Theater Company of Lafayette

Theater Company of Lafayette Presents “Way Out West in a Dress or… Life’s a Hurdle When You’re Wearing a Girdle”

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:10:11 +0000

Welcome to the wild, wild West as you’ve never seen it before. Step right in and sit right down, as you enter the Mary Miller Theater in Lafayette, Colo., aka Lucky Lady, Nevada – the setting for Theater Company of Lafayette’s first musical in eight years.

“Way Out West” is a melodrama, so get ready to cheer for the heroes and boo at the villains. You’ll “dye” laughing at this wild musical full of dynamic dialogue, double identities, dastardly plots and dance numbers galore.

Don’t be shy. Have a sarsaparilla straight from the Lucky Lady Saloon as the cast of 23 dance and sing their way into your hearts.

Opening weekend special: Grab your pardner and head on out to the Lucky Lady for a 2-for-1 ticket special, March 9 and 10 only!

Theater Company of Lafayette

“Way Out West in a Dress”

Book by Billy St. John, music and lyrics by Bill Francoeur

Directed by Kirsten Jorgensen Smith

Performances: March 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31

Fri/Sat at 7:30 PM; Sun at 2 PM

$10-17, Group discounts and opening weekend 2-for-1 discounts available.

Tickets at 720-209-2154 or online at www.tclstage.org.

Mary Miller Theater, 300 E. Simpson Street, Lafayette.

Produced by Special Arrangement with Pioneer Drama Services, Inc.

TCL Honored by Daily Camera

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:42:59 +0000

The 2011 Camera Eye Theater Awards are out! Congratulations to Cathy Ode for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Comedic Role” in Becky’s New Car at Theater Company of Lafayette, directed by Madge Montgomery. And kudos to TCL nominees Matt Ellison for “Best

… Read the full article »

Amusing Review of “Twilight Zone 8″

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:21:51 +0000

Click here to read Gary Zeidner’s review of TZ8 in the October 27, 2011, edition of The Boulder Weekly.

Auditions for Upcoming Show

admin — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 20:08:26 +0000

Auditions!

”Way Out West in a Dress” at Theater Company of Lafayette

Script and music by Bill Francoeur and Billy St. John

Directed by Kirsten Jorgensen Smith

A rip-roaring melodramatic romp into the old frontier with a troupe of actors who have inherited a “fortune”.

WHEN: December 12 & 13 at 7-9 p.m.

WHERE: The Mary Miller Theater, 300 E. Simpson Street, Lafayette, Colo.

DETAILS: Pick one night to attend. No appointment necessary. Bring one short song to sing (a cappella or play your own recorded music). There will be cold readings from the script.

REHEARSALS and PERFORMANCES: Rehearsals begin the week of January 5 at the Mary Miller Theater. Tech week is March 4 – 8 and all are required to attend. The play opens March 9 – 31 and runs weekends + two Sunday matinees.

Most roles require singing, however, most roles do not require a Broadway type singing voice unless noted. These are character roles with singing.

Male Roles

Train Conductor–20-80 yrs- Extremely important non-speaking role. Strong stage presence required. Great opportunity for actor who has lost vocalization.
Clarence Rawlins – 25-55 yrs, lead role, hero, cross-dressing required
Colt Revolver, Jr. – 30-60 yrs, lead role, villain, ruthless son of a gun
Roger Gaines – 25-60 yrs: lead role, hero sidekick, comic relief. Cross-dressing required
Will Reader – 30-60 yrs, town lawyer
Smitty Black – 25-60 yrs, blacksmith
Bob Burr – 25-80 yrs, town barber
Bill Holder – 25-80 yrs, banker
Levy Fines – 30-80 yrs, judge
Phillip Glass – 25-60 yrs, bartender

Unisex Roles

R.I. Peay – M/F 25-80 yrs, undertaker
Russell Grubb – M/F, ranch cook

Female Roles

Melody Plunkett – 25-45 yrs, lead role, needs to be able to patter (sing really fast!)
Jessica James – 25-55 yrs, lead role, villain, saloon hostess, needs a very good voice
Barbara Seville – 20-30 yrs, saloon girl with operatic aspirations, needs operatic voice
Heide Gray – 45-80 yrs, theater grand-dame
Roberta Pinz – 25-80 yrs, comedic actor
Nell Clipper – 15-30 yrs, giggly actor
Carrie O’Key – 25-45 yrs, lead role, saloon girl, attempted singing required, but she can’t sing a note!
Eileen Dover – 15-60 yrs, saloon girl, must hold head to one side during entire time on stage
Rhoda Steed – 30-60 yrs, ranch owner
Sadie Blessing – 30-60 yrs, preacher’s wife

For more information contact the director, Kirsten Jorgensen Smith, at 720-219-2054 or boxoffice@tclstage.org.

Next Up at TCL: Twilight Zone 8

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:02:10 +0000

Please go to our Box Office to order tickets.

