It’s still starting on Thursday, June 27…but Night Music now has an additional concert on Thursday, August 8. Check out the new schedule below. We’re working on getting all of the dates on the website…but you should be able to by tickets to each event at the box office right now.
On Tuesday, June 4, Spring Street International students will present the play, Glimpse of the Great Land at the Theatre at 7:00 pm. The play was written by the student performers. Here’s more:
Before Ellis Island opened, eight million immigrants arriving in New York were processed at Castle Island between 1855 and 1890. Thousands of these were children who traveled alone. Their names appear on the ships’ manifests, along with the date, their country of origin, and the port from which they departed. No further record of them is known.
Each of us has taken one of their names. We have spent the school year researching their contexts and writing their diaries.
All of the words in this play were written by us, the 5th, 6th, and 7th graders who walked a mile in our character’s shoes.
This play is an hour and twenty minutes. There is no intermission.
THE CHILDREN PORTRAYED AND THEIR PLAYERS:
Gabriella Luppicci, played and written by Genesee Davis
Fritz Jaeger, played and written by Jacob Kaden
Sabine Eberhart, played and written by Marcella Kirkland
Aidan O’Donnell, played and written by Cole Hamilton
Ernst Dreschler, played and written by Lucas Gao
Kirsten Hoffman, played and written by Lydia Downs
Domenico Bianchi, played and written by Aiken Durham Guckian
Mirele Lieberman, played and written by Addi Kessler
Anton Brandt, played and written by Zach Fincher
Kathleen Nolan, played and written by Caroline Bryant
Lothar Brauer, played and written by Silas Holden
Salvatore Mattarazzo, played and written by Brian Fleming
Kai Jacob Baer, played and written by Matthew McElrath
Katya Babashinsky, played and written by Stella McCauley
Bridget Gallagher, played and written by Vida Wight
Itzhak Altbauer, played and written by Quinn Lacrampe
Teodora Palmintero, played and written by Ren Di Bona
Herschel Abramavitz, played and written by Erich Atwell
Mary Fitzgerald, played and written by Riley Mulcahy
Mendel Nussbaum, played and written by Diego Anderson
Vincenzo Colombari, played and written by Skyler Reynolds
Hamel Zegbeim, played and written by Frank Mulcahy
Gabby Kastner, played and written by Macalister Arendt
Any June brides out there? If you haven’t splurged on a dress yet, you really should consider checking out the wonderful variety of wedding dresses available for rent at our costume shop. Yes, some have been used in productions (see Penelope/Cinderella from Into the Woods below). But costume mistress Lou St. Luise says many are in great shape and ready for the aisle. In addition to the vintage styles, there’s also one from Korea and there’s even big hoops to go with the older style ones. Rentals run around $50 for everything—dress, veil, etc. What a great extra memory for your wedding day: wearing a dress with plenty of stage presence!
Night Music is coming back! The five-week series starts June 27 and features island musicians performing inside the intimate Gubelman Theatre. Below is a photo from last year. There’s quite a variety of styles in the lineup—we’ll have more information on the website and tickets for sale this week ($10 per person per night) :
Thursday, June 27
Juke Box Night
Kirk Fuhrmeister, Ian Byington, Daniel Finn and Steven Keyes
Thursday, July 11
Original Works from Jan Zurcher
Celtic Moods from Dan Paulson w/ guest Daniel Finn
Friday, July 19
From Bach to Bossa
Cellist Sasha von Dassow and pianist Sonja Zarek
Thursday, July 25
Songs from an American Songbook
Maggie Gallivan, James Gimlett and Ian Byington
Thursday, August 1
A Case of the Blues
Kirk Fuhrmeister, Ian Byington, Daniel Finn and Steven Keyes
When Ruthie Foster appears on the Whittier THIS Saturday, May 18 at 7:30 pm she’ll bring her powerful blues voice and also a guitar or two. So, we’re really lucky that Ruthie is going to put on a FREE guitar demo for islanders inside the Whittier at 2 pm that afternoon (MAY 18).
