by Steve Arnold

We often lament the fact that young people raised in Iowa small towns don't come home after college, but seek their fortunes in the big cities or outside of Iowa altogether.  This month, we observe a situation where this trend doesn't hold, as a young man from Vinton comes home to practice law in the family firm.  And since this young man was one of the very first of the ACT I youth to take to the stage, we think this is a good time to honor the contributions made to ACT I by one of its founding families.

The Mossmans are one of ACT I's three generation families.  Local attorney Keith Mossman and his wife Becky were instrumental in establishing our community theatre organization from the very beginning, in its early partnership with the Old Creamery Theatre.  Although neither their son Mark nor his wife Kathy have ever appeared on stage, they have both done crew work and Mark, a law partner with his father, has served on the Palace Theatre Board of Trustees from the beginning.  But both of Mark and Kathy's sons -- John and Burns -- have appeared on our stage, and Burns has the distinction of being the first underage male to ever play the lead in an ACT I production.  And this month, John returns home to Vinton to join his father and grandfather in the Mossman family law practice.

Keith Mossman is a Vinton native and Becky is from Mansfield, Illinois.  It was Becky, known within the family as "Muzzie," who played our first female lead -- Penelope Sycamore in our opening production, You Can't Take It with You in 1980.  She was back in November of that same year as Harriet Stanley in The Man Who Came to Dinner.  In that same production, Keith made his debut with us in the role of Banjo, and in our third production, Sir Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit (1981), Becky and Keith appeared as a married couple, Charles and Ruth Condomine.  During this time, each also took a hand at crew work -- Becky doing costumes and properties and Keith having a go at publicity.

Becky Mossman (right) played the leading role of Penelope Sycamore in ACT I's first production, You Can't Take It with You in April of 1980.

For Becky, three more roles followed soon after.  She was seen as Florence in The Curious Savage (1982), and in that show, another Mossman took to the stage with young grandson John got the chance to appear onstage with Muzzie playing a cameo role as a small child.  Becky was back on stage as Mrs. Boyle in The Mousetrap (1985) then it was John's turn again, as one of the cherubs in the Skeet Powers musical Lovingly Yours (1986).  Then Becky was back for the leading role of Aunt Hettie in the political comedy The Girls in 509 in 1986.  

A who's who of ACT I's early years . . . Keith and Becky Mossman are at left as Charles and Ruth Condomine in our third production, Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit (1981) with Colleen Stufflebeam as Madame Arcati, and Marsh Berry and Ellyn Paulus as Dr. and Mrs. Bradman.

Following The Girls in 509, the Mossman family took a seven year sabbatical from our stage, returning in the fall of 1993 when they both appeared in the courtroom drama The Night of January 16th.  This time, the lawyer took the witness stand and Becky donned a Swedish accent as they each played witnesses in a murder trial before a jury of ACT I patrons.

Again in Blithe Spirit, Keith Mossman as Charles Condomine is teased by the ghost of his first wife Elvira (Anna Bess Rice).

A few months later, another member of the Mossman family took to the stage.  Grandson Burns, then in fifth grade, became the first child actor to play a leading role in an ACT I production.  That show was the children's musical Bridge to Terabithia, and Burns was kept busy the entire show.  When he wasn't on stage he was rushing through his next costume change, usually assisted by one of his parents, Mark and Kathy.  Kathy is a native of Independence and a kindergarten teacher at West Early Childhood Center in Vinton.  This service on the costume crew of Terabithia is Mark's only ACT I credit to date; Kathy was also on the set construction crew for that show and did costumes for another show as well.  Burns also served on the set construction crew for that show and for our next show, Twigs, he was assistant technical director and a member of the makeup crew.

Becky Mossman delivered a comic tour de force that brought down the house as Mrs. Armstrong in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, her final major role on the ACT I stage.

Burns appeared twice more in major roles; and both times his grandparents were in the cast as well.  Burns portrayed Leroy Herdman in our next show, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, a show that also featured Keith in a cameo role as the fire chief and Becky in a marvelous comic supporting role as the bedridden Mrs. Armstrong.  The Mossman family made one final appearance with ACT I late in 1995 when they appeared together in The Sound of Music.  Keith and Becky played minor roles -- Baron and Baroness Elberfeld -- and Burns appeared as Freiderich, one of the von Trapp children. 

John Mossman (third child from left) appeared as one of the cherubs in our 1986 production of Lovingly Yours by Skeet Powers.

Keith also took a stint on the ACT I board.  With the impending closing of the Old Creamery Theatre in Garrison, ACT I began to toy with the possibility of owning its own facility.  The idea at the time seemed insurmountable, and Keith held his ground that it wasn't doable.  When the building was finally closed, Keith served on a committee to study the feasibility of the project, and he seemed to remain unconvinced.  Then, in an early meeting, Keith made a statement that would change everything.  "Now if you were to show movies as well," he suggested, "then the idea might work."  The rest is history. 

In April of 1994, Burns Mossman (pictured here with Kim Hanneman) played the role of Jesse Aarons in our production of Bridge to Terabithia.  Burns and Kim appeared in the same three ACT I productions and always played brother and sister.

In addition to Mark, Becky and Keith have three other sons; Hugh, Burns, and Mike.  (Hugh, an artist, contributed two paintings to ACT I to be sold at auction as part of a Palace Theatre fundraiser during the construction of the building).  Becky and Keith have five grandchildren.  In addition to John and Burns, each of Mark's brothers has one daughter.  Keith Mossman, now 82, continues to practice law with his son Mark, who currently serves as the President of the Palace Theatre Board of Trustees.  John Mossman graduated from WHS is 1995, and after graduating from the University of Iowa attended law school at Drake, graduating last spring.  After considering various options, John made the decision to return to Vinton and join Mark and Keith, to make the law firm a three generational business.

Burns graduated from WHS in 2001 and now attends the University of Iowa.

There are some important changes planned down the road for the Mossmans.  John plans later to purchase his parents' home, a beautiful white Queen Anne house of Second Avenue after Mark and Kathy complete construction of their planned new house in rural Vinton.  This will be quite a change for Mark, who has lived in the house on Second Avenue for fifty years, since age two.  Coincidentally, Becky Mossman's childhood home in Mansfield, Illinois was identical to this one in Vinton where she raised her family.  (The Mossman home also has another ACT I connection.  It was built originally as a wedding present for Linda Radcliffe's grandmother.)

Kathy Mossman says "ACT I has been a wonderful addition to the community and very important to the Mossman family and to their lives, both as participants and viewers."

As a third generation of the Mossman family settles in Vinton (and hopefully continues the family's involvement in ACT I), we salute their support of community theatre and thank them for their contributions that have helped make this organization what it is today!

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