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2928 West 13th St. Ashtabula, Ohio 44004
phone: 440-964-3396 |
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G.B. Community Theatre Announces 2002-2003 Season:
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2002
The Ashtabula Arts Center will be observing its 50th anniversary year in 2003. To begin what promises to be an exciting celebratory period, the G.B. Community Theater is planning a season that is full of fast-paced excitement, hilarious comedy, beautiful music, touching romance and heart-stopping trepidation.
To get the season off to a fast and memorable start, Theater Coordinator Darrell Lowe has decided to stage �Godspell,� the popular rock musical that made its premier more than 30 years ago. The production will be performed over three weekends in September, opening with two shows on Sept. 15, and continuing Sept. 21-22, and 28-29. Based on the gospel according to Saint Matthew, this Stephen Schwartz musical is a favorite for churches and has been performed by some area schools. This G.B. version of "Godspell" will be a little different than others -- no clown like atmosphere, more contemporary and fresh, more recognizable to the modern audience. New music will be introduced, and high tech special effects will enhance the show.
A celebration of the life and the teachings of Christ, �Godspell� will feature a cast of thirteen actors, all of whom will incorporate their own styles and personalities into the show. This show is sure to be a family favorite, and a quick sellout, so be sure to make your reservations soon!
October will bring on a new, enormously-funny work by Joe DiPietro, titled �Over the River and Through the Woods.� Lowe predeicts tht if you like the comedy on the Ray Romano television show featuring Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle, you�ll also enjoy �Over the River.� DiPietro�s most famous work to date is the musical �I Love You, You�re Perfect, Now Change,� which recently broke the record for longest-running off-Broadway musical.
�Over the River� is the story of Nick, a single, Italian-American guy from New Jersey. His parents have retired and moved to Florida, leaving him with both sets of grandparents, whom he sees every Sunday for dinner. This is routine until he has to tell them that he has finally been offered his dream job ... in Seattle. The news of Nick�s possible move across the country does not sit so well with the grandparents, who then begin to concoct a series of schemes - including one involving a charming and single woman as bait - aimed at keeping Nick in town.
The play will run for two weekends, October 11-13 and 17-20.
Professor Harold Hill will make a three-weekend stop at the Arts Center in November, as the main stage is transformed into an Iowa town for the classic, All-American musical, �The Music Man.� This show will run November 1-3, 8-10 and 14-16.
Meredith Wilson�s affectionate look back at Turn-of-the-Century �Smalltown USA� follows fast-talking salesman Harold Hill as he travels into River City, Iowa, and poses as a professor in order to con the people there into buying expensive instruments and uniforms for a boys� band he vows to organize. But what the town eventually learns is that Harold actually couldn�t tell a trombone from a treble clef if he tried. His plans to skip town with the money are foiled when he falls for Marian the librarian, who attempts to transform him into an honorable man and thereby win back the respect of the townspeople.
The musical features several familiar songs, including �Seventy-Six Trombones,� �Gary, Indiana,� �Till There Was You,� �Goodnight My Someone,� �Lida Rose,� �Sincere,� �Wells Fargo Wagon,� and �Iowa Stubborn.�
Hold your breath in January, as the thriller �Deathtrap� will surely send shivers up and down your body. The stage play is a little different than the movie-version, Lowe says, which starred Christopher Reeve and Michael Caine, but it will still give you goose bumps.
Sidney Breul is a previously successful writer of Broadway thrillers. But he has recently experienced a dry spell, composing a string of thrillers that have been nothing but flops. Losing money quickly, Sidney is prepared to go to any lengths to improve his fortune, including offering collaboration to a student of his at a seminar he is teaching at a nearby college. The story then twists and turns with sudden shocks and clever thrills - right up until the final, startling moments.
In February, the G.B. will host its annual dinner theater presentation. Lowe is still waiting for production rights to clear, so the show cannot be announced yet, but will be shortly. One thing is for sure, it will be about relationships, with good music and lots of laughs. Those who saw �Personals� last year can attest to that.
In late February, either the comedy �Dinner with Friends� or �Play It Again, Sam� will be mounted.
