10-26-2010

It seems I've just posted and it's already been a week. Alice in Wonderland Jr. finished up its run last weekend with terrific audience response. The cast and crew did an outstanding job with the production and it was received with an overwhelmingly positive response from audiences.

Last Friday the MHT Ghost Tours moved to Oak Grove Cemetery. Friday night's fundraising event was a terrific success. MHT Board President Cindy Miller and committee chair Kathryn Joyner along with committee members Heather Overby, Melisa Mast did a great job. All MHT board members contributed food for the event and helped with hosting at the hospitality tent. Tour guides Kim Yocum, Cat Tilker, Fowler Black and Marsha Cash did an outstanding job of learning the script with very little time and creating historical portrayals of the people interred in Oak Grove Cemetery. Saturday night the response was so positive that we added a tour at 7:20 after the 7:00 and 7:45 tours sold out. The guides were kept very busy just finishing up one tour group as another appeared.

A big thank you goes to the Paducah Parks department for helping MHT make this event possible. The night tours of the Mausoleum were a big hit with those taking the tour. The combination of history and a beautiful fall evening, with a full moon both nights, led to a wonderful event. The Oak Grove Cemetery tours continue this Thursday and Friday evening.

MHT has a board meeting this Wednesday to review the completed first quarter of the year. We have struggled with some income areas due to the economy and exceeded our goals in other areas. This year with the purchase of the Arcade building for storage has added a few additional expenses to get the building ready for use. MHT had to do over $2,000 in brick work to stabilize the building in addition to the purchase price. The electrical costs will also run about a $1,000 to get electric service to the building. The theatre has engaged Webb Management resources from NY to do a thorough review of MHT operations and our current facilities. All these things add up and the theatre board has done a great job of trying to balance the additional costs while staying within the budget and a strong financial position. MHT staff continues to keep a close eye on expenses as well.

Bloody Murder has gone through a couple of cast changes as it makes its way towards opening. One of the actors who was first cast had to drop out due to a family medical situation which required them to travel to be with their loved ones. Sunday the cast of Alice in Wonderland and some wonderful parents of some of the kids came in and we cleared the stage after the final performance. On Monday, Jim Keeney and I set up several flats for the beginning of the set for Bloody Murder and the cast moved to the stage with furniture and most of the walls in place less than 24 hours after the full Alice in Wonderland performance ended.

Debra Harned is finishing up the last of the program for Bloody Murder to submit this week while the newsletter written by Don Barger, Sarah Roman, Cindy Miller and myself goes to press. In addition the theatre is just about to send out our annual fund drive information. October has been a very, very, busy month.