Peninsula Players: "Over the Tavern" Opens July 7th!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Audra Baakari Boyle

July 1, 2010 920 868 3287

Dudzick’s Comedy “Over the Tavern”

Up Next on Peninsula Players stage

Fish Creek, Wisconsin – Peninsula Players Theatre, America’s oldest professional resident summer theater, presents Tom Dudzick’s delightful comedy “Over the Tavern” from July 7 through July 25. Even the Cleavers would be at a loss to give advice when wise-cracking Rudy starts to question ruler-cracking Sister Clarissa. “Over the Tavern” is a rollicking comedy filled with warm humor, nostalgia and coming-of-age mischief. Dudzick’s hit comedy “Greetings!” was produced by Peninsula Players in 2008.

“Over the Tavern” is set in 1959. Eisenhower is president; Ed Sullivan rules Sunday night; the superpowers are in a Space Race, and the Pazinski family is trying to raise four teenagers over a tavern in Buffalo, New York.

Life in their cramped apartment is no walk in the park as parents navigate sibling rivalries, school girl crushes and sugary cereal while the kids wonder why their parents are so strict and not like those they see on “Father Knows Best.”

Everything hits the fan when the youngest, Rudy, is more interested in developing his Ed Sullivan impression than studying his Catechism. Sister Clarissa visits the home when Rudy pronounces he is shopping around for a more fun religion.

“I have wanted to bring this comedy to Door County for years,” said Greg Vinkler, the Players Artistic Director. “Finally this season it fit the bill, and I was able to find some really talented actors to play the children. It’s a show that any family can identify with because it looks at all of the various relations within a family, mother, daughter, sister, brother, etc., and does it in a loving and caring way. On top of that, it’s very funny – it really makes me laugh out loud!

“Having gone to a Catholic school myself and been taught by a very strict nun, the play does hit home for me, but you don’t have to have been raised Catholic to understand Sister Clarissa in the show. She’s the scary teaching figure probably everyone who has been a student has experienced at one time or another. It’s a great night of theater.”

“Over the Tavern” is under the direction of Kristine Thatcher who last appeared on the Players’ stage as Eliza in “Pygmalion” and LCDR JoAnne Galloway in “A Few Good Men.” She wrote the Door County-themed play “Apparitions” that the Players commissioned for its 1995 season. Thatcher has directed several plays for BoarsHead Theater in Lansing, Michigan where she was artistic director from 2005 – 2009 and is founding director of Stormfield Theater.

Returning to the Players stage are Neil Friedman and Karen Janes Woditsch as the parents coping with four teenagers and Peggy Roeder as Sister Clarissa. Friedman was in past Players’ productions of “Born Yesterday,” “Greetings!,” “Into the Woods” and “Unnecessary Farce.” Woditsch was last seen at the Players in “Sherlock Holmes: the Final Adventure” and Roeder in “Cabaret.”

These actors have extensive credits in Chicago theaters such as Writer’s Theater, Chicago Shakespeare, Goodman and Steppenwolf. Roeder’s additional credits include film credits in “Road to Perdition,” “Stranger than Fiction” and “Groundhog Day.” Friedman recently performed at the Utah Shakespearean Festival and Woditsch in Writer’s Theater’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.”

Making their Players debut are the actors playing the four teenagers. Zachary Keller is the 12-year-old wisenheimer Rudy. Keller’s stage credits include “Ragtime” and “A Christmas Carol” with Drury Lane Oakbrook, City Lit Theater’s “Macbeth” and a Munchkin in the national tour of “The Wizard of Oz” at The Chicago Theatre. Andrew Keltz plays the eldest brother Eddie. Keltz’s recent credits include “The Snow Queen” and “Jacob and Jack” at Victory Gardens.

Jessie Mueller is cast as Annie, the only sister in the family. Her recent credits include “Animal Crackers” and “A Christmas Carol” with Goodman Theater and Drury Lane Oakbrook’s regional premier of “Curtains.” Isaiah Spetz, a student in Door County, is cast as Georgie, the middle brother who is mentally challenged. Spetz played the Candlestick in “Beauty and the Beast” and Philippe the Chef in “Little Mermaid” with the Door County Music and Art School.

