A newsletter from American Folklore Theatre • SPRING 2014
Did I Get That Right? Jeffrey Herbst, Artistic Director
T
wins separated at birth and then reunited? Packer-loving aliens in the middle of an intergalactic war? Impressing a girlfriend by appearing on a local cable access show? Victorian revenge in modern-day Madison? Ask any or all of these questions and the AFT 2014 season will provide the answer.
Hello, Me! Strings Attached, by Dave Hudson and Colin Welford, makes its world premiere at AFT. After a whirlwind week last fall, when they were thrown into close quarters to work together for the first time, Dave and Colin came out with a musical loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. As
Did I Get That Right?, continued from the front page with that story and those of Plautus, Strings Attached tells of twins separated at birth, only to be reunited after much mistaken-identity hijinks. Dave has set the show in the far reaches of Northern Wisconsin at the Next to the Last Resort Inn. One twin, who ended up in Hawaii and makes ukuleles, meets his brother, who is set to inherit Badger Banjos from his dad, Bob. When the two contingents meet to make the merger, merriment and mayhem ensue. The cast includes Chad Luberger and Chase Stoeger as the two twins, both named Hal. Molly Rhode and Eva Nimmer play the requisite love interests. Doc Heide plays Bob, and the hotel trio of innkeepers is rounded out with Doug Mancheski, Rhonda Rae Bush, and Paul Helm. Pam Kriger and I will co-direct. Our trio of designers will be Lisa Schlenker (set), Karen Brown-Larimore (costumes), and Dave Alley (lights). Our pit will be partially chaired by AFT returnees, Tim Lenihan, Craig McClelland and Janet Anderson. Neen Rock will again be production stage manager and prop designer for the season.
Hello, ET! Packer Fans from Outer Space makes a terrestrial re-visit after a galactic hiatus of eleven years. This delightfully whacky musical, by Fred Heide and Lee Becker, with additional music by James Kaplan, was our biggest hit ever in 2002, when it made its earthly debut. Molly Rhode will direct this time around with a cast featuring Doug, Chase, Eva, and Rhonda Rae. Bill Theisen, long-time Skylight Musical Theatre Artistic Director, will join us for his first AFT season. Bill and Rhonda Rae played Harvey and Marge a couple of seasons ago in the Marcus production of Packer Fans in Milwaukee. As with that production, they will romp around on the inventive set designed by Jim Maronek. We also have another newcomer on the stage: Adam Zeph will join us as an intern this summer and play the role of the alien, 24. Paul Helm will recreate his wonderful musical arrangements for the pit. We welcome our Packer-loving aliens back to home turf. Hello, Bonnie! Guys On Ice returns to the fishing hole for a couple of nights each week this summer. This is undoubtedly our most-requested show ever and hasn’t played on our summer stage for seven years. Doug Mancheski and I will play the local anglers with Paul Helm taking 2
Did I Get That Right?, continued from page 2 a turn as Ernie the Moocher. We are currently working with Wisconsin Public Television to see if taping the show for broadcast might be possible. If all the stars align that need to, look for this special event in early to mid-August.
Hello, Olde Ye! The Bachelors returns to AFT and makes its debut in the Door Community Auditorium. This follow-up to Guys On Ice, by Fred Alley and James Kaplan, celebrates the realm of bachelorhood through the lens of Stew and John, hapless bumblers in search of love in Madison, Wisconsin. They are dogged in the present by an old flame, Kate, who was wronged by the duo in Victorian times. “Fate waits for no man. In fact here she comes.� We look forward to seeing you under the stars and in the DCA, where all your unanswered questions will be resolved.
