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2928 West 13th St. Ashtabula, Ohio 44004
phone: 440-964-3396 |
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Straw Hat Theatre 2003 Season Announced:
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Posted: Thursday, February 27, 2003
In keeping with the excitement of the Arts Center�s 50th Anniversary year, this summer�s Straw Hat Theatre season offers a wide variety of experiences! Go back to summer camp, brush up on your Shakespeare, get �ready to rumble,� and learn how to take a corpse on vacation! All this, plus a special encore performance of this spring�s hit musical revue �Suds.� Clear your calendars, it�s going to be one hot summer at Straw Hat!
Starting off the season is �KRAZY KAMP,� a comedy for all ages. Relive the pranks, pratfalls, crafts, merit badges and horrible cafeteria food of summer camps everywhere with this hilarious show. While Camp John Smith is being renovated, the rambunctious male campers must find a new home. When the director of the girls Camp Pocahontas finally gives in the allows them to take up residence there, the usually serene camp is invaded with unusual characters. From poison ivy victims to snake carrying campers, this summer camp is sure to be anything but uneventful! Songs included in this show range from Motown to pop and ballads, and are sure to keep the audience singing right along with the crazy campers!
From summer camps to Shakespeare, the 2003 season continues with �KISS ME KATE,� the musical stage version of Shakespeare�s �Taming of the Shrew.� The show revolves around the life of Fred Graham, a theater actor/manager whose life is turned upside down when flowers he sends to fellow actress Lois accidentally end up in the hands of his ex-wife and leading lady, Lilli - who threatens to leave the show when the truth about who the flowers were really meant for is finally revealed. Meanwhile, Lois�s boyfriend, Bill, has signed Fred�s name to one of his gambling debts, so when two men come to collect, Fred has no idea why! The fate of the show - and the money for Fred�s new-found debt - hinges on Lilli�s decision to stay or go. A battle of the sexes ensues - both onstage and off - as each character does their best to keep their lives in order.
But we aren�t done with Shakespeare yet, as we go from �The Taming of the Shrew� to a modern-day �Romeo and Juliet� in the Broadway hit �West Side Story.� Called �the world�s greatest love story,� this musical transports us to the streets of New York City, where two young idealistic lovers find their relationship caught in the middle of warring street gangs. Tony, the former leader of the Jets, meets and instantly falls in love with Maria, the sister of Sharks leader Bernardo. Knowing that they can never be together in the neighborhood they each call home, the two plan to run off together. But before they can leave, Tony is caught in the middle of a rumble, and accidentally kills Bernardo. While Maria�s friends all urge her to stay away, she still runs off to find Tony - but will she find him before the Sharks do?
With music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, �West Side Story� is perhaps one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching and relevant musical dramas of all time.
Did you miss our dinner theater presentation of �SUDS: THE ROCKING MUSICAL 60�S SOAP OPERA� this winter? Well, don�t think it�s �The End of the World,� because �I Know a Place� where we�ll be reliving the smash Laundromat comedy for two more weekends this August! The hit musical story of Cindy and her birthday full of bad news features over 50 hit pop, rock and Broadway songs from the 1960�s, including such memorable songs as �Chapel of Love,� �Please Mr. Postman,� �The Locomotion,� �Shout,� and �You Can�t Hurry Love.� As Cindy arrives for work at the Laundromat on her birthday, she is optimistic about what the day will bring. But this mood soon changes, as the postman arrives with nothing but bad news - including a letter from Cindy�s pen-pal boyfriend, dumping her for �someone with better penmanship.� Just as she has lost all hope on love, her guardian angels arrive to help the situation ... if only they could agree with each other on the right way to do so! Could Cindy�s birthday get any better, or is it only downhill from here?
This summer�s version of �SUDS� will be performed by the same cast as February�s production, with Jordan Malin reprising the role of Cindy, Linda Fundis playing guardian angel Marge, Colleen O�Leary filling the role of angel Dee Dee, and Joshua Twining reappearing as a multitude of male characters.
