Welcome to ACT I of Benton County

The Miser Prepares for Opening

The cast and crew of Molier's The Miser continue to move forward with one of the great comedy classics of all time. Director Steve Arnold promises a modern-day update to this timeless play with a cast that includes ACT I regulars and new faces. It also represents a remarkable opportunity for some actors who have traditionally enhanced our shows with supporting roles to step up and take on large challenges. The show also promises one of the most innovative set designs for an ACT I show, courtesy of set designers Allan Merchant and Rich Hainstock.

The curtain goes up on the Miser for two weekends March 12-21 on the stage of the Palace Theatre. 7:00 Friday and Saturday, 2:00 on Sunday. Tickets are $7.00, $5.00 for seniors and students.

Cast members include:

Valere:  Garrett Spence
Elise:  Rachel Kramer
Cleante:  Trent McAtee
Harpagon:  Rich Hainstock
La Fleche:  Tom Reed
Master Simon / Anselme:  Alan Nebola
Frosine:  Nancy Beckman
Master Jacques:  Dave Gates
Marianne:  Emma Clingman
Police Inspector:  Melody Spence

Auditions for Bus Stop Announced

ACT I of Benton County announces Audition Dates for the upcoming Main Stage production of the dramatic comedy Bus Stop.

Directed by Jill g. Lockard-Bopp, Bus Stop is a three act play with a color cast of characters of vastly divergent personalities, thrown together in a small Kansas bus stop during a winter storm. According to Lockard-Bopp, the characters each represent various aspects of love, and is truly an ensemble cast. Each character is fully-realized with complex traits for the actor to explore.

Audition Dates:

Saturday, March 13 at 2:00 and Sunday, March 14 at 7:00. Callbacks, if needed, will be Monday March 15. Location: ACT I studio above Clingman Pharmacy, 106 East 4th Street in Vinton

Cast of Characters (3 women, 5 men):

Grace Hoylard — Owner of the diner, a "grass widow". She is 40-ish, and pretty in a fading, hard-bitten way. She has a passionate side to her nature, loving a good fight and the attentions of a good man.
Elma Duckworth — An intelligent but naive high school student; she is Grace's waitress.
Will Masters — The local sheriff. Tough as nails and brusque in manner, but good-hearted and a staunch Christian, described in the play as a "deacon of his church". A highly "moral" man in the general sense of the word.
Dr. Gerald Lyman — A college philosophy professor who is articulate and charming, but cannot hold a position, partially due to his resistance to any kind of authority, and partially due to his unfortunate taste for young women. He also has an obvious drinking problem.
Cherie — A pretty young woman who comes from a difficult "hill folk" background, and has left her innocence far behind. She is an aspiring nightclub singer, but has never worked in any establishment above the level of "cheap dive".
Bo Decker — A brash young cowboy with boorish manners that hide a naivete almost as profound as Elma's. He has convinced himself that Cherie will be his bride, though Cherie wants nothing to do with him.
Virgil Blessing — An older, wiser cowboy who has become a father figure to Bo, (who was orphaned at the age of ten) as well as Bo's head ranch hand.
Carl — The bus driver, who has an ongoing "just passing through" relationship with Grace.

ACT I Announces 2010-2011 Season!

November 21, 2009

It seems like our current season just got underway, but the next season is coming quickly upon us! ACT I is pleased to announce that several shows have been announced for the season that begins July 1, 2010.

ACT I will be the first theatre in Iowa to stage 13, a successful musical that was the first show with an all-child cast to be staged on Broadway, a grown-up story about growing up!

When his parents get divorced and he's forced to move from New York to a small town in Indiana, Evan Goldman just wants to make friends and survive the school year. Easier said than done.

The star quarterback is threatening to ruin his life and his only friend, Patrice, won't talk to him. The school freak sees an opportunity for blackmail and someone is spreading the nastiest rumors.

With an unforgettable rock score from Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown, "13" is a hilarious, high-energy musical for all ages about discovering that cool is where you find it, and sometimes where you least expect it.

Also scheduled for the main stage is Picnic, winner of the 1953 Pulitzer Prize and the Critics Circle Award.

The play takes place on Labor day Weekend in the joint backyards of two middle-aged widows. The one house belongs to Flo Owens, who lives there with her two maturing daughters, Madge and Millie, and a boarder who is a spinster school teacher. The other house belongs to Helen Potts, who lives with her elderly and invalid mother. Into this female atmosphere comes a young man named Hal Carter, whose animal vitality seriously upsets the entire group.

Plaza Suite, a poignant and funny three act show from Neil Simon will also be a featured show in 2011. Hilarity abounds in this portrait of three couples successively occupying a suite at the Plaza. A suburban couple take the suite while their house is being painted, and it turns out to be the one in which they honeymooned 23 (or was it 24?) years before - and was yesterday the anniversary, or is it today? This wry tale of marriage in tatters is followed by the exploits of a Hollywood producer who, after three marriages, is looking for fresh fields. He calls a childhood sweetheart, now a suburban housewife, for a little sexual diversion. Over the years she has idolized him from afar and is now more than the match he bargained for. The last couple is a mother and father fighting about the best way to get their daughter out of the bathroom and down to the ballroom where guests await her or as Mother yells, "I want you to come out of that bathroom and get married!"

In addition to these timeless shows, check back here often for information about additional productions for Second STAGE!, children's theatre camp, and Event Series!

Latest Website Updates

We are still building our new ACT I website. We have added a new page for ACT I's history, where we will keep photographs and show information for all of our 30+ year history.