Photo by
Len Villano
Guys On Ice
ro Fans F Packer
elors 3
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m Out
The Bach
A Rose By Any Other Name… Dave Maier, Managing Director By now you are probably aware that, beginning officially in 2015, American Folklore Theatre will debut a new company name. The new name will be unveiled at the Raise the Curtain event this month on Sunday, May 25th! The change, which will coincide with AFT’s 25th anniversary in 2015, has been a part of our long-term strategic plan for the past seven years. From the neck up, the decision to change our name almost always makes sense to folks. Neck down, sometimes not so much. Overwhelmingly, our fans get the rationale while expressing some reservation, or admitting a little sadness. We get that. We knew we would be asking those closest to us to make an emotional sacrifice for the long-term strength of the company. But we also know that the name ‘American Folklore Theatre’ often communicates connotations about our focus that are no longer accurate. Over these past 25 years AFT has evolved from a story-telling and concert-centric ensemble to a full-fledged theater organization that primarily focuses on the creation and presentation of original full-book musicals. Over the past several months we’ve received hundreds of email suggestions of possible new names from our devoted fans throughout the Midwest. The response was amazing. Most importantly, the process allowed people the opportunity to ponder and distill what they really love about us. The strongest themes running through all this feedback were
those of family memories shared and the uniqueness of our theater “under the stars.” Our Name Change Task Force developed thoughtful criteria for evaluating literally hundreds of names and name variations. This also became the rationale we used for scrutinizing the name options we began this process strongly considering. In general, the new name should symbolize our theatre and evoke the AFT experience while not being overly specific or clever. It must sound good when spoken out loud in all the dozens of ways a name gets used or abbreviated in normal conversation. Ultimately, a strong iconic name will help to expand our audience, as well as our national team of creative collaborators. I want to take this opportunity to ask for your continued advocacy during the transition. Remember, the ONLY thing that is changing is the name. This change will not affect what you love most about the company and the work we create. We will continue to provide “heartwarming musicals for folks of all ages”. We know that people ultimately want what is best for the organization. We’re confident we won’t lose anybody in the process. We hope for your trust, and your faith that we will not disappoint. This single change will make us stronger. We promise. Most of all, we need your voice and your continued support. The door is always open, and I’m ever eager to hear your feedback, your opinions and your suggestions. I look forward to seeing you “under the stars” this coming summer! 4
Outer Space Fans Doc Heide, Co-founder of AFT, Playwright, Artistic Advisor is based on the Packer-Bear rivalry, the oldest in American professional sports. Marge is a Bears fan, and the Bears play a pivotal role in the plot. (3). Folks who don’t give a hoot about football. You can love Guys on Ice even if you don’t wanna go perch-fishing in January. The same is true of Packer Fans. Football offers a context for the piece, but it’s really about how a handful of lovable characters deal with the outlandish challenges they encounter one November night in 1953. (4). People who think a show called Packer Fans From Outer Space must be fluff. They might be pleasantly surprised that the show takes on some big themes, such as the importance of respecting your opponent and even loving your enemy, using beautiful melodies to create emotional resonance. In fact, Mike Fischer actually proposed that the Wisconsin Governor and Legislature take a group outing to the show. We’re greatly honored by that. But whether or not they make it, we hope you’ll consider dropping by. Because whatever the title leads you to think it will be, we think you’ll find it’s more than that. Maybe even something a little bit out of this world.
This summer Packer Fans From Outer Space touches down on the AFT stage for the first time in 11 years. Since it last appeared here, it’s had 9 other productions, most recently at the plush Marcus Center for Performing Arts in downtown Milwaukee. Lee Becker and I (who co-wrote the book and lyrics) have seen several of these, and learned a thing of two. The most important is that, while the title of the show is a huge draw for many people, it turns off some others. They think it sounds goofy, or that you’ve gotta love football or science fiction to enjoy it, or that it’s a show for guys only. The title makes them think the show is an over-thetop fraternity skit. We understand, but have a different perspective. Now, obviously the show deals with the Packers. It offers bits of their history, features