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:37:37 +0000

‘Becky’s New Car’ hits local stage

Kimberli Turner Colorado Hometown Weekly

Posted: 06/07/2011 08:02:03 PM MDT

From left, Bill Graham, Justin Porter and Cathy Ode star in The Theater Company of Lafayette’s “Becky’s New Car” which runs June 10-July 2, at The Mary Miller Theater, 300 E. Simpson St., Lafayette. Brian Miller, Courtesy photo

For those who have ever wished to flee the life they know, The Theater Company of Lafayette is aiming to provide just that –at least for one evening.

TCL will present Steven Dietz’s “Becky’s New Car,” starting this weekend, under Madge Montgomery’s direction.

The play is about Becky Foster, a wife and mother in her fifties who faces a mid-life crisis and meets someone who could change her life.

“She tells the story of her chance to get a fresh start at life,” Montgomery said. “She’s at that point in life where those options to change are kind of limited.”

Becky, who has been married for more than 20 years, has a good rapport with her husband but the spark is gone, Montgomery said.

Enter Prince Charming.

The wealthy widower identifies with Becky and thinks she, too, has lost her spouse but, when Becky has the chance to set him straight, she doesn’t.

Louisville resident Cathy Ode plays Becky and describes the play as a “laugh-out-loud” comedy with heart-breaking scenes; she said the play raises a lot of questions about relationships at mid-life.

“It’s a very honest story about a mid-life woman’s struggles,” Ode said. “She’s just swept away with what her life could look like.”

Montgomery feels that another relationship in the play adds “an interesting texture” to the show. Chris and Kenni, a young couple in their twenties, are involved in a budding romance and are trying to figure out who they are while attempting to break free from their families’ expectations.

Montgomery said she wouldn’t reveal how the couples identify with each other.

“There is a surprise twist in how they relate to Becky,” she said.

Ode’s daughter, Rosie Martersteck, 18, plays Kenni and Ode said it’s a thrill to work with her daughter on stage, a first for them.

One of Ode’s favorite scenes in the play is one that both couples share.

“It’s a beautiful understated moment where it feels like the generations are learning from each other,” she said.

At the end of the show, Becky makes the choice about which relationship she wants to be in, Ode said.

Montgomery said “Becky’s New Car” holds a spontaneous element in which Becky asks the audience to help her complete a task.

This component slightly unnerves Montgomery, but the cast has rehearsed a series of contingency plans she said, depending on how the audience reacts to Ode’s interaction with them.

“I think the actors will be able to handle it,” Montgomery said. “But I get nervous the play will get bogged down. But we have been practicing in different ways to prepare.”

Ode said interacting with an audience in this way is new to her and is the closest thing to stand-up comedy she’s ever done. She noted that audience members would not be embarrassed or uncomfortable in any way during the unpredictable scene.

“They become part of the story in brief but important ways,” she said.

Charles Staadecker, a Seattle realtor, commissioned “Becky’s New Car” in 2007 through Seattle’s ACT Theater.

Staadecker chose to commission a play as a gift for his wife, Benita’s, 60th birthday, Montgomery said, and they have traveled the country to attend the play’s premiers. TCL is one of the Staadeckers’ stops.

The couple will attend the Lafayette performance on Wednesday, June 22, and will hold a question-and-answer session following the play.

“Becky’s New Car” will run June 10-July 2 at The Mary Miller Theater, 300 E. Simpson St., Lafayette. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, and at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 12.

Tickets are $12-$15 and can be purchased online at tclstage.org or by calling the box office at 720-209-2154.

Great Review of TCL’s “Becky’s New Car”

admin — Mon, 23 May 2011 20:54:42 +0000

Click here to read Mark Collins’ review of our production of Becky’s New Car in the Boulder Camera, Friday, June 17.

Inherit The Wind

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 22:01:26 +0000

May 16, 2011 — by Holly Bartges

There’s one more week left, unfortunately, simply because it deserves a much longer run.

Ian Gerber directs one of the most enchanting productions of Inherit The Wind written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee at the Theater Company of Lafayette to grace any stage anywhere.

The Theatre Company of Lafayette’s production of Inherit the Wind. (left to right) Alexandria St. Aubin (Rachel), Matt Ellison (Drummond), and Brandy McGreer (Judge)

Before even parking the car at the Mary Miller Theater, one is immediately transported to Hillsboro, Tennessee 1925. The town is ecstatic in the anticipation of Matthew Harrison Brady arriving to prosecute Bertram Cates, the insolent school teacher who had the gaul to teach Darwin’s theory of evolution to his 8th grade science students in this very close-knit Christian community who strongly believes it is God, and God alone who created the Heavens and Earth. Period.

A member of the community staunchly parades in the street carrying a sign. One side reads: “Are you a Man?” The other side reads: “Are You a Monkey?” A woman follows him with another sign that simply reads, “Darwin is Wrong?”

Inside, celebration reigns. Hotdogs and Moon Pies are being hawked, along with popcorn and lemonade. (They only ask for donations.) This extraordinary cast of characters, decked out in 1925 clothes interacts with the audience. Be ready to take sides. They want to know what side of the fence one sits. One interviewer directly asks: “Are you for or against Darwin?” Taking notes all the while. The entire cast mingles with the audience as though everyone is a part of this wondrous community brought together by such a heretical idea than man descended from a lower form of animal life.

