OUR NEXT PRODUCTION:

Moon Over Buffalo
By Ken Ludwig
Directed by Susan Edgren
Production Dates: February 8 –10; 13 –16, 2008
Time: 7:30 PM
(February 10 Matinee performance: 2:00 PM)
Gilbert and Jaylee Mead Auditorium
Centralia Center

We welcome 2008 with “Moon Over Buffalo”. This is a rip-roaring farce that is sure to tickle your funnybone!

THE STORY: Follow the misadventures of George and Charlotte, an acting couple (not exactly the Lunts) who are on tour in Buffalo in 1953. Fate has given these thespians one more shot at starring roles in The Scarlet Pimpernel epic—and director Frank Capra, himself, is in route to Buffalo to catch their matinee. Will Charlotte appear or run off with their agent? Will George be sober enough to emote? Hilarious misunderstandings go from bad to worse, and are magnified by Charlotte's deaf mother, who despises George. Don't miss this one!

THE CAST

Notes from the Director, Susan Edgren:

George and Charlotte Hay seem to have everything: their own theatre troop, an active performance schedule, a reasonable amount of fame on stage and screen, a talented and loving daughter, and a good marriage. So what's wrong? Well… the troop has dwindled down to five cast members (NOT including their daughter who has left show biz for the world of advertising), they are out of money because their touring schedule is spotty at best, the only movies they ever made were at the B level and soon forgotten AND George just had a fling with their young ingénue. Adding salt to the wound is the latest news that Frank Capra's new swashbuckling movie is going to star Ronald Coleman and Greer Garson, not the Hays.

This is how the farce comedy, Moon Over Buffalo , opens. But this is not where it stays, not by a long shot. Young Rosalind Hay comes to Buffalo to introduce her parents to her fiancé just as Charlotte finds out about George's indiscretion, which leads to Charlotte's leaving George for their personal lawyer, Richard, just when George hears from his agent that both Coleman and Garson are off the picture and Mr. Capra is coming to Buffalo to watch their matinee. George becomes so despondent over Charlotte's leaving that he gets roaring drunk just before Charlotte realizes he was telling the truth and comes back to save their film career…..you get the picture. Madness ensues as mistaken identities collide with mismanaged performances, resulting in, naturally, absolute catastrophe. If it didn't, it wouldn't be farce.

Thank you!
Susan Edgren, Director

STUDIO THEATRE

The Studio Theatre is off to a great start. Audiences have been treated to some exciting street theatre with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, and along the way learned a few new things about the Bard's work. Just recently, Sue Stein introduced them to storytelling theatre with Bible Bridges. This excellent one-woman production helped audiences get in touch with the very roots of theatrical tradition while better understanding and connecting with some the Bible. That's just the beginning. The Studio Theatre will continue to educate and entertain our Rapids audiences throughout the winter season.

\Next up: Saturday, January 26, 2008 Improvisation Workshop and Performance. Steve Martin will conduct our first actor's workshop from 2:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon. Actors will be trained in the art of improvisation. At 7:00 there will be an Improv performance in which each of the actors involved in the workshop will take part. There will be a $5 charge for actors attending the workshop and a $5 charge audience members. Steve Martin was professionally trained in Improvisation, and worked in two different Improvisational troupes. This should be an excellent opportunity for our actors to learn and have fun. March 14, 15, 16, 2008 Two Original One Acts from local playwrights James Malhouf and Mark Purcell. The Long Way Home   by James Malouf is a dark comedy with a facinating  twist. The Dreamer's Dream written by  Mark Purcell is a fantastical dream play with a whimsically humorous touch. Both plays are short, 30-45 minutes in length and should make for a fascinating evening of original theatre.

Classic Workshops: WRCT will offer a four-month workshop of a world-classic play, beginning in January and ending in May, 2008. The goal of the workshop is to build upon a developing interest in performing and viewing classical theatre in our area. The workshop will begin with background information on the playwright and his era, viewings of relevant filmed recordings, practical exercises in presentation techniques, scene work, play rehearsals, and conclude with performance of the play. The workshop is open to students and adults, age 7 to 70+. The workshop and production will be conducted by WRCT veteran actors and producers under the direction of Cathy Meils. This workshop is made possible through a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board.

Thanks.

Mike Edgren

OUR SPRING PRODUCTION:

Audition dates:
February 18 – 19, 2008
(Possible date for call-backs February 20, 2008)
Gilbert and Jaylee Mead Auditorium
Centralia Center

Copies of the script are available at the WRCT Office

Performance dates:
April 11-12-13 , 16-17-18-19, 2008

Notes f rom the Director, Cynthia Welling

“The way I see things, life is both sad and funny. I can't imagine a comical situation that isn't at the same time also painful. I used to ask myself: What is a humorous situation? Now I ask: What is a sad situation and how can I tell it humorously?”

– Neil Simon

How many times have you said to someone, “I laughed so hard, I cried?” Usually we mean the shear physical exertion of laughing brought a tear to our eye, but what if a writer were so skilled that he or she could pull both emotions from you at the same time? “Jake's Women” is Neil Simon's 28 th play written for Broadway which is no small fete. Having written the hilarious “Barefoot in the Park” and “The Odd Couple” among many, many others earlier in his career, Neil Simon's quick, glib comedies have evolved into more resonant comedy-dramas, affectionately referred to as dramedies , uniquely written to elicit personal responses from audiences as they realize they are not the only ones who have ever had a life experience play out like a scene … laughing and crying all the way.

Neil Simon is America 's premier comic playwright and “Jake's Women” marks another hilarious foray into the world of modern relationships. Jake, a novelist who is more successful with fiction than with life, faces a marital crisis by daydreaming about the women in his life. The wildly comic and sometimes moving flashbacks played in his mind are interrupted by visitations from actual females, and, oh, what delightful females they are. Jake's women range in age from 12 to 70 and will offer exciting acting opportunities to the seven talented actresses who are chosen to bring them to life. These interesting, diverse, and very appealing characters come in all shapes and sizes and are sure to trigger a memory or two as you recognize something about each of them in the women in your own life.

And, then, there's Jake. Jake is one of those men who is as intriguing to women as he is confusing to them. He is an accomplished author who is much better at writing life than living it. Though somehow a magnet for delightful women, he holds the world at arm's length and is no good at intimacy. Jake will provide the right actor an opportunity to create an interesting and multi-leveled character, deliver some great one-liners, work with a bevy of fantastic actresses, and be a large part of the inaugural season in the new Gilbert and Jaylee Mead Auditorium. Jake is, of course, the pivotal character in Mr. Simon's play and it is widely held that it is very autobiographical. Every character in the play interacts with Jake, often on several different levels of reality. I am so excited for the chance to watch the right actor make this role his own.

"Jake's Women” takes place in the 1980s in Jake's New York City apartment. There are amusing references to the time period and we take a wild trip courtesy of Jake's imagination – audiences will laugh and cry once again thanks to the talented Neil Simon and a cast of characters that will make us proud to be a part of Wisconsin Rapids Community Theatre!

Auditions will be held at 6:30pm on Monday, February 18th and Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at The Gilbert and Jaylee Mead Auditorium. Copies of the script are available at the WRCT Office. Please feel free to contact Cynthia Welling at 715-424-3376 or the WRCT Office if you have any questions.