a character inspired by the great Vince Lombardi, and explores the idea that a whole civilization across the galaxy is devoted to our Green Bay team. So the show certainly should appeal to Packer fans (whether they’re from outer space or inner Mukwonago). But there are others who may or may not wear green and gold who still might like it: (1). Women. As Milwaukee Journal Sentinel critic Mike Fischer noted in his rave review, Packer Fans is “a poignant coming-of-age tale wrapped around a tender love story.” A major character is Peggy, an idealistic 1950’s farm girl who dreams of helping bring about world peace. Her relationships with her mother Marge (and a handsome if quirky spaceman) are a big part of the show. Marge’s concern for her husband Harvey’s increasingly baffling behavior is also central. (2). Fans of the Chicago Bears. The show 5
Follow AFTers Out of the Woods theatre trailers for The Snitch, and is preparing to music-direct Billy Elliot at t h e 10 , 0 0 0 - s e a t o p e n - a i r M U N Y a m phitheater in St. Louis this June. Colin also performed in his darling wife’s 6-man band at the 2-week Mustique Blues Festival on a private Caribbean island this February. CHAD LUBERGER reports that he “created an instant family when I got hitched to the lovely Angela Olson and her 7 year old daughter Anika - she calls me Chaddy, I’m loving the married life… Currently doubling the physical size of Plum Bottom Pottery & Gallery which will include 10 new artists this year!” DOUG MANCHESKI appeared in The Drawer Boy at Third Avenue Playhouse (directed by James Valcq) and started his own production company with STEVE KOEHLER, Go Fish Productions. Their first show was–you guessed it–Guys On Ice, which played in Madison and Wausau this winter. Steve also released a CD of songs by Fred Alley. Meanwhile, PAM KRIGER directed Groucho, A Life in Review with Norman Moses at Next Act Theatre in November, and Spitfire Grill at Cardinal Stritch University where she also taught tap dance. DAN KLARER has been living in NYC teaching stage combat and will attend the graduate acting program at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland this fall (which AMY LUDWIGSEN attended). After leaving Door County last October, EVA NIMMER m a d e h e r M i l wa u k e e d e b u t i n a production of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress and worked as a freelance translator of German documents. ANN BIRNSCHEIN became head of marketing at AFT and took part in the Minnesota
So what was the AFT troupe up to since we drew the curtain on last season, you ask? Well, JEFF HERBST conducted his usual off-season duties from Fort Worth, Texas, scouting out potential AFT shows hither and yon (including a trip to LA). LEE BECKER directed the University of Houston’s production of The Best C h r i s t m a s Pa g e a n t E v e r a n d c o a u t h o r e d the book and lyrics (with John Maclay) for Anatole at First Stage Children’s Theatre in Milwaukee. Music was by JAMES VALCQ, direction by MOLLY RHODE (who also directed an acclaimed production of Les Miserables at Skylight Music Theatre this fall). The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel raved that Anatole was “first-rate.” Lee also got together twice with DOC HEIDE, in the remote desert wilderness of Texas’s Big Bend National Park and then in northern California, where they finished the first draft of their forthcoming prequel to Belgians in Heaven (working title: Belgians Go Bowling, with music by Doc and JIMMY KAPLAN). Doc also published an article on psychotherapist charisma (in APA’s Journal of Psychotherapy Integration). DAVE HUDSON wrote The Flowering Tree for the Actors Garden (his wife’s theatre) in Oak Park, Illinois. Based on the folktale from India, the show was performed by more than 140 kids in the Oak Park area. His winter has been busy creating Strings Attached (music by COLIN WELFORD), and Good Knight for the Actors Garden. That perpetual slacker Colin also played on the National Tour of Evita in Chicago, conducted the Tony-award-winning A Christmas Story in Boston and Madison Square, wrote the music for movie6
Follow AFTers, continued
Cyrano, both at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul. In May he plays C.C. Heinzmann in Working Boys Band, a new musical by the late composer Hiram Titus, who was Laurie’s collaborator on Hormel Girls. Laurie continues working on her writing projects, including Boxcar for AFT (music by James Valcq), Sweetland the Musical, and a new project for the Plymouth Playhouse, Till We Eat Again. MATT ZEMBROWKI, Theater Director at St. Thomas More High School in Milwaukee, continues to write and direct with Storyteller Theater of Milwaukee, a company he co-founded, which produces original and existing works in the greater Milwaukee area. TREVA TEGTMEIER played Doris Samuels on Grey’s Anatomy in October, has done voiceover work, and is playing Lizzie in 110 in the Shade at The Actor’s Co-op Theatre in Hollywood this spring. Meanwhile, long-time volunteers HOWARD and PATTY WILLIAMSON celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in April with open houses in St. Louis and Door County. They’re expecting great-grandchildren numbers nine and ten this spring. AMY CHAFFEE is adjunct professor of voice and speech at UCLA and will teach and perform this spring at conferences in Banff and Bogata. She recently coached Andre 3000 (of the band Outkast) for the lead role in All Is By My Side, a biopic of Jimi Hendrix. MONICA HEUSER moved to Las Vegas where she secured an agent and performs in Menopause: The Musical at the Luxor. CHRIS IRWIN moved to LA and released his first short film with Rebecca Livengood, and will be shooting a feature film in Door County this summer. CLAY ZAMBO wrote book, lyrics, and music for Blue Apron and