Tell your friends…especially those guitar students of any level….for this great chance to see Ruthie share her musical magic. Thanks to the Western States Arts Foundation (WESTAF) for helping us to offer this FREE demonstration.
Baby dolls that look real, a not-too-big golden harp, and a white Heifer OH MY!
Those are just a few of the challenges that faced property master Ted Soares as he obtained the props for Into the Woods. Ted has quite a bit experience dressing sets and props from his old days with NBC in Burbank. Plus, he’s been our property master here for most of our staged productions for more than six years now and has been involved in SJCT since its beginnings in 1989.
Ted says he has had to be a bit more creative with Into the Woods and began searching catalogues several months ago to find just the right items for each scene. He lucked out on the internet with the white heifer—it had to be durable and unbreakable since it has a “fall” during one of the scenes—a company on the East Coast was able to ship out the fiberglass cow. Then there was the hen…which wasn’t as easy to find as a rooster. On one of his trips to Palm Springs, friends who had worked on the original production with Bernadette Peters helped Ted shop and they found just the right size to match the golden eggs at a store called “The Cocky Cactus.” The harp was also difficult…he ended up finding one small enough in a catalogue and then found an angel at the 99 cent store that he could then spray paint gold.
Ted says he continues to enjoy all of the challenges of putting together the props and making them work for actors, so that everything blends right in and matches the period of the show. “I think it pays off…the shows look great!”
And in addition to finding the items, Ted is there, behind the scenes during every show, choreographing the props—making sure the actors get the props at the right time in the right form. He even has to make sure the cow gets some padding before her fall so she doesn’t get bruised.
Penelope Haskew is really getting into her part as Cinderella in Into the Woods, both on and off stage. With her second, third and fourth roles as set designer, scenic artist and SJCT production assistant (in addition to being a volunteer, she’s also a part-time SJCT staff member), Penelope is finding several connections to the “maid/worker/servant” side to Cinderella. “I do feel sometimes this character is easy to get into,” she jokes.
As you see below in the “before” and “after” photos, Penelope got plenty of “Cinderella” practice from helping painting the sets, helping with construction and making sure the crew and knows the technical side of how the sets work. Penelope says she’s torn on which side of the theater—back of house versus on stage—she prefers, but says working both sides on one production has been a great experience and something she wishes more actors would consider. “Acting on the set really helped with the set design because [as I acted and went through the scenes] I was able to figure out what changes were need on the set.”
Check out the photos below but first see just how many islanders are involved in making Into the Woods come to life!
The “Who’s Who” of Into the Woods
Cast
Baker’s Wife: Deb Langhans
Baker: Scott Mapstead
Witch: Jill Urbach
Cinderella: Penelope Haskew
Jack: Nicholas Zervas
Little Red Riding Hood: Grace Castle
Jack’s Mother: Patti Bair
Rapunzel: Raena Parsons
Cinderella’s Stepmother: Trudy Loucks
Lucinda & Florinda: Bridget Booth & Skyler Moeder
Cinderella’s Mother: Maggie Gallivan
Granny: Pam Gillette
Snow White: Elizabeth Schubert
Sleeping Beauty: Starla Cosgrove
Giantess: Pam Gillette
Cinderella’s Prince: Doug Schirmer
Rapunzel’s Prince: Tyler Strasser
Wolf: Doug Schirmer
Mysterious Man: Doug Rowan
Narrator: Ed Wilson
Steward: Dana Rice
Cinderella’s Father: Bert Dayton
Orchestra
Jim Collado, Music Director
Noah Atchley, Violin
Dorothy Baker, Piano
Ken Baker, Baritone
John Chessell, Bassoon
Sue Collado, Clarinet I
Wayne Eshelman, Flugelhorn
Matt Frost, Trumpet
Pam Stewart, Flute
Sasha von Dassow, Cello
Dennis Willows, Percussion
Grace Willows, Synthesizer
Designers and Planners
Kim Burns, Costume Designer
Lisa Duke, Choreographer
Gary Ford, Sound Designer