�Dinner With Friends� is a story about love, betrayal, happiness, friendship and heartbreak - all within the confines of the friendship of two married couples that have know each other for years. Karen and Gabe introduced their friends Beth and Tom, and the four of them thought they would grow old together as the best of friends. But when Tom leaves Beth for another woman, Karen and Gabe are left clinging to their own relationship and wondering what the future holds for them all.
�Play It Again, Sam,� is the comedy written by Woody Allen about a hero who is a nerd and is in love with his best friend�s wife. The storyline provides the framework for endless gags borrowing heavily from �Casablanca.� Bogey even appears periodically to counsel him on the ways of wooing women.
The March production is scheduled to be �Laughter on the 23rd Floor,� one of Neil Simon�s latest comedies. The play pays homage to the author�s early days in show business, when he worked as a junior jokesmith for Sid Caesar�s �Your Show of Shows.� Told by Simon�s alter ego, the play is a memoir of his time spent stuck in a room with � a bunch of the looniest comedy writers ever,� watching them compete with one another and try to top each other with gags. Billed by the Wall Street Journal as �old style comedy: fast and furious,� this hilarious show is sure to send audience members home in stitches!
Because of calendar conflicts, the children�s theater production will close the 2002-2003 season. But what a finale is in store as the classic musical �Alice in Wonderland� will be produced. The show is based on the Lewis Carroll story about a young girl and her adventures after she takes an accidental tumble down an enchanted rabbit hole and into a magical world of mock turtles, dancing flora, punctual rabbits and mad tea parties, where playing cards hold court and nothing is as it seems. What a great way to end a memorable season!
�We hope that the indoor main stage theater season we have planned will add to the high quality of events and productions audiences and patrons of the Arts Center have been accustomed to viewing,� Lowe said.
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Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?:
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Posted: Tuesday, August 06, 2002
by Roger Smith
On the heels of one successful musical, the Straw Hat Theatre at the Ashtabula Arts Center tops off its summer season with another really fun show that keeps the beat moving right along! �Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?� is full of fun songs, weird observations about nuns and patron saints, the importance of numbers in the confessional and making out with the opposite sex.
This play takes youngsters from first grade through the senior prom, and even touches on the adult lives they will eventually live. The actors must not only portray their characters, but they must age those characters as they advance from grade to grade. Those individual interpretations of the characters are most interesting. It is a �given� that all the actors are experienced and talented and they are good singers and dancers, but to see their characters mature is the gist of the plot. 
Doug Anderson�s character, Eddie Ryan, is so pathetically bewildered throughout school that one continuously feels sorry for him. Ultimately, as is the case in real life, he is the most successful. Catherine Pikus in the role of Becky Bakowski is amazing in her transition from little fat girl to novice and beyond. Virginia Lear (Jordan Malin) is the little girl who makes teachers turn to another profession. Tim Dorman as Felix Lindor, didn�t seem to �get it� throughout the entire evening and voiced his ignorance at the drop of a hat.
 Kimberly Weston as Mary Kenny, the little girl who was always any nun�s favorite because she knew all the right answers, was sickeningly sweet to the point of needing to be slapped. Mike Depki (Mark Pendleton) seemed to survive school and life and confession and religion by listening to the advice and wisdom of his older brother. Pendleton was excellent in this role.
Maureen Tanner played Nancy Ralansky, a girl who seemed to always be on the line between good and evil. Tanner is always good in any role, and this character is no exception. Those who enjoyed Adam Kapis in �Footloose� will delight in his performance of Louie Schlang in this production.
The cadre of nuns, headed by S�ter Lee (Laurene Gabrich) sang and danced - yes, danced - their way into the hearts of the audience. Gabrich gave an excellent portrayal of a stern faced nun who had a heart as big as the world. Phil Mullet, as Father O�Reilley, was warm and stern and forgiving - all good traits for a priest to embody. Sister Helen (Ellie Portman) sang beautifully to the youngsters as she tried to teach them the lessons of life.
All the other parts of this production fit snugly; everything worked as it should work. The orchestra was excellent, the lighting was up to its usual standards, and the costuming was perfect. This is a fun, fun way to end the summer at the tent.
The production continues August 9, 10, 11, 15, 16 and 17. Each performance is at 8:00 p.m. Tickets may be reserved by phoning the Ashtabula Arts Center at 440-964-3396.
More Pictures HERE
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