Iron Man Bicycle Ride, while HOLLY FELDMAN became AFT’s new development director (and sang at the October wedding of Doc’s stepdaughter Ellie). PAM NIESPODZIANI moved back to the Milwaukee area and has been performing the role of The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Sunset Playhouse. She is looking forward to her best role yet... a bride! She will be getting married in September. CRAIG MCLELLAND has been playing bass, tuba, and uke, touring with Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band as well as teaching ukulele at the Clearing Folk School. STEWART DAWSON reports that he’s writing. KAREN MAL spent 70 days on the road with daughter Coralina, which included musical trips to Florida, Arkansas, Nebraska, Arizona and Wisconsin. Coralina traveled on 10 round trip flights in her first year and a half. Karen also released a CD of lullabies, invented a superior homemade veggie burger, and officially went into the egg-selling business. ALLIE BABICH lived in London this fall studying and performing at the Globe Theater. Now she’s back at school in the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor training program. This summer, she’ll play Perdita in Optimist Theatre’s A Winter’s Tale in Milwaukee. This past fall JON HEGGE and wife LAURIE FLANIGAN-HEGGE performed together in Baby Case at the History Theatre in St. Paul, a musical about the media circus surrounding the kidnapping of the Lindburgh baby, with Jon in the role of circus master Walter Winchell. Jon is currently appearing as Otto Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank and as Lingiere in 7
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Follow AFTers, continued
has been performing in a workshop of a new musical written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell called Bright Star in NYC. They’re scheduled to go to The Old Globe in San Diego in the fall as a preBroadway tryout. In the meantime, he’s acting in Arthur Miller’s The Price at The Old Creamery Theatre in Iowa. Finally, DAVE PETERSON will return this spring to Monona Grove High School, his first teaching job, to conduct his arrangement of The Pinery Boy, a ballad from Daylight In The Swamp. He’s also an arranger for Madison’s Norwegian Grieg Chorus and performs his one-man show, Folklore Fights The Nazis, a musical telling of Norway’s resistance to German occupation during WWII. This summer he’ll help a granddaughter direct his new musical, Walter The Woodchuck.
Transit of Venus, which both premiered at Marymount Manhattan College, and served as associate producer for the NBC game show Million Second Quiz (with Ryan Seacrest). Clay has also been working on a new musical with ROBIN SHARE (Seal With a Kiss) for the AFT stage. JIM MARONEK reports, “no news is good snooze.” KATIE DAHL reports that she “took a vacation to New Orleans, planned her wedding, toured Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and California, took a self-directed songwriting retreat with CLAUDIA RUSSELL, played a lot of house concerts, and learned to start a fire in a wood stove.” Claudia released her latest CD, All Our Luck is Changing, which American Songwriter Magazine called “a masterpiece.” She and husband Bruce Kaplan will tour the Midwest in November. SCOTT WAKEFIELD
Want to Share in the Applause?
who camp at Peninsula State Park for a week and want to volunteer at every show during their stay, and volunteers who help at just one or two shows. In other words, we’re looking for you!
Become an
AFT Volunteer! AFT relies on, and is always looking for, fans ready to step up and lend a hand! To make a show go, we need volunteers to usher, sell merchandise and concessions, assist with traffic flow in the parking lot, assist patrons to our handicapped seating area, and to drive the golf cart shuttle. All told, there are more than 80 opportunities to volunteer at our shows each week – that means you have about 1000 chances to volunteer over the course of the summer!
What qualifications do we require? The main requirement is enthusiasm about AFT! As a show volunteer, you’re almost always the first representative of AFT that a patron sees. We need you to be a friendly AFT face for our guests and to be able to stand for about an hour and a half – those are about the only tools you need, we’ll train you on any task we give you.