Penelope Haskew, Set Designer
Lyne McPherson, Scenic Artist
Ellen Roberts, Stage Manager
John Shaller, Lighting and Effects Designer
Amanda Smith, Assistant Director
Ted Soares, Property Master
Anita Welch, Costume Designer
Technical Crew
Warren Baehr, Crew
Gys Bruins, Follow Spot Operator
Madelyn Busse, Accompanist
Tim Cowell, Set Construction
Tom Donnelly, Set Construction
Duvie Dow, Light Board Operator
Greg Findley, Set Construction
Anna Frampton, Costume Assistant
Patty Francisco, Assistant Stage Manager
Craig Green, Set Construction
Lynda Guernsey, Crew
Sheila Harley, Assistant Stage Manager
Leisha Holmes, Set Painter
Paul Haskew, Set Construction
George Iliff, Crew
Shannon Kelley, Crew
Chloe Klein, Wig Specialist
Julie Laidlaw, Crew Manager/Assistant Stage Manager
Joely Loucks, Crew
Desire McGinn, Make-up & Mask Consultant
Genese McGinn, Seamstress
Kiara McLaughlin, Assistant to Stage Manager
Charlia O’Neill, Rehearsal Secretary & Crew
Betsy Pope, Scenery Painter
Alison Power, Set Construction
Chiara Power, Crew & Set Construction
Fiona Small, Puppeteer
Mickey Wright, Seamstress
Sonja Zarek, Audition Accompanist
Xxxxxxxxxx
Our big Spring Musical—Stephen Sondheim’s INTO THE WOODS— opens THIS Friday, April 26 at 7:30 pm in the Whittier. Check out some of the rehearsal photos as well as some behind-the-scenes “building the set” shots.
Several SJCT investors got the chance to check out the Utah Ballroom Dance Company before their CINEMAGIC performance here on Saturday. The dancers gathered in the Gubelman and even demonstrated some of their moves. They also introduced themselves…most are from the Portland area (Utah Ballroom has several chapters around the country) and all are amateur dancers—there was a chemical engineer, a high school teacher, a personal trainer and more! The free gathering before the show was an example of the special “perks” given to donors (based on their level of giving).
Our Spring musical is right on track…last week it was a traditional “costume parade” at PARC where the cast tries on their costumes for the first time and let’s the director check out whether they’re going to work or not. So…we don’t know for sure if this is what we’ll see on stage when Into the Woods open on Friday, April 26, but it’s fun to see the process.
The upcoming Friday Harbor Middle School Player’s Escape from Nemotex (Fri-Sun., March 22-24) is a great example of how SJCT partners with other groups to present quality theater events and education programs.
Many may remember the big news last December when our HOliday Festival fundraiser raised money to start a new partnership with the Seattle Children’s Theatre. That new program…a week long workshop for island students and drama teachers taught by SCT teachers…is going to start coming in July! PLUS! We’ll have our own set of new children and youth workshops in our new Summer Theatre Conservatory.
We plan to have the workshop schedules,registration information and lots more stuff on our website by April 1—so stay tuned!
Those SJCT volunteers who ventured into the Theatre Sunday might just be humming the “thank you” song after we celebrated the wonderful islanders who make SJCT thrive! Thanks to Penelope’s oh-so-cute daughter, Allison, the staff was able to successfully sing their thanks before we sat down to watch a very funny film WHO AM I THIS TIME about community theater featuring the very young Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken (by the way, thanks Chance for looking it up…the film came out in 1982 for those of you curious about it).Here’s a few photos of the event…and we’re so glad you came!
We got to add a little pizazz to our most recent Into the Woods production meeting recently…not only did we get to meet on stage (the upstairs office was full of other meet-ers) but we got to sit under the chandalier left over from the recent La Danse et La Musique event.
Plans are in full swing for the spring musical…the cast is rehearsing regularly, costume and prop materials are being ordered, tickets are now on sale on our website and at the box office and, as seen below, the set is getting started thanks to construction volunteers Tom Donnelly and Craig Green and set designers Penelope Haskew and John Shaller.
