CONGRATS TO ALLEN AND ANNE!
Forget Napolean and Josephine. Who cares about Antony and Cleopatra? Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were just a couple of pretty faces. And Adam and Eve, well you know how that goes - "cherchez la femme"!
But Anne and Allen? Now that's a couple to watch!
Congratulations to the Bantlys, a powerful pair whose combined talents have raised the bar at the Concord Players to new and dazzling heights. From the most complicated set - remember
Blithe Spirit? - to the minutest prop detail - did you see those tiny sardines in
Noises Off? - these two have been making every Players show at 51 a blockbuster for years.
Now they've each received the recognition they richly deserve, an EMACT DASH Lifetime Achievement Award. We are as proud of them and as grateful to them as we can be. And... we can't wait to see their next act!
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INTRODUCING FUNNY GIRL
Congratulations to the cast of
Funny Girl! The show is going to be a must-see!
| Fanny Brice |
Meghan Rose |
| Nick Arnstein |
Chris O'Dwyer |
| Eddie Ryan |
Andrew Swansburg |
| Mrs. Brice |
Jennifer Bubriski |
| Mrs. Strakosh |
Martha Warren |
| Mrs. O'Malley |
Laurie Penney |
| Mrs. Meeker |
Chris Vander Rhodes |
| Mrs. Nadler |
Liz Ruark |
| Florenz Ziegfeld |
John Alzapiedi |
| Ensemble |
Kartik Ayysola
Tim Daughters
Kelly Duffy
Marcelle Durrenberger
Elizabeth Hassett
Sadie Kennedy
Kate Lawler Henderson
Aiden O'Neal
Bradford Robinson
Gary Ryan
Victoria Saraldi-Gallardo
Alexander Skaggs
Pam Sontag |
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WEST CONCORD PORCHFEST
The Concord Players will be performing in the first annual West Concord Porchfest! The very talented Amanda Casale, Eric Dwinnells, Ryan Trapani-Goldberg, and Samantha Casale will be singing show tunes accompanied by Pat Bentley at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center on September 21st from 1pm to 5pm. Come on down and join the fun!
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GREATER BOSTON THEATER EXPO
Over 60 theater companies in one place with information and special offers for the upcoming theatre season in the Greater Boston area!
Dozens of theater companies come together on one night to share information, schedules and offerings for their upcoming theater season - and many will be offering discounts, promotions, prizes and giveaways! The Sixth Annual Greater Boston Theater Expo offers you a free, convenient, and efficient way in an Expo-style/marketplace setting to check out theater productions from your favorite companies and lets you explore new organizations and meet local theater artists!
Information and RSVPs (highly encouraged) can be found
here.
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This summer's production of
The Winter's Tale featured 17 talented actors who performed before audiences of more than 400 Shakespearean fans on the lawn at the Concord Free Public Library. Under the direction of Mike Haddad, the opportunity to be part of one of Shakespeare's lesser known final works proved irresistible to both the cast and the audiences, who embraced the story, the presentation and the theatrical tradition of Shakespeare in a natural setting that emphasized the storytelling and language.
 The troupe was delighted to interact with many audience members who return year after year and shared that this is a highlight of their summer theater experience. As a part of the Concord Players, The Shakespeare Troupe extends their deepest gratitude to the Players and their behind the scenes support of this production and looks forward to production number eight next year!
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SAVE THE ROYAL DATE!
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Photo Credit: Kai Chao | Instagram: @kaichaoboston
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Your favorite fairy tale princesses and special guests are returning to Concord Players on Saturday, December 7th, for two events: a musical fairy tale meet-and-greet in the afternoon, and an adults-only "Pixie Dust After Dark" cabaret at night. Save-the-date now!
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I WANNA BE AN USHER
Looking for a way to volunteer? Wishing you could see a show for free? The Concord Players are looking for Ushers and House Managers for our 2019-2020 season:
Funny Girl (November 8-12, 2019), with Connie Benn, Front of House
Barefoot in the Park (February 7-22, 2020), with Nick Miller, Front of House
Steel Magnolias (April 24 - May 9, 2020), with Cheri Fletcher, Front of House
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ANNOUNCING OUR BIRTHDAY BASH
On Sunday, October 20th, to kick off our season, we will have a giant birthday party beginning at 7:00pm! New England-born writer and entertainer,
Trav SD, will present a program about the early days of stage entertainment. The cast of the fall show,
Funny Girl, will perform a number or two in advance of its November opening. And of course, we'll have hors d'oeuvres, spirits, and birthday cake to celebrate! This event is free and open to the public; please RSVP by clicking
here.
FOR THE LOVE OF IT
The word amateur comes from the Latin,
amare, meaning
to love. It is an apt word to describe people who create community theater
. We are all here for the love of it.