What type of commitment are we looking for? We love to have volunteers who can commit to helping out once a week through the summer season, volunteers who we can call at the last minute in case someone else cancels, volunteers
If you’d like to volunteer or just to get more information, we want to hear from you! Just tell us, “I want to volunteer at AFT!” in person at the AFT office, over the phone at (920) 854-6117 x104, or Ann at abirnschein@FolkloreTheatre.com. 8
Ode to a Campfire Holly Feldman, Director of Development and Public Relations in my very soul. When I was younger it was always a treat when the Pudgie Pie makers would come out. For the uninitiated, Pudgie Pies are made in a two-sided, castiron, long-handled, cooking device set in the coals of the fire. In our family we filled our pie makers with a slice of buttered bread on each side and any number of ingredients from ham and cheese to strawberry jam and peanut butter. It was a rite-of-passage in our family to be able to cook one on your own. However, you didn’t really earn your stripes until you accidentally burned yourself on that little metal “S” hook that holds the two sides together. Nowadays, while the Pudgie Pie makers don’t come out as much, we’ve started other traditions. For instance, the Stump Fire! I’m not sure when it started, but for years now, my dad has made it his personal mission to search out the ideal stump for our annual Stump Fire. As soon as we’ve set up camp, he’ll head out into the wild woods of Peninsula State Park on his quest. Sometimes we won’t see him for the better part of a day. One time, on a particularly precarious mission to rescue the perfect stump located down a rather steep incline, he actually broke his foot in the process. Undeterred, he dragged that beast up that hill and arrived, hobbling, safely back at camp. Sometime during the course of our camping trip, on an evening when all of our extended family can join us, Dad will get a decent fire going and will place the stump on top. After a little time, the stump will catch fire and take on a life
I’m not sure anything can beat a good campfire. Unless, of course, it’s a campfire with s’more fixings. No, wait. A campfire, s’more fixings, and someone who can tell a good story. Truly, nothing can top that. Well, except for maybe a campfire, s’more fixings, someone who can tell a good story, and someone who plays the guitar or harmonica and can harmonize with you on a good ol’ fashioned campfire song. Nope. It really doesn’t get any better than that. I think many of our fans would agree that there is just something innately satisfying about the full sensory experience that is a roaring campfire. There’s the smell of the wood smoke that is especially tantalizing if you’ve got a couple of cedar logs lying around. There’s the fairy-like dance of the flames and the sparks as they pop and rise up before disappearing in the cool air above. There’s the crackle of the sacrificial logs that provides the perfect soundtrack for the hushed ghost stories. And of course, there’s the comforting warmth that takes the chill out of the night air and provides the perfect temperature by which to toast those oh-so-scrumptious marshmallows. (For the record, anyone can take a marshmallow, light it on fire, and blow it out. And while it takes great skill, patience, and experience to achieve a marshmallow that is golden brown on all sides, in MY humble opinion, it’s really the only way enjoy them.) Growing up camping in Peninsula State Park, campfire memories are deeply ingrained
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Ode to a Campfire, continued of its own as the flames leap from the various pockets of the stump, the most impressive of which is the very center. There’s nothing like it. I think it’s gratifying for my dad because while building and tending a fire has a connection to something very primitive and ancestral, the final result is something graceful and exquisite. Indeed, there is something innately archaic about building and tending a fire. Analysis of artifacts, in particular burned antelope bones found in South Africa, confirms that our now extinct ancestors built fires more than 1.5 million years ago. And while we no longer need the campfire to sustain everyday life, it is still revered as a beacon offering a sense of security in the dark night. In fact, we’ve even celebrated the campfire on our very own AFT stage. Our shows Moonlight and Marshmallows and Sunsets and S’mores celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Peninsula State Park and paid homage to the campfire in song.
Here’s a line from one of Doc’s songs: How in heaven, heaven, After our troubles are through, We’ll sit and we’ll sing ‘round an old campfire ring, With Moonlight and Marshmallows too… Of course, we’ve been telling a lot of tales and making a lot of music in the woods of Peninsula State Park for nearly 45 years. As such, we thought it was high time to add that one missing element, the campfire, to the great experience that is musical theatre under the stars. This summer you’ll want to keep your eye out for our campfire nights at our amphitheater. While we don’t have all of the details in place just yet, we can tell you that we are working on finding the optimal placement for our campfire and we plan to sit and sing ‘round our campfire ring, with moonlight and marshmallows too. So hang on to your graham crackers, we’ll have more soon!
