Dear Friends,
“There’s No Business Like Show Business” and here at Porthouse Theatre we are in the business of bringing you COMEDY THIS SEASON! COMEDY TONIGHT! That’s right, 2009, will be all comedy all summer. We start the line-up with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. One of Broadway's greatest farces, this show takes comedy back to its roots, combining situations from time-tested, 2000-year old comedies of Roman playwright Plautus with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville. The result is a non-stop laugh fest.
Our second production of the summer is The Odd Couple. This hilarious comedy with its unforgettable pair of mismatched roommates, made Neil Simon a cultural phenomenon, and he subsequently became in his own lifetime the most commercially successful playwright in the history of theatre. Combine the talent of this playwright with actors Eric van Baars, (Harold Hill, The Music Man, and Oscar, Sweet Charity) and John Woodson, (Hook, Peter Pan, Stage Manager, Our Town) and add to that the direction of Rohn Thomas and we have a formula for side splitting comedy.
We plan to hit a bull’s eye with the final show of the summer: Annie Get Your Gun. This 1946 musical was reshaped by Peter Stone and returned to Broadway in 1999. The revival creates a Wild West show-within-a-show that frames the ageless "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" love story of sharpshooters Annie Oakley and Frank Butler. Based on the true story of Ohioan Annie Oakley and brimming with a toe tapping score including favorites like “No Business Like Show Business”, “Anything You can Do I can Do Better”, and “You Can’t Get A Man with a Gun”, I can think of no better setting to produce this play than at Porthouse Theatre! This season I will have the privilege of directing both “FORUM” and “ANNIE”!
In addition to our great line-up we will also be continuing our very popular “Adopt a Student Artist Program”. Thank you to all who participated last year. Your “kids” are off working on Broadway, Off-Broadway, National and International tours as well as cruise ships and Disney! Know that your support has shaped their futures. Congratulations!
Thank you once again for being the best patrons ever! I miss you all and I look forward to seeing you for a SEASON OF COMEDY!
With warm regards,
Sincerely,
Terri Kent
Artistic Director
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The cast and crew of Porthouse Theatre's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum cheers Alice Ripley (BFA Musical Theatre, 1986) for winning a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in the Broadway Musical Next to Normal
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Due to the widening and reconstruction of Steels Corners Road this summer, available lanes on both State Route 8 and Steels Corners Road have been reduced and traffic patterns changed near the intersection of the two roads approximately three miles east of Blossom Music Center. Please plan accordingly.
