Announcing the Straw Hat Theatre Season!
“The Emperor's New Clothes: The Musical!”
June 8, 9,10,14,15, 16, 2012
Book by Karen Boettcher-Tate
Music and lyrics by Bill Francoeur
Directed by Linda Fundis
Produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., Englewood, Colorado10022.
“Little Women The Broadway Musical!”
June 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, July 1, 5, 6, 7
Music by Jason Howland -- Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein
Book by Allan Knee
Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott
Directed by Kim Godfrey
Little Women is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684 http://www.mtishows.com/
“Godspell”
July 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28
Book by John Michael Tebelak -- Music by Stephen Schwartz
Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Directed by James Stover
Godspell Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684 http://www.mtishows.com/
“A Chorus Line”
August 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18
Conceived and Originally Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett
Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante
Music by Marvin HamlischLyrics by Edward Kleban
Directed by Steve Rhodes
A Chorus Line is presented through special arrangement with Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc., 560 Lexington Avenue,New York, New York
Posted on 4/23/2012 — Read More
Straw Hat Theatre presents "The Emperor's New Clothes The Musical!"
Laugh your socks off at this fairy-tale pop musical with eclectic styles ranging from 50’s rock ‘n’ roll to 20’s jazz to Celtic and more!
The kingdom of Glump has been falling apart ever since the pampered emperor became wrapped up in his tasteless wardrobe! Not only is he a big-headed clothes-aholic, his three "lovely" daughters are quickly becoming chips off the old blockhead. Enter two con artists, “Wart” and “Hog,” who devise their ingenious plan for fleecing the emperor. Naturally, everyone pretends to see the magic cloth, until the emperor’s serving boy covers him up at the parade, laying bare the facts: the emperor has no clothes on! The serving boy’s honesty is contagious, and the emperor has quite a revelation. He’s been blind to his own selfishness — and nakedness! — until this fateful day. But make way for one more hilarious scene in which his daughters, who haven’t heard the news, appear in their underwear, too! (Tastefully done, we promise!) As the girls angrily chase after “Wart” and “Hog” the emperor vows to his people that he will not only keep his underwear under wraps, but he will reform his ways! And his daughters!
Join us for this hilarious tale that will please all the members of your family from the oldest to the youngest! Tickets to all Straw Hat Theatre performances are on sale now! Order yours today!
Posted on 4/21/2012 — Read More
Straw Hat Theatre presents "A Chorus Line"
Posted on 4/20/2012 — Read More
Straw Hat Theatre presents "Godspell"
Godspell is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684 www.MTIShows.com
Posted on 4/20/2012 — Read More
Straw Hat Theatre presents "Little Women the Broadway Musical!"
June 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, July 1, 5, 6, 7
All shows at 8 p.m.
$10 per guest. Registration required.
Posted on 4/20/2012 — Read More
An Evening of One Acts
"An Evening of One Acts"
April 13 and 14th at 8 p.m.
April 15th at 2 p.m.
Tickets: 964-3396
Individual titles to be announced.
Directed by Aaron Drews
Posted on 3/29/2012 — Read More
The Importance of Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Douglas E. Anderson
March 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, April 1, 2012
With the coming of spring comes the final show of the G.B. Community Theatre season. Oscar Wilde's most perfectly witty comedy, loved for its sensational characters and popular one-liners, “The Importance of Being Earnest” will open on March 23rd. Oscar Wilde's has delighted millions in countless productions of his classic tale since its first performance in London's St. James' Theatre on February 14, 1895. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is celebrated for both the lighthearted ingenuity of its plot and its inspired dialogue. From the play's beginning in Algernon Moncrieff's London flat to its hilarious wrap-up in the drawing room of Jack's country manor, this comic masterpiece keeps audiences breathlessly anticipating each fresh twist of plot.
For Tickets: (440) 964-3396Patrons $14, Adults $12, Seniors/Students $11 OR save $2 per ticket when you purchase in advance. Advance tickets must be purchased prior to 4 p.m. on the day of the show or by Saturday for Sunday performances.
Posted on 3/20/2012 — Read More
Disney's Aladdin Kids
Saturday March 10th at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 11 at 2 p.m.
Posted on 3/07/2012 — Read More
Upcoming Auditions...
An Evening of One Acts
Posted on 3/02/2012 — Read More
On stage...
"Rumors"
Fridays & Saturdays at 8 p.m. Sundays at 2 p.m.