Creative Kids Day Friday, July 18 9:30-12:00 pm or 1:00 pm-3:30 pm 2014 Creative Kids theatre workshop sessions take place on and around the AFT stage in Peninsula State Park and are led by AFT Company Members. For children ages 6-16. Register early! Limited number of children accepted. Fee is $25 per child or a maximum of $60 for 3 siblings or more. 10
Tickets on Sale Now! Tickets for all shows, including our fall season, are on sale now. Reserved seats sell for an additional $7 per seat. And of course, there will always be 350 general admission tickets for sale at the park box office one hour prior to each performance.
How to buy advance tickets: Visit our web site at www.FolkloreTheatre.com To order AFT tickets on your smartphone or iPad, download our free mobile app today! Search “American Folklore” at Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or scan the QR Code to the left.
Buy tickets at our office in the Green Gables Shops 1.5 miles north of Wilson’s Ice Cream. Office hours are 10am-4pm Monday thru Friday and 10am-3pm Saturday, June thru October. Order via the phone, 920-854-6117: Visa and MasterCard accepted.
Gift cards are available for any occasion!
Please review us on TripAdvisor.com for those unfamilar with the AFT experience!
You can also follow AFT on:
Thank You to Our Sponsors! A huge thank you to our sponsors of this year’s shows. Their support helps so much with the costs of putting a show on the stage at AFT while still keeping our ticket prices affordable.
Strings Attached sponsored by
The Cordon Family Foundation, Bayside Bakery & Café and Wilson’s Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor
Packer Fans From Outer Space sponsored by
Julie’s Park Café & Motel and Parkwood Lodge
Guys On Ice sponsored by
Baylake Bank and Good Eggs
The Bachelors sponsored by
Main Street Market, On Deck Clothing Company and The White Gull Inn 11
WHO’S ON FIRST Dave Hudson, Playwright
started with the idea of Hawaii meets Wisconsin and evolved from there. We’ve been through several drafts, tweaking and fixing as we went. We also had a reading of the piece up in Door County last September, and then a Milwaukee workshop in March. One of the most humorous aspects of the workshop process was watching the who’s on first process take place during the readings themselves, as well as the subsequent script meetings. “Which twin is talking right now?” and “How does she know that… oh wait, she wouldn’t know that, because she thinks it’s him,” were the sort of phrases we heard again, and again, and again as even the cast and creative team had to wrap their heads around who was who, who knew what, and who didn’t know what in the script at that moment. Musically, it has been a wonderful journey, as Colin Welford has taken great care in shaping a musical landscape that lives comfortably in the three worlds of Hawaii, Wisconsin… and that timeless land called Confusion. We look forward to seeing Strings Attached land on the AFT stage and we hope audiences are entertained, amused, and most of all - confused.
One of the most famous comedy routines of the 20th century was the timeless sketch by Abbott and Costello. Many of us can almost recite it by rote. COSTELLO: Who’s on first? ABBOTT: That’s right. COSTELLO: That’s what I’m asking, who’s on first? ABBOTT: Exactly. What Abbott and Costello happened across was one of the richest situations in comedy; when two people think they are talking about the same thing, but they are actually discussing two different topics. I say they happened across it, because this idea wasn’t anything new. In written history, it actually goes all the way back to Roman times when a playwright named Plautus wrote a play named The Twin Menaechmi about twin brothers, separated at a young age, who wind up in the same place neither one of them aware of the other’s presence. Nor is anyone around them aware that there are two of them, launching a whole play worth of ‘who’s on first.’ Subsequent variations on this theme have been written again, and again, and again over the years. Shakespeare took it on in The Comedy of Errors, Nikolai Gogol took on mistaken identity in The Inspector General, and in our own lifetimes we have seen two versions of The Parent Trap. This past year, Colin Welford and I have launched into our own adventure with lost twins as we labored on Strings Attached. It
Model of the Strings Attached set 12
The Bachelors James Kaplan, Composer - Co-wrote “The Bachelors” story with Fred Alley grown men confined in a small space. We spent the better part of a year talking about all the strange and funny things that go on when men live together. We talked about doing the dishes, how to make coffee when there are no more filters and the mysterious science experiments you would find in the refrigerator. (I would like to be clear that I have never used a sock – dirty or clean – as a coffee filter.) We talked about annoying calls from telemarketers, our efforts to eat three meals a day for less than five dollars, and the way that things changed when one of us had a girlfriend. The time came when we had to actually write the show, and we did that in Door County, in about sixty days. Berkeley 1993 became Madison 2001, allowed us to visit the world of Gilbert & Sullivan. A wonderful production of H.M.S. Pinafore, at Skylight Musical Theater left me looking for the opportunity to pay homage to G&S. The songs in The Bachelors cover a broad range of styles, from nursery rhymes to Rodgers & Hart to Getz-Gilberto. We have been blessed to have many wonderful actors in the show in various configurations, but always with the amazing Doug Mancheski. Director Jeffrey Herbst brought the show to wonderful life and, with Pam Kriger, created dances to match our silly songs, including our first Dream Ballet. Theater companies from Oregon to Ohio to Oceano, California have produced The Bachelors. It is wonderful that the show is coming back to Door County, this time in the lovely Door Community Auditorium.