To love could mean wrapping your parka around a shivering actor waiting for a cue in the freezing scene dock during a January production of
South Pacific, as Heddie Kent once did. It could mean shouldering on through a tech rehearsal until 2:30am reviewing 300 light cues as Susan Tucker once did. It can also mean being brave enough to come back to rehearsals after being kicked in the head by a temperamental goat, something Susan also experienced. What a trouper!
A recent Centennial Salon conversation revealed that no matter how
amare takes shape, people in community theater give it and feel it while performing their craft.
For Tracy Wall,
to love is to find the silhouette, the texture and the color that will create a character with costume. Later, to bring the silhouette to life, shaping and reshaping, all in a room with friends, serenaded by their happy conversation and the calming thrum of busy sewing machines. Then, the actor wears the costume and inhabits the character and performs for the audience and the circle is complete.
Amare.
Charlie Atherton acted professionally for many years and describes both the "camaraderie within the company," and the "warm light and applause that nurture a fragile ego." Theater can do that. Working together first as a company and then with the audience creates a palpable human connection, all the more precious for its fleeting nature, yet tangible in the mark it leaves on us.
"It's when you know you've nailed it," says Kate Beadie. "When you know you hold that connection with the audience, and lose yourself in a character."
Similar themes emerge from other actors: "it's the connection with the audience," says Jan Turnquist. "It's a kind of magic. You take a vacation from self and become totally present with the person you're playing and the audience."
Some even feel an element of the Divine in the way people work together to create theater. A company's combined talents result in extraordinary achievements and create those rare perfect moments that life sometimes offers up. They can't always be described, but we are touched by them together and that's where the joy is. Divine.
The "energy," the "collaboration," the "process", the "connection," the "teamwork" - they are some of the essential ingredients in the alchemy of theater that can only be created by many. It's that alchemy transforms us to a place where, for just a few hours, we feel more keenly alive.
And that audience, that audience keeps coming up in every conversation. "The audience is one of the characters," said one actor. It is surely true, because "curtains up" and "light the lights" would be a pretty pointless exercise without them. They must be feeling that
amare, too.
The late composer and performer Peter Allen summed up what the audience means to us very nicely in a song he wrote for closing all his concerts:
"A group of strangers turned to friends acting naturally. They laugh and cry and take me just where I want to be. When I think of times I've flown the highest, they were times I've known. The audience is playing for me."
Amare.
And just in case you're worried that we're drowning in sentimentality over here at 51, watch this space for stories from the dark side of
Amare. Tales from the Tunnel? Fistfights backstage? The clandestine passing of ill-gotten props? An unfortunate night spent on the bathroom floor? Yup, it all happened here. Stay tuned.
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SIZZLIN' SIDEWALK SALE RECAP
On Saturday, August 10th the Players once again participated in the Walden Street Sizzlin' Sidewalk Event with singing, a little dancing, and even some audience participation! Thanks to Amanda Casale for organizing all the talent and Andrea Roessler for organizing everything else, as well as Connie Benn, Lisa Tierney, Craig Howard, Paula McNabb, Jon Saul, Charlie Atherton, Ben and Agatha Oehlkers, Anthony Huntington, and Allen Bantly.
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CONCORD PLAYERS MEMBER NEWS
Membership Payments Now Available Online: We are inaugurating an online system of membership payments this year! If you have received your membership renewal and haven't mailed it in yet, you can now do it online (no service fee)! Go to the Concord Players
website, select Membership from the menu, and click on the indicated link. That will take you directly to the online page. (If you're not a member, now's the time to join! You can use the same link!) If you have any questions, please email membership@concordplayers.org.
Legally Blonde: the Musical: Concord Players members Amanda Casale and Joshua Telepman have been cast as Elle Woods and Dewey/Elle's Dad/Ensemble, respectively, in the Footlight Club's November 2019 production of
Legally Blonde: the Musical!
Get your tickets now!
The Hollow: Kathy Lague will be appearing as Doris in the Burlington Players' production of
The Hollow by Agatha Christie. Performance dates are Sept 6-21. For more info, visit the Burlington Players
website.
Silent Sky: Concord Players members Grace Sumner and Nick Miller have been cast in
Quannapowitt Players'
A Silent Sky, directed by Nancy Curran Willis with costume design by Kathy Booth. Performances begin Sept 27th.
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UPCOMING EVENTS AT 51 WALDEN
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September 21, 2019 at 3:30p.m.: The Concord Band performs Sousa, Cichy, and Irving Berlin at Minuteman National Historical Park. Also on the program is North Bridge Portrait, a piece by Stephen Bulla commissioned by the Band. In case of rain the concert will be at 51 Walden.
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