Beautiful ‘Music’
The last week of June, Jeff Johnson will don a top hat and coattails to transform himself into the top official of the fictional town of River City, Iowa.
But last Saturday morning, Johnson was no Mayor Shinn. Instead, he was dressed more like a day laborer as he, the director and other cast members painted sets for the upcoming production of “The Music Man.” At the far end of the pavilion, the orchestra was warming up, there were doughnut boxes and Styrofoam coffee cups left on benches next to paint cans and paint brushes, and behind the stage, the board of directors was holding a meeting.
Welcome to Washington Community Theatre.
Beginning Wednesday, WCT will celebrate 40 years of productions at the Main Pavilion in Washington Park by producing “The Music Man,” which, by the way, just happens to be the first musical the theater group performed there.
The story of a con artist who manages to convince townspeople that without a band to keep the boys busy, they would succumb to the temptation to frequent the pool hall, “The Music Man” remains a timeless story of musical comedy, moral responsibility and, of course, love.
And those family-friendly stories, such as “Hello Dolly!,” “Brigadoon,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” continue to delight about 2,000 people who attend WCT’s five-night park performances each year.
It was a small item in a newspaper that caught the eye of three women that led to WCT’s longtime association with the park. Rosemary Sullivan, Elaine Frost and Peggy Pepper were involved with community theater in the early 1970s when they learned that another theater group had vacated the park venue. The news prompted them to contact the then-park commission for permission to perform a musical there.
The following year, WCT was asked to perform in the park for the nation’s bicentennial, and soon, a tradition was born. WCT rents the Main Pavilion for all of June, with rehearsals beginning immediately after Memorial Day and performances held during the last week.
Open-air theater has its drawbacks, including the time lightning struck an electrical transformer, knocking out electrical power and forcing the cancellation of “Cinderella” for two nights.
During “South Pacific,” as Lorry McMahon was singing “I’m going to wash that man right out of my hair,” the wind blew a wet curtain over the sound board, causing sparks to fly from the speakers.
And before the pavilion’s roof was fixed, volunteers had learned where to position chairs in the event of rain so the audience wouldn’t get wet.
Parking on a level surface is limited around the pavilion, so this year, WCT will provide round-trip shuttle service from the upper swimming pool parking area and the Stone Pavilion to the main pavilion.
But there are advantages, too, and watching a live performance outside on a summer night appeals to a wide audience.
To Helga Terre, who is directing this year’s production, seeing the Main Pavilion for the first time held that appeal for her.
“I felt like I was in a movie. It’s such a part of Americana, I was blown away,” said Terre, who hails from Queensland, Australia.
Staging and seating can be modified for each production.
“It’s just magic,” Frost said. “You walk out here at the end of May, and you’ve got a bare stage and you watch it evolve.”
And then there are the completely unrehearsed moments, such as the time a bird flew gracefully around the set during a love song between Professor Harold Hill and librarian Marian Paroo at a rehearsal for “The Music Man.”
To hear volunteers involved with the theater group tell it, WCT has thrived because so many families are involved, yet the group is warm and welcoming to newcomers.
For example, Tim Gratz has been performing in WCT for 38 years, and in “The Music Man,” he plays the tenor in the men’s barbershop quartet, the same role his father, Whitey Gratz, played four decades ago.
Lynn Martin-Huber, who previously performed at Little Lake Theater, is spending her first summer with WCT because she could not pass up the opportunity to play Mayor Shinn’s wife, Eulalie.
“Helga and I came in as outsiders, and we’ve been welcomed like we were here 20 years ago,” she said.
Terre agreed, adding that WCT has no divas; everyone pulls together.
“As a director, it just makes my job so much easier. There’s so much support,” she said.
Governed by a 10-member board of directors, WCT pays to have sound and lighting done professionally for each performance. The only other person who is paid is the director.
The rest are volunteers who learn their lines, rehearse the songs, paint, clean, sell tickets and advertise, hang posters and then, on opening night, truly become the stars of the show.
Infobox:
Washington Community Theatre will perform “The Music Man” at 8 p.m. Wednesday through June 29 at the Main Pavilion at Washington Park. Tickets can be purchased at Citizens Library, by calling 724-222-5596 or online at www.washingtoncommunitytheatre.org.