The design team for “Over the Tavern” includes scenic designer Tom Burch, costumes by Samantha Jones, props by Sarah Ross, lighting by Stephen Roy White and sound by Cecil Averett, all seasoned Players veterans.

“Over the Tavern” will be on stage July 7 through July 25. Curtain times are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7:30 p.m., except the closing performance July 25 at 4 p.m. Group and individual tickets are available. Individual ticket prices range from $29 to $36; there are no performances on Mondays.

The Saturday, July 24 performance is the 75th Timeless Theatrical Treasure celebration of Peninsula Players birthday with a picnic dinner served on the theater grounds before the show. Tickets for July 24 are $51, $48 and $44. For more information or to reserve tickets phone the Peninsula Players’ box office at 920-868-3287 or visit the website at www.peninsulaplayers.com.

**End**
Peninsula Players is America’s oldest professional resident summer theater and is unique in the country for its diverse productions, continuing loyalty to a resident company, and its beautiful setting of 16 wooded acres along the cedar-lined shores of Green Bay. In the past 75 years, the theater has become a Door County landmark and its cornerstone arts institution, attracting audience members from throughout Wisconsin and across the country. For more information, please visit http://www.peninsulaplayers.com/.

Peninsula Players Theatre
2010 Playbill – www.peninsulaplayers.com 920-868-3287
Over the Tavern a delightful comedy by Tom Dudzick (July 7 - July 25)

A Little Night Music Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Tony Award–winning masterpiece (July 28 – August 15)

Comic Potential by Alan Ayckbourn named by Time Magazine as "one of the 10 best plays of the past decade." (Aug. 18 – Sept. 5)

Panic by Joseph Goodrich, 2008 Winner of Mystery Writer’s of America Edgar Award for Best Play (Sept. 8 – Oct. 17)

Curtain Times:
July 7 – Sept. 4, Tuesday - Saturday 8 p.m; Sunday 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 8 –October 16, Tuesday - Saturday 8 p.m.; Sunday 7 p.m.
EXECEPT SUNDAYS July 25, August 15, Sept. 5, Sept. 26, and Oct. 17 at 4 p.m.
Ticket prices: Rows 1-10 $36, Rows 11-14 $33 and Rows 15-18 $29, Group rates available

Mission Statement
Peninsula Players Theatre is committed to preserving America’s Oldest Professional Resident Summer Theatre in its unique setting on 16 forested acres along the shores of Green Bay. The theatre’s mission is to support, without reservation, the most exciting theatre company possible; to preserve the Theatre in a Garden’s natural beauty; to provide artists the freedom, tools, and facilities they require to entertain, uplift, and inform our audiences; to foster future generations of theatre professionals through the internship program; and to maintain fiscal policies that insure the future security of the theatre.
Facts

• America’s Oldest Professional Resident Summer Theatre, established in 1935 by Caroline and Richard Fisher, a brother and sister team who envisioned an artistic utopia in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.
• Actors are members of Actors’ Equity, the union of professional actors and stage managers.
• Peninsula Players is a non-profit theater with 501(c)3 status.
• Voted Favorite Door County Theatre by the readers of Door County Magazine

Peninsula Players Announces 75th Season

We LOVE Peninsula Players, and they are in their 75th season - what an accomplishment!

They have just made some announcements regarding the upcoming season. Here is the PR release we just received. . .

____

Peninsula Players Announces 75th Season

Fish Creek, Wisconsin – Peninsula Players Theatre, America’s oldest professional resident summer theater and Door County’s theatrical icon announces its historic 75th season, running June 15 through October 17, 2010.

Peninsula Players will open its 75th season June 15 with “Heroes,” by Gérald Sibleyras, translated by Tom Stoppard. Three veterans of World War I plot their greatest adventure yet, to escape the veteran’s hospital! Their wits may not be fully intact, but even in their autumn years they retain a zeal for life that may just get them past the front gates. “Heroes” will run through July 4. It won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy and several Moliere Award nominations, including Best Author.