Cates, delightfully played by Justin Porter nervously waits in his jail cell. Rachel Brown, his girlfriend, visits him with the help of Meeker, the guard. Rachel is grandly played by Alexandria St. John. Rachel is torn. She so wants Bertram to recant, and just say he is wrong. She carries a double problem. She’s the daughter of Rev. Brown (Don Grede), a strong leader in the community, a strong believer that it is God and God alone who created the world, and he will fight to the death over his beliefs. Grede carries with him the staunch, pious attitude necessary to carry the community. No wonder Rachel is nervous about visiting Bertram in jail. What if someone sees her? What is someone tells her father? What if the one she so dearly loves won’t change his mind?

The Theatre Company of Lafayette’s production of Inherit the Wind. (left to right) Justin Porter (Cates), Matt Ellison

Meeker is played by Carol Long. Meeker prides herself on her job, and at the same time shows empathy toward Rachel, and a gentle firmness toward Bertram.

Any moment, Brady is about to arrive by train. Richard Beall takes on the role with the self-assured attitude of the “popular speaker from the Chautauqua circuit and the nation’s most dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party”. He comes to assist the Circuit District Attorney Tom Davenport. Don Thumim wears the confident cloak of Davenport. With Brady at his side, how could he possibly loose the prosecution?

No one yet knows who will arrive to defend Cates.

Then the word comes. It will be none other than Henry Drummond, a first rate liberal lawyer from Chicago, and an orator par excellence, a one-time friend of Brady’s. He even wants to know what happened to their relationship.

Matt Ellison takes on the heavy role of Drummond. I have to admit I had some fleeting doubt as to whether Ellison was up to the challenge. Ah, the beauty of illusive first impressions. There is no doubt, Brady and the townspeople felt the same way upon meeting Drummond. The prosecution was in the bag. How could this relatively humble human being possibly convince anyone otherwise? Ellison proved himself more than ready for the challenge.

Judge Virginia Sparks found herself in the midst of this highly controversial trial. Yes, Sparks was the first sitting female judge in the history of Tennessee. Played by Brandy M. McGreer, she carries confidently the judicial role with pride and ease.

Townspeople are brought in to testify, of course all speaking in favor of God’s Word being the ultimate. All of the people Drummond wishes to bring onto the stand, Judge Sparks refuses to allow. It looks grim for Cates, and for Drummond until he asks for Brady to take the stand. The brilliance of Ellison’s portrayal comes to life as he nails Brady to the wall.

During Intermission, the townspeople continue to mingle with the audience, E.K. Hornbeck, a reporter, combs the audience for interviews. Played by Chris Newby, he maintains a highly professional journalistic attitude toward the trial, toward getting the facts, and getting everyone’s opinions. During the trial, he is delightful to watch. He’s got a big story and he knows it.

The large cast comprised of 28 actors takes on the roles for some 33 characters. Gerber has done an amazing job of bringing out spirit of the times. Even those who are just beginning their acting transformations feed into the spirit of that horrific time.

Although, even today in some arenas the fight continues.

The program consists of a copy of the Hillsboro Herald with Gerber as editor-In-chief. It features articles on Brady coming to Hillsboro, with real life photos of Brady, Cates, Rev. Brown, and Judge Sparks. There’s an article about the local baseball team getting a new mascot. Rev. Brown went out of his way to encourage his congregants to boycott the games citing the use of the irreverent term “Hellhounds”. The cast is listed under Classified Advertisement as Actors Seeking Work.

The Theatre Company of Lafayette’s production of Inherit the Wind. Justin Porter and Alexandria St. Aubin

Mary Secor and Susan Serreze designed the costumes with an appropriate and tasteful eye for 1925 Tennessee. Sarah Spencer designed the set that works beautifully for the small space.

TCL’s production is more than a theatrical experience. It’s a time machine that brings to life the thoughts and deep feelings of the people of 1925 Hlllsboro, Tennessee. Throughout the production it is great fun to watch the expressions of the different members of the community. The actors have met the spirit and joined in. Lolly Grede as Mary Brown, the Reverend’s good wife, stands proudly by her husband. Stephen Bliley wears the Mayor’s badge with prideful dignity. Matt Barham can’t read or write as Elijah, but he believes everything Rev. Brown tells him.

The only downside of this production is its four-week run. Inherit The Wind is a masterful production for this small theatre. Gerber is a masterful director who has the ability to reach inside even the novice actor and bring forth characterizations not even the actor knows is there. It’s worth the trip to Lafayette.

Inherit the Wind
By Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee; Directed by Ian Gerber

Pam’s New Test Post

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 03:13:03 +0000

Thank You to Cast and Crew of MLU

admin — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:12:01 +0000

A big thank you to all of the people who auditioned and volunteered for our Machines Like Us Play Festival.

If you haven’t already done so, sign up for our email lists to be kept informed of upcoming Auditions and Productions. We have a lot of fun, and… Read the full article »