August 5, 2012

It has been sometime since my last post. I feel like it was only a few weeks ago but it turns out it has been more than a couple of months. MHT is already in high gear for the 49th season. In early July April and I attended the American Association of Community Theatre convention in NYC. We saw 3 great plays- The Book of Mormon, Warhorse, and Peter and the Star Catcher. People asked me which was the best (I don't know why I always get that question- even about shows I direct!) Each was great for different reasons. Book of Mormon at the Eugene O'Neil Theatre was extremely satirical and had some very funny moments in it. I would definitely not recommend this show to anyone with kids or to those who will be offended by language. It is by the creators of South Park and while I'm not a big fan of that show, I found Book of Mormon very funny and at times even theologically relevant. Some of the songs are about believing in things that are hard to believe and trying to make sense of the world and looking for where you belong. On a completely different note Warhorse was a magnificent work of acting and technique with staging where the performers creating the horses made me forget they were there. I'm not sure it will translate well in a large auditorium on tour but in the close up performance space of the Vivian Beaumont theatre in Lincoln Center it was breathtaking. Finally Peter and the Star Catcher at the Brooks Atkinson theatre was a prequel to Peter Pan. Twelve men and one woman told the story with very limited props and costumes and switched characters back and forth mid sentence. It was a play written for adults but could be enjoyed by kids. Each theatre we went to on Broadway had extremely tight seating areas. My knees were jammed against the back of the seats in front of me or against the balcony railing on every performance! MHT seating is a dream compared to Broadway seating. Many of the theatres had auditoriums that weren't much deeper than Market House Theatre. Just a little wider and a balcony. However their lighting and sound systems were something I drooled over! After we got back from NYC MHT had lots of summer camp classes for kids. We had a performance of Forsooth its Good Manners at the end of July. In addition 9 to 5 began rehearsals with a cast of 19. We are 2 weeks into the rehearsals and have just finished staging the first 5-6 scenes of Act One. This past Friday we had a dance rehearsal for 9 to 5 and Around Here. Rebecca Evans is a new choreographer and she began to put the performers through their paces. MHT's board met at the end of July and looked at last years financial ending. After 2 years in a row of ending in the black MHT ended the 48th season with a deficit. We had several very large building maintenance issues and also brought in consultants to help us with strategic planning. Without the consultants (which weren't budgeted) we would have still ended the year in the black, even with several thousands dollars of roofing, tuck pointing and Air Conditioning repair work. We are switching around the seating for the Pajama Party murders that open this week setting up tables and chairs. You may see a few changes around the theatre this year in having our tables and chairs set up more often to allow us to do a couple of different things this year outside the regular main stage and youth performances. The theatre just purchased a white 1998 Ford Van to replace the older Blue Chevy van the scene shop has driven for the past several years. The "new" van has airconditiong and the windows roll down. The older Chevy van the windows didn't roll down anymore (motorized) and the air conditioning has stopped working last year! Jim will be a much cooler guy driving out to pick up lumber and to the warehouse. Footlights starts August 25 and Auditions for Willy Wonka are August 27 & 28! Welcome to the 49th Season!!