Beginning July 14, the Grand Marais Playhouse will embark on one of its largest undertakings ever. The Playhouse will present two complete musicals in repertory. What is a repertory? It’s when a company presents two or more plays alternately. Always, Patsy Cline and Shout! the Mod Musical will be sharing the Arrowhead Center for the Arts (ACA) stage from July 14 through August 14 with alternating performances Thursdays through Sundays. This means there will be two chances each weekend to see each show.
The scale of each production is magnified as each stage needs to be reset each night and costumes, props and lights need to change as well. Both productions are directed by Playhouse Director Sue Hennessy who also coordinates all the technical aspects.
Always, Patsy Cline returns to the stage with the same company as the 2007 production with the addition of Mike Roth on upright bass. Diane Blanchette returns to croon the songs of Patsy Cline as only she can—well worth it to hear her sing even if the ticket price were to double!
Two wonderful musicals are returning to the Grand Marais Playhouse this summer. Always, Patsy Cline and Shout! the Mod Musical. The quirky cast of Shout! is (L-R) Molly Hicken, Karina Roth, Kerri Bilben, Karen Blackburn, and Hilja Iverson. The musicals are part of the Grand Marais Playhouse repertory, which means theatergoers will have more chances to catch both shows.
Julie Fredlund returns to Grand Marais from Florida to play the role of Louise Seger, Patsy’s pen pal and friend. Mike DeBevec returns as musical director and leads the band on the piano. Rounding out the band is Russ Viton on guitar, Tom Van Cleve on fiddle, Sue Maijala on drums and Mike Roth on upright bass.
The play is a tribute to the legendary country singer who died tragically at age 30 in a plane crash in 1963. The show is based on a true story about Cline’s friendship with a fan from Houston named Louise Seger, who befriended the star in a Texas honky-tonk in l961 and continued a correspondence with Cline until her death.
Shout! the Mod Musical is the second production in the repertory. If you were lucky enough to catch the teaser in March, you know how much fun you’ll be in for this time around. Shout! the Mod Musical provides a non-stop journey through the infectious and soulful pop anthems and ballads that made household names of stars like Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield and Lulu.
The company of Shout! the Mod Musical includes Kerri Bilben, Karen Blackburn, Hilja Iverson, Molly Hicken and Karina Roth with Kay Costello on piano, Erika Haglund on keyboard and Kris Johnson on drums.
Shout! the Mod Musical uses letters to an advice columnist, true confessions, quizzes and advertisements as a frame for terrific new arrangements of such chart-topping hits as To Sir With Love, Downtown, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me, Son of A Preacher Man, and Goldfinger.
With its irresistible blend of hip-swiveling hits, eye-popping fashions and psychedelic dances from the ’60s, this funfilled musical will make you want to throw your head back and shout!
Shout! the Mod Musical is recommended for audiences 12 years old and above.
To make the transition possible between each night’s performance, the Playhouse has changed its intern program this year to make the job more of a professional stage crew position. Through the assistance of the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, the Playhouse was able to hire four students to run crew for each show and assist with changing the set for the different shows. In addition, Doug Livesay has been hired to be the sound engineer to coordinate equipment for each production as well as efficiently make changeovers for each show.
The reason behind this major endeavor is to offer more high quality entertainment to summer visitors and to offer more options. Each weekend for a month, the community and its visitors will have an opportunity to see two great performances with very talented community members. If you want to see some of the finest talent Cook County has to offer, come to the ACA!
Playhouse Artistic Director Sue Hennessy provides this behind the scenes look at Grand Marais Playhouse activities.
Leave a Reply