With friends gathered for a tenth wedding anniversary, the host lies bleeding in the other room and his wife is nowhere in sight. As confusions and miscommunications mount, the evening spins off into classic farcical hilarity!
Join us for Dinner Before the Show!
G.B. Community Theatre offers the popular “Dinner Before The Show” prior to select performances. Reservations and prepayment are required no later than noon on the Wednesday prior to the event. However, dinner seats often sell out well before the deadline and tickets should be purchased as early as possible. The set menu is available two weeks prior to each event. Dinner seating begins at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $16 plus the price of your theater ticket
2012 Dinner Dates
“Rumors” on Feb. 18 th
“The Importance of Being Earnest” on March 24th
Order your seats today! (440) 964-3396
Posted on 2/22/2012 — Read More
Call for Scripts!
It's that time of year again! Our annual weekend of "One Acts" will be held on April 13, 14, and 15. If you would like to see your works performed please turn your scripts in to Kim Godfrey at the Arts Center (by mail or drop off) to be viewed no later than January 31st. Make sure you attach your contact information to your script. Please note: all scripts may or may not be used.
Posted on 1/03/2012 — Read More
"A Doll's House" Opens November 4th!
Nov. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 2011
As November turns our thoughts toward more indoor activities, G.B. Community Theatre is the place we hope you’ll choose to be! “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen will be performed on the Arts Center’s main stage for the first two weekends of the month.
In the story, Nora has everything a young housewife should want with beautiful children and an admirable husband. But when a buried secret rises from her past, Nora's world starts to crumble. Blackmail, innocence, love and hypocrisy collide as Nora comes to some startling revelations about her family, her life and what is real. In one of the most celebrated plays in theater history, Ibsen's masterpiece is as fresh today as it was when it first stormed the stages of Europe.
Directed by Kim Godfrey, “A Doll's House” is a classic critique of the traditional roles played by men and women in the 19th-century. To many Europeans of the era, Ibsen’s work was a scandalous story. Nothing was considered more sacred than the covenant of marriage, and to portray it as Ibsen did was unacceptable. Ibsen was forced to change his ending to appease his critics but more open-minded individuals soon found Ibsen's willingness to examine society without prejudice exhilarating. Nearly all productions today use Ibsen’s work as he originally intended.
Spend a crisp November evening with us and catch this thoughtful drama about love and marriage which still retains the power to entertain and provoke thought a full century and more after Nora first opened a door to freedom. For tickets call the Arts Center at 964-3396.
(440) 964-3396
Posted on 10/26/2011 — Read More
"Run For Your Wife" Opens Oct. 7th!
October 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 2011. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Sundays at 2 p.m.
John is your ordinary London cab driver. He owns his own car, sets his own hours, is hard working, punctual and lives a very ordinary life. Ordinary, that is, except for his two wives. Complication is piled upon complication as the cabby works tirelessly and hilariously to keep his suspicious wives from running into each other and to keep all of his stories together.
Directed by Clay Nielsen of Madison, this fast paced, slapstick, laugh-a-minute romp will be performed on October 7 - 9, 14 - 16, and 21 & 22. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8 p.m. Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m.
The cast includes Denny Dixon as “John Smith,” Mark Pendleton as “Stanley,” Aimee Gilbert as “Barbara,” Charlene Smith as “Mary,” Ron Cramer as “Detective Porterhouse,” Ralph Bacon as “Detective Troughton,” Morgan Yoak as “Bobby” and Jordan Rimpela as “The Reporter.”
Tickets and Dinner tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at (440) 964-3396.
Posted on 9/27/2011 — Read More
Announcing the G.B. Community Theatre 2011-2012 Season!
Theater gets off to a rollicking start when G. B. Community Theatre opens a lively season of stage entertainment with “Run For Your Wife.” This superb example of the British farce tells the story of a taxi driver who gets away with having two wives that live five minutes apart. He’s achieved this remarkable feat by maintaining both a clever lifestyle and an irregular work schedule. And from his point of view, all is well. That is, until an accident wreaks havoc on his domestic bliss! Complication is piled upon complication as the cabby tries to keep his double life from being exposed. How smart can an ordinary taxi driver be? And can he prevent two wives from finding out about each other? Ray Cooney’s hilarious tale will answer all these questions and more when the season opens on October 7th!
November brings Henrick Ibsen’s classic and revolutionary drama to the stage. A well-crafted play, “A Doll’s House” portrays a controlling husband and his submissive wife, Nora. When their idealized home life collapses, Nora comes to the realization that she must make an enormous change in order to find her true self. Often called the first “feminist” play, this timeless and emotion-packed drama opens on November 4th.