SJCT’s On Book! Readers Theatre is coming back in March—March 11 and 12 to be exact at 7:30 pm in the Whittier. Julia Laidlaw is directing 21 island actors in the landmark marriage equality play, “8”. The play, written by Dustin Lance Black (he wrote Milk and J. Edgar), looks at the Federal District Court trial challenging California’s Proposition 8, which stripped gay and lesbian Californians of the freedom to marry. It features the actual words of the trial transcripts as well as first-hand observations of the courtroom drama and interview with the plaintiffs. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
When the play premiered in 2012 in California, it featured some very famous stars, including Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Martin Sheen. Readings have been happening all over since then and it’s cool Friday Harbor gets to be part of it.
The readings are FREE and there will be “talk backs” with PFLAG and guests after each show.
Hey dare, our March surprise is here. We’re now set to present the hilarious play, “Guys on Ice” written by Fred Alley in the Gubelman Theatre March 8-10 and 13-17. Laura Concord has jumped in as director and Michael Herber, Eric Concord and Jack Gibson play the funny guys hanging out ice fishing in a Wisconsin shanty. It’s about fishing, silly stories, jokes and relationships. Tickets will be on sale soon and we’ll have more details on the website later this week.
Impressive, huh?
Lina Downes has cast Danny Boulet (above) in the role of the prince in her new ballet, A Fairytale Romance, which makes its premiereduring the La Danse et La Musique event on the Whittier stage Saturday, February 9 at 7:30. Lina says the island is very lucky to see Danny perform live again (he and his twin brother, Sylvain—both who have toured internationally—had dancing roles in Lina’s 2011 and 2012 SJCT musical comedy, The Birthday Boy). “All the people that watched him perform then were amazed and stunned by his dance expertise,” said Lina.
If you’ve been around the Theatre lately during the day, you might have noticed a familiar face hanging around more…that’s because one of our treasured volunteers is now part of the staff! Many of you may know Penelope Haskew from her much-applauded directing of our past three (and writing two of them) SJCT Family Theatre productions. She also starred in The Ladies Man with Merritt and is set to play Cinderella in the upcoming Into the Woods.
So now we get her to work behind the scenes more as well, as our part-time Production Assistant working with John on lighting, sound, set design and more. Penelope is ecstatic: “It’s exactly what I went to college for,” she says. “It’s ideal. I’ve wanted to work here since I first found out there was a Theatre on the island”.
Which of your island friends is the witch…or Cinderella … or Jack in the Beanstalk? Stephen Sondheim’s Tony award-winning INTO THE WOODS is coming to the Whittier stage in late April and May. Check the cast out below to see who you know…then check out a movie on the play (I did on Netflix)—the music is fascinating and the characters and plot are definitely not your daughter’s fairytale…
Baker’s Wife: Deb Langhans
Witch: Jill Urbach
Cinderella: Penelope Haskew
Little Red Riding Hood: Grace Castle
Rapunzel: Raena Parsons
Jack’s Mother: Patti Bair
Cinderella’s Stepmother: Trudy Loucks
Lucinda & Florinda: Bridget Booth & Skyler Moeder
Cinderella’s Mother: Maggie Gallivan
Granny: Pam Gillette
Snow White: Elizabeth Schubert
Sleeping Beauty: Starla Cosgrove
Giantess: Pam Gillette
Baker:Scott Mapstead
Jack: Nicholas Zervas
Cinderella’s Prince: Doug Schirmer
Rapunzel’s Prince: Tyler Strasser
Wolf: Doug Schirmer
Mysterious Man: Doug Rowan
Narrator: Ed Wilson
Steward: not yet cast
Cinderella’s Father: Bert Dayton
Our lobby is looking more and more colorful each day. Thanks to island painter John Bostrom and the design talents of Susan and Mary, we’re finishing up the paint job and getting a fresh look to brighten winter. Should be ready very soon so make sure and stop by to check it out!
