BLT Announces 16th Season

Music, marriage and magic will be the themes for Bradford Little Theatre’s 16th season which opens in October with “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” follows with “The Marriage Counselor” in January and closes with “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” in April.

“”We are offering light fare this year, with a girl quartet singing hits from the 50s and 60s aimed at music lovers; a script-in-hand comedy designed for people who wish to perform but have just a week to commit to the project; and a fairy tale offering for families,” said Nanci K. Garris, BLT president.

Created and written by Roger Bean, “The Marvelous Wonderettes” will be offered Oct. 25 through 28 at First United Presbyterian Church social hall on East Corydon Street in Bradford. The first three shows will be at 7:30 p.m.; the final show will be a 2 p.m. matinee.

BLT veteran Cindy Graham will direct the lively four-woman musical with Andy Dutka as music director and Ardyth Van Scoy as choreographer.

Graham, who is directing for the first time, fell in love with the show when she saw it recently down South.

Steele Spring Theatrical Licensing describes the nostalgic musical this way:

The Marvelous Wonderettes takes you to the 1958 Springfield High School prom where we meet the Wonderettes, four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts! As we learn about their lives and loves, we are treated to the girls performing such classic ‘50s and ‘60s songs as “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Lipstick on Your Collar,” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” “It’s My Party” and over 20 other classic hits.

The second act takes place at the quartet’s 10-year class reunion.”

Tryouts will be held Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 10 and 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hill Memorial United Methodist Church, 44 Kennedy St. Call-backs will be Sept. 12 and 13.

Director Kristin Asinger says the winter offering, “The Marriage Counselor” by Joey Ouelette “is going to be a whirlwind of a comedy in several ways! Not only will time fly during the show, but the cast and crew will be challenged to put this script in hand show together in less than a week.”

“I am very excited to offer a BLT play that even busy people can audition for. There are people who love to act but do not have the time to commit to weeks of rehearsals and memorizing lines,” said Asinger, who has directed a dinner theater production for BLT’s last two seasons.

“As the play begins, the audience will be thrown into a zany afternoon with a husband and wife in a troubled relationship who mistake the shy vacuum cleaner salesman as their new marriage counselor,” said Asinger.

Auditions will be Jan. 5 and 7. Rehearsals will be at the BLT office Monday through Thursday Jan. 14-17 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The shows will be performed Friday and Saturday Jan. 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. in Bradford.

As she explained: “with only five rehearsals, bloopers are sure to occur!”

The cast includes three female and four male adults, said Asinger who has directed the show before in Fairview.

However, casting for the third offering of the season will be open not only to adults but also to students in grades 6 and higher said veteran BLT director Diane Kerner Arnett. Ann Dunkerton will be assistant director.

“Movies like ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ and ‘Mirror, Mirror’ along with the popular TV shows ‘Grimm’ and ‘Once Upon a Time’ are riding high on interest in reinventing class fairy tales,” said Arnett.

This old tale of magic relates how Snowdrop rescues a prince from being forced to either marry an ugly princess or remain a polar bear for half his life.

“East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” will be presented at a venue in Bradford in late April; tryouts will be in March.

The script calls for a cast of at least 13 -- three women to portray Ancilla, the Ice Witch; Princess Long Nose and heroine Snowdrop; three men to portray henchman Hob, Prince Nordo and Snowdrop’s Poppa; and performers of either gender to portray the four trolls; two old hags; the North Wind; and Snowdrop’s sisters.

The comic adaptation by William Glennon is through The Dramatic Publishing Co.

For more information, people may visit the website at www.bradfordlittletheatre.org or the BLT Facebook page, or contact the group at P.O. Box 255, Bradford, PA 16701. Tickets will also be available about two weeks before each show at Ott & McHenry Pharmacy, Tina’s Hallmark and Graham Florist, all in Bradford. Discounts are available for groups of ten or more.

Now starting its 16th season, the non-profit Bradford Little Theatre continues to promote, encourage, and produce community-based theatre in the Bradford area. By making theatre available and accessible to the public, BLT provides opportunities for community participation, appreciation, and education, thus enriching the community and increasing interest in the arts. An award-winning theatre company, BLT is a member of the American Association of Community Theatres and the Theatre Association of New York State and is a founding member of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Theatres.