Grease Paint Online; September, 2002

Thursday, September 5 Marked Opening Night of our Main Stage Series For Season 2002 - 2003: A Cast of Outcasts

This season's Main Stage musical, Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, opened on the Palace Stage September 5 for a 6 performance run. In keeping with our "Outcast" theme, Kiss Me, Kate is a "play within a play within a play" which tells the story of two estranged couples -- outcasts from each other -- and combines the brilliance of two great creative artists from nearly four centuries apart, playwright William Shakespeare and composer Cole Porter. The production is sponsored by Clingman Pharmacy, Jon and Julie Clingman.

Kiss Me, Kate is the story of a 1948 acting company portraying an Italian Rennaisance acting company producing a musical version of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.

"The Theatre IS the set," the director's notes of the Kiss Me Kate program tell us. Performances in this production reach all areas of the Palace Theatre, from the lobby to the green room, and even the street in front and the alley behind. Two classic cars, a '28 Ford owned by Mark Wilberg, and a '39 Chevy owned by Tom Winsor, help create the outdoor element of the play. The Ford is used for Lilli's entrance ten minutes before curtain, and the Chevy becomes a fully equipped gangstermobile appearing in the alley during the performance, complete with a backseat moll dressed in black and wrapped in a purple feather boa!

Director of both the play and “the play within the play,” Steve Arnold, aptly and cleverly sets the stage as the show begins…Ford's Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland, September, 1948.

Coming off its first weekend, Kiss Me, Kate filled the Palace (awesome renovations in progress!) and scored high marks from highly amused audience members. The show is uproarious and entertaining on stage, and off! The theatrics begin in the lobby well before the show officially starts, with the much-touted arrival of stage actress, Lilli Vanessi, played by Sherry Stout, and continue during intermission with the gangster antics of actors Greg Walston and Cody Robison.

Audience members in the lobby ten minutes before curtain time are treated to the arrival of actress Lilli Vanessi (Sherry Stout) as she is driven to the theatre in her '28 Ford, hugging her dog, played by Oberon. She is then "dogged" by photographers and autograph seekers as she leaves her car and is led through the lobby and auditorium to her dressing room.

Other notable performances… ACT I newcomer, Kara Stumpff, lends her beautiful vocals to the portrayal of sexy, albeit dimwitted, Lois Lane. Heather Happel choreographed the dance troupe, made up of Kevin Bookmeier, Travis Hendricks, Blake Hansen, Erin Horst, Kaitlin Karrick, Kayla Comer, Abby Hilton, and Natalie Stout, in a raucous and rousing rendition of the Act II opener, “Too Darn Hot” – definitely one of the show’s highlights!

A small chorus made up of high school and college age performers rehearses the choreography to the opening number of the show, "Another Openin', Another Show."

Dave Timmerman returns to the ACT I stage as the cab driver and hilarious “big brother” voice of Ralph the Stage Manager. ACT I board members Ron Baldwin and Alan Nebola step in respectively as Baptista, Katherine’s terrorized father and Senator Harrison Howell, Lilli’s henpecked fiancé. Both performances hit the mark!

Act I Veteran Jeff Cumberlin (Bill Calhoun) performs a musical number with newcomer Kara Stumph (Lois Lane) during the second act. Kara appears to have the upper hand . . .

The Pit Orchestra, led by conductor, Judy Trygstad, added more than beautiful, expertly performed accompaniment. (This is the largest orchestra ACT I has ever used for a musical.) The talented members of the pit are not only allowed on stage, but participate enthusiastically and personally to add humor and validity to the “play within the play” theme. Those dramatically inclined musical individuals are Abby Larkin, upper reeds; Lori Hagen, flute; Aaron Pingenot, lower reeds; Quentin Mussig, trumpet; Derek Ferguson, bass guitar; David Arnold, drums; and Laura Zamzow, piano.

The ACT I Orchestra is far more visible that for most of our past musical stagings.

The Palace seats filled up fast over the past weekend, so be sure to call the ACT I hotline at 472-9957 to make your reservations yet this week!