Photo by Len Vill
ano
In 1990, I left my New Jersey homeland, motivated by the offer of a rent-controlled studio apartment in Berkeley, California. Soon after I met up with Fred Alley at Uncle Ralph’s, a counter-culture consumer electronics store that employed us both. We became friends, and by the summer of 1992, we had collaborated on our first show, Fishing for the Moon. In the winter of 1993, Fred came to Berkeley to spend some time working on our next show, Northern Lights. Looking to keep housing costs to a minimum, Fred stayed at my place. I had a queen-size futon and another bed that folded up into the closet. With these two beds in their sleeping positions, there wasn’t room for much more than a desk and a piano. Several years later, and with the assistance of Doc Heide, we wrote a show called Guys on Ice, which proved to be very popular. Sorting through ideas for a follow up, and inspired by our experiences in Berkeley, we decided to explore the world of two more
The Bachelors
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SUN
2014 Summer Schedule SA
MON
SA - 8:30
16 SA - 8:00
NO SHOW
22
Begins Wednesday, June 11 at 8:30 pm Mondays at 8 pm; Wednesdays at 8:30 pm Fridays at 8 pm
23 SA - 8:00
NO SHOW
29 NO SHOW
17 GOI - 8:00
24 GOI - 8:00
1 7
Begins Wednesday, June 18 at 6 pm Wednesdays at 6 pm; Thursdays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 8:30 pm
GOI
13
14 SA - 8:00
NO SHOW
20
21
NO SHOW
27
8 SA - 8:00
NO SHOW
A Cosmic Musical that Tackles the Heart
PFOS - 6:00 SA - 8:30
25 PFOS - 6:00 SA - 8:30
FRI
13
GOI - 8:00
19
SA - 8:00
20 SA - 8:00
PFOS - 8:00
26
27 SA - 8:00
PFOS - 8:00
SA - 8:00
28
NO SHOW
SA - 8:00
GOI - 8:00
15 GOI - 8:00
22 GOI - 8:00
29 GOI - 8:00
2 PFOS - 6:00 SA - 8:30
9 PFOS - 6:00 SA - 8:30
16 PFOS - 6:00 SA - 8:30
23 PFOS - 6:00 SA - 8:30
30 PFOS - 6:00 SA - 8:30
3
4 SA - 8:00
PFOS - 8:00
10
11
PFOS - 8:00
17
SA - 8:00
18
PFOS - 8:00
24
SA - 8:00
25
PFOS - 8:00
SA - 8:00
Begins Thursday, June 12 at 8 pm Tuesdays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 6 pm
Adult - $20 Teen - $10 Child - $6 Reserved Seating Available - $7 additional
4 NO SHOW
10 NO SHOW
17 NO SHOW
21 GOI - 6:00 PFOS - 8:30
28 GOI - 6:00 PFOS - 8:30
1 5
SA - 8:00
11 SA - 8:00
18 SA - 8:00
GOI - 8:00
12 GOI - 8:00
19 GOI - 8:00
6 PFOS - 6:00 SA - 8:30
13 PFOS - 6:00 SA - 8:30
20 PFOS - 6:00 SA - 8:30
5 GOI - 6:00 PFOS - 8:30
12 GOI - 6:00 PFOS - 8:30
19 GOI - 6:00 PFOS - 8:30
26 GOI - 6:00 PFOS - 8:30
PFOS - 8:00
2 SA - 8:00
3
GOI - 6:00
31
AUGUST The Hit Ice Fishing Musical Returns!