Peninsula Players 2010 Season Add One …

From July 7 through July 25 the Peninsula Players presents “Over the Tavern” by Tom Dudzick, who is called the Roman Catholic’s Neil Simon. Raising four teenagers over a tavern in Buffalo, New York in the 1950s is a challenge especially just before confirmation when the youngest, Rudy, starts to question the church and ruler-cracking Sister Clarissa. Theatergoers may recall Dudzick’s heartwarming comedy “Greetings!” from the Players’ 2008 season.

Next up from July 28 through August 15 is the multiple Tony Award-winning musical “A Little Night Music” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Greg Vinkler, artistic director of Peninsula Players, will be taking a leave from his role as Doc in the Broadway revival of “West Side Story,” to direct the musical.

“A Little Night Music” features such Sondheim classics as “A Weekend in the Country,” “Every Day a Little Death” and “Send in the Clowns.” This witty, elegant musical is a celebration of romance, a Valentine to Door County audiences.

“Comic Potential” a sci-fi comedy by Alan Ayckbourn moves onto the stage from August 18 through Sept. 5. Time Magazine named “Comic Potential” “one of the best plays of the past decade.” In the foreseeable future television actors are replaced with programmable robots, and Jacie, an android star, is slated for the scrap heap when a programming glitch is discovered. At very inopportune times in her soap drama “Hospital Hearts,” she develops a penchant for humor, of the slap-stick kind. When the writer kidnaps her to save her, adventures really begin!

Closing the season is the Midwest premiere of the scintillating thriller “Panic” by Joseph Goodrich (Sept.8 –Oct. 17). “Panic” is the winner of the Mystery Writer’s of America Edgar Award for Best Play. At a film opening in Paris director Henry Lockwood, known as “the Sultan of Suspense,” finds himself caught in a web of blackmail, deception and murder. Goodrich used Alfred Hitchcock as a model for Lockwood and the suspense filled story.

Peninsula Players 2010 Season Add two …

“We hope audiences enjoy the Peninsula Players 75th year,” Vinkler said. “Shows are filled with enduring friendships, romance, and song and dance. Comic and warm-hearted adventures of a zany family and a futuristic acting robot give way to the thrill of mystery in the fall. We have so much for everyone to enjoy!”

Peninsula Players has been entertaining and exciting audiences since 1935, when the theater opened behind the Bonnie Brook Motel in Fish Creek on July 25, with Noel Coward’s “Hay Fever.” The company was founded by a brother and sister team, Caroline and Richard Fisher, who dreamed of an artistic utopia in the northwoods where actors, designers and technicians could focus on their craft while being surrounded by nature in a contemplative setting. Peninsula Players moved to the theater’s present location along the shore of Green Bay in 1937.

Prior to performances, patrons picnic relax on the grounds while watching the setting sun over the waters of Green Bay from the cedar-lined shore and enjoy the ambience of the beer garden and other gardens.

The Fishers’ dream lives on as professional actors, directors and designers work side-by-side with college interns while living on the Players 16-acre campus as they bring audiences a variety of works including dramas, mysteries, comedies and musicals. In fall, 2005, the troupe closed its season early to begin construction on its new stagehouse and audience pavilion.

The Peninsula Players perform Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. in the summer. With the opening of the fall show Sept. 8 curtain times are Tuesday through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and most Sundays at 7 p.m. The closing performance of each show will have a 4 p.m. matinee, July 4, July 25, August 15, Sept. 5 and Oct. 17.

Discount tickets are available for season ticket holders and groups. Individual tickets are also available. Individual ticket prices range from $29, $33 to $36. There are no performances on Mondays. For more information or to reserve tickets phone the Peninsula Players’ box office at 920-868-3287 or visit the website at www.peninsulaplayers.com.

**End**

Peninsula Players Theatre

4351 Peninsula Players Road

Fish Creek, WI 54212

920-868-3287

www.peninsulaplayers.com


Peninsula Players is America’s oldest professional resident summer theater and is unique in the country for its diverse productions, continuing loyalty to a resident company, and its beautiful setting of 16 wooded acres along the cedar-lined shores of Green Bay. In the past 75 years, the theater has become a Door County landmark and its cornerstone arts institution, attracting audience members from throughout Wisconsin and across the country. For more information, visit www.peninsulaplayers.com or call (920) 868-3287.