Following December’s annual production of “The Nutcracker,” G. B. Community Theatre returns to the stage on January 13th with: An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Riding Hood? A Prince Charming with a roving eye? Yes! They’re all among the cockeyed characters in James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy tale, “Into the Woods.” When a baker and his wife learn they've been cursed by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell which entails swindling, lying to, and stealing from Cinderella, Little Red, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk) but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later! One of Sondheim's most popular works, “Into the Woods” is a relevant piece and a rare modern classic.
Then, imagine what would happen if the deputy mayor of New York City invited some influential friends for an anniversary party and they arrived to find him delirious from a gunshot wound and his wife nowhere in sight. Let the story spinning begin! In “Rumors,” award-winning comedy playwright Neil Simon has spun up some doozies that G.B. audiences are sure to love! This stage favorite will chase away all your winter doldrums beginning February 10th.
With the coming of spring comes the final show of the season. Oscar Wilde's most perfect comedy, loved for its sensational characters and popular one-liners, “The Importance of Being Earnest” will open on March 23rd. Young bachelors, Jack and Algernon, each assume a pseudonym to woo the women who have won their hearts. Abandoned as an infant and now living in a country manor, Jack has fallen for Algernon's cousin Gwendolen, the daughter of the formidable Lady Bracknell. In order to meet with her in London he invents "Ernest," a fictitious brother who demands his attention in the city. Meanwhile Algernon escapes his obligations in London to visit his friend "Bunbury" in the country where he meets and falls in love with Jack's ward, Cecily, setting the stage for clever manipulations and hilarious confusion!
Tickets for all shows will be on sale soon. Also available will be a variety of subscription packages that will give you tickets at a discounted price. Arts Center members save even more! Purchasing a subscription also allows you to reserve your subscription seats by phone without using your credit card (Additional seats purchased not covered by the subscription card must still be pre-paid). Order yours today to insure you don’t miss a single act of the fun! (440) 964-3396
Posted on 8/29/2011 — Read More
G.B. Community Theatre Subscriptions On Sale
The Ashtabula Arts Center is now selling subscriptions to the G. B. Community Theatre 2011 – 2012 season. Several subscription packages are available, offering discounted admissions to all of this season’s productions.
The “Grand” Subscription package will give you one admission to each of the five G.B. Community Theatre main stage shows. This package is great for those who want to see every show. Cost of the “Grand” package is $48 for Patron seating at all shows, $40 for General Admission Adult, and $36 for Seniors and Students.
The “Flex” subscription package will give you five admissions that can be used at any of the theatre’s five productions this year. All admissions can be used one at a time, two at a time, or all at once. Cost of the “Flex” package is $54 for Patron seating at all shows, $45 for General Admission Adult, and $40.50 for Seniors and Students.
The “Master” Subscription package offers the greatest savings and will give you one admission to each of the five G. B. Community Theatre main stage shows plus one admission to each of The Children’s Class Production, Nutcracker 2011, Spring Dance 2012 and four Straw Hat Theatre productions next summer. This 12 show package includes patron seating at all performances (if available). The cost of the “Master” package is $108.
Ashtabula Arts Center members will receive an additional 10% discount off of subscription prices.
Subscription packages and tickets to individual shows can be purchased by calling the Ashtabula Arts Center at (440) 964-3396.
Posted on 8/25/2011 — Read More
Meet our new Theater Coordinator!
Beth Koski, Executive Director, is pleased and excited to announce that Kimberly Godfrey of Perry has been hired to fill the position of Theater Coordinator.
Kim is a 2008 graduate of the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music where she received her Bachelor’s of Music in Music Theater. After receiving her degree, she lived in New York City and recently moved back to Ohio to teach and direct.
Kim is already a familiar face at the Arts Center. She first began acting on the Arts Center stage at the age of 16 when she played the role of "Urleen" in Footloose. Throughout her high school years, she was often seen on the Arts Center stages. Most recently she was seen as "Olive" in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and as "Lily" in The Secret Garden.
"I started performing on stage when I was 6 and haven't been able to get rid of the theatre bug since,” says Kim. “Growing up with a director and music teacher for a father, I was always around the theater. I loved going to my dad's rehearsals and absorbing every ounce of knowledge I could."