For additional information about this production, go to the Kiss Me, Kate page of this website, www.act1.org/kate.htm

The ACT I Ticket information line and Palace Theatre Box Office number is 472-9957. Call now for reservations for Kiss Me, Kate!

Many thanks go out to ACT I members Shirale Hanson, Marcy Horst, Mary Horst, and April Noeller who’ve given over 10 hours collectively of their time to organize and clean up the ACT I Costume Shop in the ACT I Studio above Clingman’s. Also, special thanks to Gerald Horst, Patrick Horst, and Dave Timmerman who built two new racks and expertly dealt with the many bundles of trash the cleaning accumulated.

Despite the man and woman hours totaled, more work is needed to finish the project. Please contact Marcy Horst, 472-5518, if you’re a glutton for punishment.

Our Events Series for Season 2002 - 2003: A Cast of Outcasts, opens next month at the Ray House with an evening of readings entitled Monster Medley Spooktacular, directed by Mary Horst.

For additional information about this production, go to the Monster Medley Spooktacular page of this website, www.act1.org/monster.htm

This month we salute a family that counts among ACT I's most generous benefactors, the family that provides ACT I with it's "home away from home," Jon and Julie Clingman of Clingman Pharmacy.

The familial trio of Jon, Julie, and Emma Clingman are faithful ACT I patrons, on and off the stage!

Emma, now a 3^rd grader, began attending shows with her parents when she was a toddler. She has become a summer regular, performing in three ACT I STAGE! productions, including Charlotte’s Web, The Red Shoes, and The Truly Remarkable Puss-in-Boots. Emma also enjoys dancing at Cooling Dance Center, and her dad set foot onstage for perhaps the first time last spring for a father daughter number in which the pair participated with several other father daughter combinations (with several other familiar ACT I faces!) Julie so far has remained off stage but has lent her energies to helping on the prop crew for Life with Mother.

Summer director, Marcy Horst, says, “Emma is a quick study and a vocal leader. She is conscientious and takes an interest in the whole show, not just her part.”

Emma plays a lion at the Parent Open House during Summer Theatre Camp Orientation and Workshop Week.

Jon and Julie, who own and operate Clingman Pharmacy, focus their generosity toward ACT I in many ways. Not only do they share their daughter with us, but they regularly loan many valuable antiques to our community theatre, donate the apartment space above their store for our rehearsal and storage use, and annually underwrite one of our productions, gracing our programs as a Diamond Gem sponsor. The Palace billboard currently hails Clingman Pharmacy as sponsor for Kiss Me, Kate, which runs through Sunday the 15^th. Clingman Pharmacy has also been sponsor for My Fair Lady and last season's Events Series.

It comes as no surprise that Jon, Julie, and Emma are such ardent ACT I supporters; the Clingman family is nothing if not community minded. Jon is a leading and active member of Vinton Unlimited. He was a strong proponent of the recent Downtown Renovation, and was instrumental in bringing the crew of artists to Vinton last Fall to paint the historic murals that highlight our city’s architecture. Julie is a member of the Benton County Historical Society and participated last year in the 1^st Annual Cemetery Walk, portraying Virginia Chadbourne, the woman who built the lovely home on the east end of 5^th Avenue that Jon and Julie have painstakingly restored. The home reflects the family's love for antiques as well as Julie's passion and great skill at needlework. All three Clingmans are active members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

Originally from Galena, Illinois, Jon and Julie came to Vinton in the fall of 1988. At the time, the space above the Pharmacy was occupied by the Knights of Columbus (in the space that is now our rehearsal hall); a law office, and there was also one residential apartment (now our costume shop.) Soon after the family settled here, the various tenants vacated the space, which remained unused except for storage until the space was offered to ACT I late in 2000. Thanks to their generosity, ACT I really has a permanent home where the business of producing plays can be handled comfortably when we aren't performing at the Palace.

View the past articles in our Member of the Month series! All previous Member of the Month features (beginning with September, 1998) have been archived and can be accessed in one convenient place. Older articles have been updated to make the members' accomplishments current! To visit the Member of the Month Archives, go to www.act1.org/mom.htm.