2010 Playbill

Heroes by Gérald Sibleyras, adapted by Tom Stoppard.

(June 15 – July 4) Olivier Award for Best New Comedy , Moliere Award nominee for Best Author.


Over the Tavern By Tom Dudzick (July 7 – July 25) Dudzick has been called the Roman-Catholic Neil Simon.


A Little Night Music (July 28- August 15) the Tony Award–winning masterpiece with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler.


Comic Potential by Alan Ayckbourn (Aug. 18 – Sept. 5) Ranked in the top 10 of Time Magazine’s best plays of the decade.


Panic by Joseph Goodrich (Sept. 8 – Oct. 17) 2008 Winner of Mystery Writer’s of America Edgar Award for Best Play.

Curtain Times:

June 15 – Sept. 4, Tuesday - Saturday 8 p.m; Sunday 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 8 –October 16, Tuesday - Saturday 8 p.m.; Sunday 7 p.m.

EXECEPT SUNDAYS July 4, July 25, August 15, Sept. 5 and October 17 at 4 p.m.


Ticket prices: Rows A-K (1-10 )$36, Rows L-O (11-14 )$33 and Rows P- S (15-18) $29,

Season and Group rates available



Facts

America’s Oldest Professional Resident Summer Theatre, established in 1935 by Caroline and Richard Fisher, a brother and sister team who envisioned an artistic utopia in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.


Actors are members of Actors’ Equity, the union of professional actors and stage managers.


Peninsula Players is a non-profit theater with 501(c)3 status.


Voted Favorite Door County Theatre by the readers of Door

Isadoora Theatre Company - "The Dinner Party"

Cast selected for February production! See Press Release below.
_________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Holly Feldman, 920-493-3667

Isadoora Announces Cast for “The Dinner Party”

Isadoora Theatre Company (Door County, WI) is pleased to announce the cast for their February production of Neil Simon’s “The Dinner Party.” The play, directed by Henry Timm, will show at the Third Avenue Playhouse in Sturgeon Bay on February 11-14 & 18-21.

“The Dinner Party” begins when a mysterious invitation brings six divorcees together for dinner at a swank Parisian restaurant. In this humorous yet profound examination of marriage, the group speculates wildly about their conspicuously absent host, the apparent secrecy regarding the invitation, and the party’s true purpose. The Dinner Party is perhaps Simon’s most personal play, as sharp and frequently painful truths lurk behind the laugh lines – truths that should be evident to anyone who has ever undergone marriage followed by divorce.

The cast features some faces very familiar on the TAP stage along with a couple of newcomers to Isadoora: Stuart Champeau as Claude, David Smrz as Albert, Dan Hitt as Andre, Lola DeVillers as Mariette, Clara Wendland as Yvonne, and Chris Milton as Gabrielle.

The director Henry Timm is backed by an experienced production team including Stage Manager Elizabeth Bobbe, Lighting & Sound Designer David Alley, Costume & Prop Designer Margaret Magle, Set Builder Steve Graf, and Assistant to the Director Kathleen Harris.

“The Dinner Party” will be performed at the Third Avenue Playhouse, 239 N. Third Ave in Sturgeon Bay, on February 11-14 & 18-21. Thursday through Saturday performances are at 7:30 PM with a matinee on each Sunday at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $14 for adults and $10 for students. You may purchase tickets for “The Dinner Party” by contacting Third Avenue Playhouse by phone at (920) 743-1760, at their box office (hours Mon-Fri 10:00 am to 3:00 pm), or at the Dancing Bear, 12 N Third Ave, Sturgeon Bay (open seven days a week).

The mission of Isadoora Theatre Company is to celebrate theatre through its basic elements of movement, music, story and thought. Isadoora Theatre provides theatrical experiences of intellectual integrity fulfilled by open self-examination and artistic risk for the educational and cultural enrichment of our community.

Isadoora is always looking for willing hands to help with any number of projects, including backstage help. Visit www.isadoora.com or email info@isadoora.com to learn how YOU can get involved!

PENINSULA PLAYERS SEEKS TO CLOSE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN - YOU CAN HELP!

