Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Directors Shane Oschman and Pamala Mahle have announced that tickets are now available for “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the opening show for Bradford Little Theatre’s 18th season. The iconic musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Weber opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at Bradford Area High School with shows at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13. About the cast, Pamala Mahle says “Vocally, this is one of the most talented casts I have ever had the pleasure to work with. In only three days we were able to cover over half of the score vocally. It was very impressive to watch how much further this cast stretched their abilities as rehearsals continued.” Oschman added, “Not only that but they are truly dedicated to putting their very best effort on the stage. They are hardworking and, just as importantly, funny. We’ve been working hard but we’ve had fun while doing it too. A director can try to set a tone but the cast controls it. Their blend of seri...

Same Time, Next Year , The Music Man , JAWS the Musical Planned Hits from the movie screen will take center stage, as Bradford Little Theatre kicks off its 17th season in November with “Same Time, Next Year,” to be followed by the “The Music Man” in March and closing with “JAWS the Musical” in June. > “Audiences may fondly remember these favorites from the big screen, but they will fall in love with the stories all over again as performers bring them to life on our community stage,” said Nanci K. Garris, BLT president. Directed and produced by the long-time successful team of Nanci K. Garris and Diane Arnett, “Same Time, Next Year,” a romantic comedy-drama written by Bernard Slade, will play Nov. 15 through 17. The first two shows will be at 7:30 p.m.; the final performance will be 2 p.m. matinee. Since its opening in 1978, “Same Time, Next Year” has consistently been a popular romantic comedy. The play ran four years on Broadway, was a successful motion picture and remai...

Bradford Little Theatre newcomers Ariel DeFrank, Melanie Bizzarro and Lori Johnson will join BLT veteran Andee Cole to make up the cast of the musical “The Marvelous Wonderettes.” The musical kicks off the BLT season with shows at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 25-27 and a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28. All performances will be held at the First Presbyterian Church hall on East Corydon Street. Created and written by Roger Bean, the two-act musical shows the girl quartet entertaining at their 1958 senior prom and again ten years later at their class reunion. More than two dozen songs from those years will be in the show, including "Son of a Preacher Man" "Secret Love," "Lipstick on Your Collar" and "Rescue Me." Director Cindy Graham said that while three of the singers are new to the BLT stage, all four of them are experienced performers. DeFrank won “Fretzican Idol” while a student at Fretz Middle School...

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

By DIANE KERNER ARNETT Richard J. “Dick” Marcott has been chosen to receive the 2012 Lester Brauser Theatre Appreciation Award, announced Bradford Little Theatre president Nanci K. Garris on Thursday. Established in 2001, the Brauser Award is presented to an individual whose work makes community theatre possible in the Bradford area. It is named after theatre enthusiast the late Lester Brauser. “Dick is most deserving of this particular award recognizing his efforts in and dedication to community theatre,” said BLT president Nanci K. Garris, noting he has appeared in BLT almost since its founding; has served on the board as president, treasurer and hospitality chairman; has designed and founded programs including various types of acting and technical workshops and Senior Theatre. “This is only the second time BLT has honored one of our own, the first time being founder Patty Bianco in 2006. She, like Dick, was also honored by Bradford Creative and Performing Arts Center, another group ...

Director Cindy Matteson has announced that casting is complete and rehearsals are underway for “Twelve Angry Men,” the second production of Bradford Little Theatre’s “Fun, Furious Fifteen” season. The Emmy Award-winning story by Reginald Rose, adapted for the stage by Sherman Sergel, takes the audience into the jury deliberations of what appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder. The play is a period piece from the 1950s; it lasts about 80 minutes and will have no intermission. The drama will be performed at the auditorium of the First Presbyterian Church, 54 E. Corydon St., Bradford, on Friday and Saturday, February 3 and 4, at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5. “Fourteen talented men from around the region will bring this drama – one of my personal favorites – to life,” said Matteson, a BLT board member and veteran director of both Otto-Eldred Junior-Senior High School and BLT productions. “Many of us held our breath this year awaiting the verdicts in ...

Bradford Little Theatre is opening new office and rehearsal space at 79 Main St. starting Saturday. “We are excited to be moving into a bigger space that will not only house our offices, but meet our need for rehearsal, tryout and construction space,” said BLT president Nanci K. Garris. “Our new space offers first-floor access and a dynamic downtown presence,” said Garris. “It should eliminate the need to rent rehearsal and tryout space as we have in the past. Also, we should be able to do basic set and prop construction in the rear – an option we have never had before.” “The board examined this move carefully to ensure financial feasibility, and believe that the site will not cost our non-profit organization any more than is currently spent for rehearsal and meeting space.” “We are excited about the possibility of using the space to be part of downtown activities as well,” she said, noting the two large display windows in the front of the site. Currently, the BLT office is on the thir...

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...

Adults and students in grade 6 through 12 can try out for “Charlotte’s Web” in Duke Center on Tuesday (Aug. 30) and in Bradford on Wednesday (Aug. 31). The first production of Bradford Little Theatre’s “Fun, Furious” 15th season will be mounted October 21, 22 and 23 at Otto-Eldred Junior-Senior High School in Duke Center. Tryouts on Aug. 30 will be held at the school from 6:30 to 8 p.m.; tryouts in Bradford will be held at Bradford Area Public Library on Aug. 31 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. “We are hoping that having the show and tryouts in Duke Center will offer more opportunities for actors and techies in that area to take part in this children’s classic,” said director Nanci K. Garris. She noted about half of the rehearsals will also be at the Duke Center school. Joseph Robinette’s adaptation of the tale about a friendship between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider remained true to the spirit and intent of the original, said author E.B. White. There are at least four ro...

A children’s classic, a drama and a mystery dinner theater make up Bradford Little Theatre’s “Fun, Furious 15” season. The season kicks off in October with “Charlotte’s Web” and then moves on to the tension-filled “Twelve Angry Men” in February with the comic “Stay as Dead as You Are” in April. “It’s going to be great to offer another production featuring young people, a drama about jury deliberations in a murder case that touches on current events, and, by popular demand, our second dinner theater” said Nanci K. Garris, BLT president. “Charlotte’s Web” will offer both adults and students in grades 6 and up the opportunity to perform in the auditorium at Otto-Eldred Junior-Senior High School in Duke Center. Garris, who has directed young people in BLT’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” and “A Christmas Story,” returns to direct the full-length play by Joseph Robinette. Story author E.B. White wrote to Robinette that “You have kept its spirit and my intent. Congratulations an...

Two out of three performances of “I’m Getting Murdered in the Morning” have been sold out, Bradford Little Theatre officials announced today. While more than 100 tickets are still available for the 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, February 27 show, no tickets are available for the Feb. 25 or 26 shows. “With the show taking place at a wedding reception featuring a catered dinner,” said BLT president Nanci K. Garris, “There is no traditional seating, and there is no standing-room-only seating.” “We are delighted with the public response and excited to present this comic murder mystery as part of Improv in February,” she added. Tickets for Sunday’s show are $15 per person in advance, and may be purchased through Graham Florist, Ott & McHenry Pharmacy or Tina’s Hallmark. They may also be ordered by email from BLT treasurer Marcia Morrison at tickets@bradfordlittletheatre.org . The Lee Mueller play will be presented at St. Bernard Educational and Social Center, 95 E. Corydon St. Directors ...

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...

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...