The show will run at 8 p.m. July 12-15 and July 18-21.
For additional information, visit www.whitefishtheatreco.org or call 837-5371.
Ronan Performing Arts Center
• “Way, Way Off Broadway” will be presented at 7 p.m. June 1 and 2. The show will feature music from musicals chosen by students of School District 30. The performance is a culmination of this year’s learning experience in the students’ drama classes.
The show is free and open to the public.
• “Man of La Mancha” will be staged at 7 p.m. June 15-16 and June 22-23. Bob Ricketts will play the role of Don Quixote, Robby Ricketts will play Sancho and Melina Pyron will play Dulcinea.
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