Her directing bug began while attending Perry High School. She was the music director for Rabbit Run Theatre’s kid’s summer camp and shortly after she began choreographing PHS’s show choir. She also ran the choreography at Baldwin-Wallace’s Music Theater Talented and Gifted Camp in the summer of 2007-- where she co-directed their final show.
More recently, Kim has performed in The Break-Up Notebook at the Beck Center, understudying in The Break-Up Notebook at the NAMT Festival at New World Stages in New York City, in The Phantom of the Opera, Side Show, and Company at Baldwin-Wallace College.
She directed and choreographed Hairspray in 2011 and Forbidden Broadway in 2010 for the GB Theatre season, High School Musical in 2009 and Bye Bye Birdie for Straw Hat Theater in 2010. She has also choreographed for Geneva, Lakeside, Perry, and Edgewood High Schools. For the past two years, she has also been teaching theater classes and individual musical theater lessons at the Arts Center.
"I am beyond thrilled to have this opportunity as the Theater Coordinator,” added Kim. “The Arts Center has been such a large part of my life and has truly helped shape who I am today and I can't wait to give back. I know I have some large shoes to fill, but I am ready with lots of ideas and a passion for the arts that will hopefully fill both of our theaters year round!"
"The Arts Center's staff is thrilled to have Kim join us," said Beth. "Her enthusiasm and high energy are very contagious as is evident in every show she directs. I am especially pleased that another of our youth who grew up and gained experience here at the Arts Center has elected to return and to share her talents and expertise on behalf of the AAC in our regional community."
Kim will begin her new position on July 1 but has already been working hard this spring and summer as director of “Footloose” which will play on the Straw Hat Theatre stage on July 8 - 10, 15 – 17, 22 – 24 and 28 – 30.
Posted on 8/16/2011 — Read More
Individual Theater Instruction
$14 per one-half hour lesson
A mix of voice lessons, coaching on the acting of a song, and monologue coaching. Find out ways to build a character for an entire show or even a minute long monologue. Get prepared for college auditions or auditions down the street!
Register today! 964-3396
Posted on 8/16/2011 — Read More
Auditions for “Run For Your Wife”
Local actors are encouraged to audition for the first show of G. B. Community Theatre’s 2011-2012 season at the Ashtabula Arts Center. Auditions will be held for “Run for Your Wife” by Ray Cooney on Sunday, August 14 from 4 – 7 p.m. and on Monday, August 15 from 6 - 9 p.m. Auditions are held on a first-come, first-served basis.
In this superb example of the British farce which will be directed by Clay Nielsen of Madison, a taxi driver gets away with having two wives in different areas of London because of his irregular working schedule. But complication is piled upon complication as he tries to keep his two lives apart!
The cast requires 5 men and 3 women ranging in age from late teens/early 20s and up.
Audition readings will be from the script. Bring a list of calendar conflicts with you to your audition.
Performance dates are Oct. 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21 & 22. Rehearsals will generally be held Sundays through Thursdays at 7 p.m. The first rehearsal read through will be held Monday, August 22 at 7 p.m. Auditions will be held at the Ashtabula Arts Center, 2928 West 13th Street in Ashtabula. For more information contact the Arts Center at (440) 964-3396
Posted on 8/04/2011 — Read More
"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" On Stage!
The Ashtabula Arts Center is funded in part by the Ohio Arts Council.
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Posted on 8/01/2011 — Read More
Straw Hat Theatre presents "Footloose!"
July 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30
All Straw Hat shows begin at 8 p.m.
Stage Adaptation by DEAN PITCHFORD and WALTER BOBBIE
Music by TOM SNOW
Lyrics by DEAN PITCHFORD
Directed by Kim Godfrey
Produced by special arrangement with
R& H Theatricals: http://www.rnh.com/
One of the most explosive movie musicals in recent memory bursts onto the live stage with exhilarating results. When Ren and his mother move from Chicago to a small farming town, Ren is prepared for the inevitable adjustment period at his new high school. What he isn't prepared for are the rigorous local edicts, including a ban on dancing instituted by the local preacher, determined to exercise the control over the town's youth that he cannot command in his own home. To the rockin' rhythm of its Oscar and Tony-nominated top 40 score (the soundtrack album reached number one on the Billboard charts and has sold over 15 million copies!) and augmented with dynamic new songs for the stage musical, “Footloose” celebrates the wisdom of listening to young people, guiding them with a warm heart and an open mind.
Tickets: (440) 964-3396
Posted on 7/12/2011 — Read More