SAT
14
SA - 8:00
GOI - 8:00
6
18
THU
12
30
JULY
PFOS
WED
11
JUNE 15
A Tuneful Tale of Tangled Twins
TUE
7 PFOS - 8:00
14 PFOS - 8:00
21 PFOS - 8:00
8
GOI - 6:00 PFOS - 8:30
9 SA - 8:00
15 SA - 8:00
22 SA - 8:00
GOI - 6:00 PFOS - 8:30
16 GOI - 6:00 PFOS - 8:30
23 GOI - 6:00 PFOS - 8:30
• Advanced tickets for both summer & fall seasons may be purchased • Rain policy – AFT never cancels a show until show time. online, over the phone, at our office, or by free phone app. If the show is less than half over when interrupted due to • Box office opens at summer and fall venues 1 hour prior bad weather, we give out refund applications or rain checks. to each performance. If the show is more than half over, we issue rain checks, • Will Call tickets can be picked up at Merchandise Stand one good for any future summer show without expiration. hour before the show. For additional info: 920.854.6117 • Limited handicapped parking is available backstage – we www.FolkloreTheatre.com request reservations be made for this. 14
2014 FALL SHOW SCHEDULE August 29 - October 18 Wed – Fri 7:30PM Sat 4:00PM & 8:00PM Starting Sept. 30th: Tues 7:30PM
“Hilarious ‘Bachelors’ glows…” - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at Door Community Auditorium Adult - $27 Children (12 & under) - $13
ALL SEATS RESERVED
With your help… We make amazing things happen! Name ________________________________________________________________________________________ Address ______________________________________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________________________ St ________ Zip ________________________ Phone _______________________________________ E-Mail __________________________________________
BENEFACTOR CATERGORIES
The Fred Alley New Musical Fund is the creative engine behind all of AFT’s new play development.
(For General Operating):
❑ $10,000 & up - Visionary ❑ $5,000 to $9,999 - Benefactor ❑ $2,500 to $4,999 - Producer ❑ $1,000 to $2,499 - Director ❑ $500 to $999 - Actor ❑ $250 to $499 - Designer ❑ $100 to $249 - Stage Manager ❑ $50 to $99 - Donor ❑ $1 to $49 - Friend
❑ Please accept my gift of $ ________________ for the Fred Alley New Musical Fund.
The AFT Endowment Fund, managed by the Door County Community Fund, helps to ensure AFT's long-term financial health and stability.
❑ Please accept my gift of
$ ________________ for the AFT Endowment Fund.
❑ My employer will match my gift Paperwork: ❑ is enclosed
Employer Name: _______________________________________
❑ will be sent
❑ My check for $ _______________________ payable to American Folklore Theatre is enclosed. ❑ Please charge $ _______________________ to my ❑ MasterCard ❑ Visa (Please provide info below) ____________________________________________ ____________ _________________________________ ACCOUNT NUMBER
EXP DATE
PLEASE CLIP & MAIL TO: AFT - PO Box 273, Fish Creek,WI 54212
SIGNATURE
Thank You!
Your donation from May 1, 2014, through April 30, 2015, will be recognized in our 2015 playbill.
Michael J. McCoy Carla Peterson Paula Wright-Keller
The Theatre is dedicated to maintaining standards of artistic excellence; celebrating and illuminating the human condition; reaching a large audience of all ages, including families; and fostering a humanistic work environment with adequate and appropriate emotional, financial and creative support for all those associated with us.
The mission of American Folklore Theatre is to create, develop, and present professional musical and dramatic productions which will further the knowledge and appreciation of the culture and heritage of the United States.
Our Mission
Kenneth C. Boyd Mark Breseman George Gorchynsky Frederick J. Heide
Barbara Gould Secretary
Thomas A. Moore Treasurer
Cynthia Stiehl Vice-Chairperson
Mary Seeberg Chairperson
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
American Folklore Theatre, Inc. PO Box 273 Fish Creek, WI 54212-0273