"A whoreson, beetle-headed, flapear'd knave!"
(Kiss Me, Kate, Act 2, Scene 2)

William Shakespeare was a master of witty, sharp tongued insults, as a reading of any of his plays reveals. (A 300 page book entitled Shakespeare's Insults by Wayne Hill and Cynthia Ottchen gives a pretty complete list!) The Taming of the Shrew, on which Kiss Me, Kate is based, contains some of Shakespeare's best verbal dueling. Below are listed several insults which have been spoken on our stage in past ACT I shows. Name the play, and for bonus credit, tell who the insult was aimed at and by whom.

3. "Hey, ______ , when was the last time you called up a girl and she said 'yes?'"

5. "You squashed cabbage leaf! You disgrace to the noble architecture of these columns!"

8. "You are also one of the biggest slobs in the world. And completely unreliable. Undependable. Unappreciative, irresponsible, and indescribably inefficient." (Followed by the line "What is that, a Cole Porter song?")

1. A fundamentalist minister is discovered to be a leader in an underground political hate group The Foreigner (1996) Rev. David Lee is discovered to be a leader in the Ku Klux Klan.

2. An international financier guilty of massive stock manipulation and other financial infractions is murdered The Night of January 16th (1994) portrays the murder trial of financier Bjorn Falkner

3. A low level corporate type attempts to knock off his wife in order to clear the way for a romantic fling with his secretary A Thurber Carnival (1983) During the sequence "Mr. Preble Gets Rid of His Wife," Mr. Preble hopelessly bungles his attempt to eliminate Mrs. Preble.

Definitely the stuff of comedy rather than drama, Bob LaGrange as Mr. Preble contemplates an affair with Miss Daley (Sally Ludden, left) but finds Mrs. Preble (Anna Bess Rice, right) ready to turn the tables when challenged with the prospects of being murdered by her husband, in this comedy staged at the Old Creamery Theatre in Garrison in 1983.

4. A federal official running for governor places his son on his staff, and the young man causes an international incident involving Arab oil interests
In Woody Allen's political comedy Don't Drink the Water (1983) Ambassador Magee's son Axel commits an interminable list of hopeless blunders in an American embassy behind the Iron Curtain, none of which do his father's campaign for governor any good.

5. A security breach causes a head of state to wander unprotected through dangerous portions of the capital without proper identification The Prince and the Pauper (1999) Prince Edward changes places with a street boy and then can't get back to the palace after his father dies, making him king

6. A corporate CEO appears before government officials to answer for his company’s responsibility for nearly 2000 deaths The Titanic Disaster Hearings (2002) White Star Line Chairman Bruce Ismay is the opening witness into the US Senate Titanic Investigation

7. A corrupt head of state resorts to murder and attempted murder in order to retain power The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1999) The White Witch murders Aslan the Lion and attempts to kill young Edmund

8. A corrupt government official persuades an easily manipulated head of state to divert funds designated for national defense to his own personal use
The Emperor's New Clothes (2002) Lord Mal has persuaded the emperor to squander the national resources on his wardrobe

9. A stockbroker attempts to persuade a client that a stock with a declining value is still worth its original price Life with Mother (2000) Clarence Day Sr. has egg on his face after a railroad stock he has sold Cousin Cora takes a dramatic plunge in value.

10. Family members attempt to gain control of a woman’s fortune by placing her in a mental institution. The Curious Savage (1982)

12. A group of witnesses give false testimony in court intentionally to have certain individuals convicted for crimes of which they are innocent.
The Crucible (2001) A group of teenage girls in Salem, Massachusetts falsely accuse dozens of witchcraft resulting in 19 hangings.

The next meeting of the Board of ACT I of Benton County will be Friday, October 4, 2002, at 4:00 at the Pizza Ranch.

Members and visitors are always welcome at board meetings!

Minutes of all meetings of the ACT I board from July, 2000 on can be accessed from a link on the "Everything You Need to Know About ACT I" page, or on the "Minutes" page of our website, www.act1.org/minutes.htm.

Answers to Last Month’s Quiz They're All a Bunch of Crooks!

Answers to Last Month’s Quiz

They're All a Bunch of Crooks!