Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

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 ...

Nanci K. Garris was re-elected president of Bradford Little Theatre during the group's annual meeting on Tuesday at its 79 Main St. office. Also re-elected to office for one-year terms were Cindy Graham, vice president; Marcia Morrison, treasurer; and Cindy Matteson, secretary. Re-elected to two-year terms on the board were Graham, Morrison and Kristin Asinger. Re-elected to a one-year term was Matteson. The board also includes Kathy Bryant, Diane Kerner Arnett and Marcia McAndrew. A non-profit group now entering its 16th season, the community theater group features productions with all-local talent. The past season included Charlotte's Web, Twelve Angry Men and Stay as Dead as You Are. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Bradford Little Theatre production of Charlotte’s Web will feature Ethan S. Flexman of Duke Center as Wilbur, Madison McClelland of Allegany, N.Y., as Charlotte and Cailie C. Shanks of Bradford as Fern. The children’s classic by E.B. White adapted by Joseph Robinette will be performed at the Otto-Eldred Junior-Senior High School in Duke Center on Friday and Saturday October 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23. Director Nanci K. Garris said, “We are excited to perform for the first time at O-E school, which boasts a beautiful 300-seat art deco auditorium and new atrium lobby. We believe the new location will enable more people to attend the show, since it is only 12 miles from Bradford and 13 miles from Olean, N.Y.” The family-friendly show tells how little Fern Arable dotes on Wilbur, the runt of the spring pig litter. But once Fern persuades her father to spare Wilbur from the axe, Charlotte the spider turns her web-spinning skills to savin...

Kathy Bryant and Nanci K. Garris will perform the two-woman play “Grace and Glorie” as the opening of Bradford Little Theatre’s 14th season Oct. 8-10 at the auditorium of the First Presbyterian Church, 54 E. Corydon St. Under the direction of Diane Kerner Arnett, the duo will bring to life the funny and poignant friendship between 90-year-old Grace, an independent mountain woman, and 40-something Glorie, a transplanted city slicker with an MBA degree from Harvard. Playwright Tom Zeigler draws the collision between these women’s very different lives with a humorous hand and genuine respect. Grace is determined to face death the way she has lived, while hospice volunteer Glorie is equally determined to show Grace a “better” way. When Glorie first visits the “granny cottage” where Grace is spending her final days, Grace can’t quite understand why the woman is there. She first tells Glorie: “listen, honey, I don’t mean to be undriendly, but whatever it is you’re sellin’, I’m sure I’m was p...

Bradford Little Theatre has gone “Outside the Box” for its 14th season with new types of productions at all-new venues, including improvisation, fantasy and script “near hand.” “We are excited to be stretching our wings, reaching new audiences, and offering a full-scale production outside Bradford” said Nanci K. Garris, BLT president. “We will have new faces in new places.” The funny and poignant “Grace and Glorie” by Tom Zeigler opens the season with performances Oct. 8-10 at the auditorium of the First Presbyterian Church, 54 E. Corydon St. The two-woman show portrays the friendship between a feisty, illiterate, 90-year-old mountain woman and a transplanted New York City resident with a Harvard MBA. As part of Bradford Improv Month in February, BLT board member and Pitt Improvers advisor Kristin Asinger will direct the dinner theater “I’m Getting Married in the Morning.” That production will be held at St. Bernard Educational and Social Center on Feb. 25-27, with two evening shows an...

Auditions for Bradford Little Theatre’s October production featuring performers in half-masks, a magical plot and a surreal setting will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 10 and 11 at Bradford Area Public Library on West Washington Street. “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” scheduled for Oct. 8-10 will bring to life a comic adaptation of the Norwegian folk tale about Snowdrop rescuing a prince from being forced to marry an ugly princess or remain a polar bear half of his life. “The show gives actors a chance to stretch their skills since most of the characters will be performed in half-masks, some of the characters are puppets and other characters speak in grunts and hisses,” said director Diane Kerner Arnett. “The magical tale marks a real change of pace for BLT.” The script calls for three women to portray Ancilla, the Ice Witch; Princess of the Long Nose; and heroine Snowdrop; three men to portray Hob, the Ice Queen’s henchman; Prince Nordo; and Poppa, father of the heroine. Further, p...

The One Book Bradford event "Never the Twain Shall Meet" delighted an audience at the Bradford Area Public Library Saturday afternoon. The one act play was written by Diane Kerner Arnett. This is the second year Bradford Little Theatre has presented an event for One Book Bradford. Photos courtesy of Diane Kerner Arnett

A one-act comedy written by a local woman is the next installment of activities in this year’s One Book Bradford season. “Never the Twain Shall Meet,” written and directed by Diane Kerner Arnett, will be performed at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Bradford Area Public Library. The play, which includes Bradford Little Theater actors, depicts the inaugural meeting of a writers' group, featuring various types of writers from academic to dabbler. While there will be a set, props and costumes, actors will perform "script in hand." The play will be about 30 minutes. The cast includes BLT veteran actors Nanci K. Garris, Pam Gaffney and Richard Frederick, and newcomer Laura Keesler. The play will be followed by a discussion headed by Linda Underhill regarding authors who build on the characters created by other authors. This year’s One Book Bradford Selection is “Becky: The Life & Loves of Becky Thatcher” by Lenore Hart. Hart picks up where Mark Twain left off and takes Becky Thatche...