If you have ever been to the Peninsula Players Theater on the lake in Fish Creek, then you know what a spectacular facility and experience this is. The new thearer building is aawesome, and they are trying to close out their capital campaign. See below, and contribute, as we do, if you see fit! Thanks!

__________

Contacts: Brian Kelsey – Managing Director
Alan Kopischke – Development Director
920.868.3287


PENINSULA PLAYERS SEEKS TO CLOSE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

September 18, 2008 - Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Three years after announcing the capital campaign to restore and preserve a Door County tradition, Peninsula Players Theatre, America’s Oldest Professional Resident Summer Theatre, appeals to the community to help close the campaign that enabled the theatre to construct a state-of-the-art stage house, audience pavilion, scene shop and concession stand.

“For 73 years Peninsula Players has been distinctive among summer theaters in the United States for the quality and diversity of its productions and its beautiful setting along the shores of Green Bay,” said Brian Kelsey, managing director. “Three years ago, the Players and many of its supporters invested in the future by funding the building of a beautiful and ecologically responsible new theater. In a day and age where summer theaters of this caliber have dwindled in numbers, the Players is one of few whose operating expenses are exclusively covered through ticket sales. To ensure that this tradition of financial stability continues, we ask the public to help us close our capital campaign.”

The goal of Curtain Call is to raise $1.5 million and bring the curtain down on the theater’s capital campaign. “Raising the final $1.5 million will allow us to focus on the future and enable the organization to continue the growth of community outreach and educational programming,” said Board President, Ted Laitner. “As we approach our 75th anniversary, we ask you, our community, to continue to support the oldest arts organization in Door County by making a contribution, no matter how large or small, to this initiative. This commitment will help secure the future of the Players and usher in great theatrical performances for the next 75 years.”

In 2005 Players audiences first saw the new concession stand, built as an example of the architectural style upon which the new theatre would be based. The new scene shop quickly followed, which thrilled the Players, who for the first time in 70 years could build scenery indoors in case of inclement weather. At the close of the 2005 season, the old theater was demolished and construction began, continuing through the winter so that in June 2006 the Players could open the season in their new home.

“The construction of these new structures has not only improved our patron’s experience but also enhanced our artistic flexibility and the overall quality of our shows,” stated Artistic Director Greg Vinkler. “While the old stage magic of theater often effectively hides what goes on behind the scenes, it became impossible for us to ignore the fact that the old stage house was the original one built more than 70 years ago. Time has revolutionized the industry and we were unable to keep up with these advances. The new facilities now allow us to produce more challenging productions and provide audiences with a similar, yet more comfortable and rewarding experience.”

The Players’ new stage house incorporates a flexible proscenium, orchestra pit, costume storage and a 55-foot high flytower which enables the Players to enhance artistic productions with such capabilities as “flying in” scenery and backdrops. For audience comfort new padded seats and in-floor radiant heat were added as was an assisted listening device system. For ease of accessibility for patrons with wheelchairs, a private restroom for their use is in the pavilion. A green roof overhead was installed to ease the run-off of rain, dampen its sound echoing on the roof and serve as a natural insulation in both summer and autumn. The new pavilion, which used Wisconsin contractors and suppliers, was selected as one of 12 finalists in an international Solid Steel Design competition for its unique design and construction.

“Whether you have already supported the Peninsula Players capital campaign or are new to this initiative, we welcome you to take your bow before we bring the down the curtain,” said Alan Kopischke, development director. “Once the theater was completed, many original donors were so delighted by the results of the project that they stood back up and donated to the campaign a second time. Additionally, every member of our board has made a new contribution this year and we look forward to many of you following their lead and helping secure the Players future.”

To make a contribution to Curtain Call or to receive more information about the Peninsula Players Theatre, please contact Alan at (920) 868-3287 or via email at alan@peninsulaplayers.com.

Since 1935, when the Peninsula Players’ founders first staged a production of “Hay Fever” behind the former Bonnie Brook Cottage/Motel in Fish Creek, the theater has been committed to developing the arts and artists in Door County. Over the years, Peninsula Players has mounted more than 500 productions at the Theatre in a Garden, have trained hundreds of young theater professionals and has attracted over a million patrons. Peninsula Players’ open-air, garden-like setting is located three miles from Fish Creek and one-half mile west of State 42.