To finish out the summer we�ll take you on a vacation in beautiful Monte Carlo ... the only catch is that your traveling companion is a corpse! In the zany comedy �LUCKY STIFF,� unassuming shoe salesman Harry Witherspoon must take the corpse of his recently murdered uncle on a week-long vacation in order to inherit $6,000,000. If he fails, the money is turned over to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. But he is certainly up for a test of wills, as he must face his uncle�s insanely jealous - not to mention legally blind - mistress and her much put-upon optometrist. Throw in an over-zealous representative from the dog home, and you have a fast-paced, energetic comedy chock full of memorable characters and bizarre circumstances. What a way to end the summer season!
Auditions for the 2003 Straw Hat season will take place over three weekends. Youths age 14 and under can audition Saturday, March 8, from 1-3 p.m., or Wednesday, March 12, from 7-9 p.m. Actors age 15 and up are welcome to audition Saturday, March 15, from 1-4 p.m., Wednesday, March 19, from 7-9 p.m., or Saturday, March 22, from 1-4 p.m. One open �cattle call� audition will be held Sunday, March 23, from 3-6 p.m. All audition sessions are on a first come, first served basis, and no appointment is required. Please come prepared with a short reading and a 30 second song to sing. Additional readings or songs may be added at the audition.
Contact Darrell Lowe at 964-3396 or 964-9696 for more information.
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Woody Allen Comedy Opens Feb. 28:
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Posted: Friday, February 21, 2003
What do you do when your only advice on how to deal with the opposite sex comes from 40�s movie hero Humphrey Bogart? Find out in the romantic comedy �Play It Again, Sam,� opening February 28 and running for seven performances at the Ashtabula Arts Center�s G.B. Community Theatre.
Written by Woody Allen, �Play It Again, Sam� is the story of Allan Felix, a shy, neurotic, and recently divorced man who has come down with a serious identity crisis. He now inhabits an imaginary world in which his hero, Humphrey Bogart, consistently appears to him to provide �tough guy� advice on how Allan can transform himself into a man that women will adore.
As Allan�s friends set him up on dates, Bogey accompanies him to dish out advice on how to handle the �dames.� Timeless scenes from films like �Casablanca� and �The Maltese Falcon� are reconstructed on stage, as Allan attempts to transform himself into Bogey�s unforgettable characters. But always the dates end with Allan making a complete fool of himself - falling over furniture, fumbling on his words, or getting himself beat up.
The only person he doesn�t seem to get choked up around is Linda - who, as luck would have it, is married to Allan�s best friend, Dick. But even with Bogey�s help, Allan is hesitant to make a move on his best friend�s girl - even though she feels the same way about him. Even Bogey has a hard time helping him with this predicament!
 �Play It Again, Sam� is directed by Susan Laupp, and features Zack Wiita of Ashtabula as Allan, Katie Tredent of Ashtabula as Linda, and Gary Feiler of Austinburg as Dick. Shanna Nichols of Ashtabula will play the role of Allan�s ex-wife, Nancy, while Chip Collins of Ashtabula fills Humphrey Bogart�s shoes. Jamie Oelbracht of Madison, Cortney Peterson, Missy Cimorell and Vanessa DiMare, all of Ashtabula, and Sheanna Davis and Leah Davis of Dorset fill the roles of Allen�s various failed dates.
The play will run for two weekends, February 28 - March 2, and March 6, 8 and 9. Due to a conflict, there will be NO performance on Friday, March 7. Curtain for all shows is 8 p.m., except for Sunday matinees.
Special dinner theater presentation of �Play It Again, Sam"
Saturday, March 8, at 6:30 p.m.
Doug Anderson, Chef
MENU
Lemon-Carrot Soup
Mixed Greens with sour cream dressing
Norwegian Fruited Chicken
Potatoes with dill butter
Green Beans and Mushrooms with almonds
Rolls and butter
Assorted Beverages
Black Forest Pudding Cake with French Vanilla Ice Cream Chef for the dinner is Doug Anderson.
Reservations for the dinner must be made no later than Thursday, March 6, at noon. Cost is $12, in addition to the price of a theater ticket.
Tickets are currently available for all performances of the play, and reservations can be made by calling the Arts Center.
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