Linkville Playhouse announces 2020/21 season and a casting call
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Linkville Playhouse, 201 Main Street, Klamath Falls. (Image: Google)
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - With a spirit of cautious optimism and a healthy can-do attitude, The Linkville Playhouse is excited to announce its intention to present five new productions during the 2020/21 theatrical season, which begins in November and concludes the following July. The new season will feature one drama, three comedies, and a musical comedy.
"We feel strongly that we can offer theatrical performances in a COVID safe model," says Linkville President of the Board, Brian Fitz Gerald, "We have a lot of creative people who make up our troupe - they've already had a half dozen ideas on how to limit our seating, allow social distancing and still provide a quality season."
Indeed the Linkville Players has a precedent of providing the Basin with high quality, local performances, having staged over 300 theatrical productions since it was founded in 1960. The all-volunteer theater group’s home is located at 201 Main Street, where it has performed since 1985.
The five new productions, which will be available for subscription through the purchase of season tickets beginning in October include Talk Radio (a tense drama centered around a late-night radio host), Norma and Wanda (another play by Jeff Daniels following in the absurd comedy style of the wildly popular Escanaba series), Ruthless! (a musical comedy about show biz and the mother-daughter relationship), Barefoot in the Park (an ever-popular Neil Simon comedy about newlyweds) and In the Beginning (an original comedy written by our the troupe's very own, Kevin Coleman).
Each of the four straight productions will be presented over four weekends and will include eight evening performances and one Sunday matinee. The musical comedy, which is the fourth of the five productions, will be presented 11 times over five weekends, with one Sunday matinee. Originally slated for the 19/20 season, the Players were forced to move Talk Radio to this season due to COVID19 and the resulting quarantine. Director Fallon Walker will be back to direct the tense drama by Eric Bogosian, however. to Set in the studio of an Ohio radio station, the play covers the life of a late night radio host and as well as the lives of some of the people who call in to the show. The tentative run schedule of the show is November 6 through November 28.
The second offering, Norma and Wanda will be directed by Laura Allen, who has previously delighted Linkville audiences with other Daniels productions Escanaba in da Moonlight and Escanaba in Love. Those are both very male centered plays but this deliciously wicked comedy follows two very different sisters as they get themselves in a bit of a pickle with an old high school boyfriend, a chaotic church social and a secret family recipe. It is slated to run January 8 through January 30.
The third show in the season will be the musical comedy, Ruthless! directed by Crystal Muno and Dan Crenshaw and choreographed by Jasmine Klauder The jazzy, modern musical centers around eight-year-old Tina Denmark knows she was born to play Pippi Longstocking, and she will do anything to win the part in her school musical. Anything includes murdering the leading lady! The show spoofs longstanding theatrical stereotypes of mothers and daughters in showbiz with a lot of style and laughter along the way. The show is projected to run March 12 through April 10.
The Neil Simon classic, Barefoot in the Park, directed by Jeff S. Press will be the fourth offering of the season. Similar to the movie of the same name, grounded and boring Paul and optimistic and impulsive Corie Bratter are newlyweds in every sense of the word. After a six day honeymoon, they get a surprise visit from Corie's loopy mother. Corie decides to try to set her mother up with the neighbor and comedy ensues. The intended run is May 7 through May 29.
To round out the unorthodox schedule and season, the Players are proud to present an equally unorthodox and hilarious original written and directed by Linkville Veteran, Kevin Coleman (don't be surprised if you see him starring in it too!). In the Beginning is a comedy that asks what it would look like if the world as we know it was created by three people without guidance. In this satirical piece, a mysterious Being has created three helpers to try to discover the meaning of life. The only guidance they’re given, “just create, observe, and report." What could possibly go wrong? The planned run for this show is June 25 through July 17.
The season brochure, which describes each of the Linkville’s five new productions and the four Little Linkville children’s shows to be presented during the season will become available in October - when the Players feel they understand where their model will fit into the Governor's plans regarding safe social distancing and reopening.
Affordably priced season tickets for the five full productions may be ordered by mail and will be available for purchase at Poppy, the Linkville’s ticket agent located at 522 Main Street, as soon as possible. Seat sponsors and season ticket holders will receive an advance mailing of the 2020/21 subscription order form. Individual tickets for each production will become available for purchase approximately six weeks prior to opening night.
Open auditions for “Talk Radio” at the Linkville Playhouse, September 9 & 10
The Linkville Players is proud to announce two days of open auditions for TALK RADIO will be held at the Linkville Playhouse
Wednesday, September 9th at 6:30 pm and Thursday, September 10th at 6:30 pm. All auditioners should plan to come approximately 15 minutes early and be prepare to read sides, move and/or improv. No memorized audition paces are required, however physical distancing, contact tracing and masks WILL be.
"We are confident that we can offer a safe environment to rehearse in," says producer Crystal, "and the Board of Directors is closely monitoring the governor's orders to make sure we will be able to comply and offer a safe and socially distant experience when it comes time for audiences to join us.
The cast requirements for this tense drama are seven males and four females, all adults or very mature teens (ages 16 and up).
Once the show is cast, the rehearsal commitment will include eight weeks of Monday - Thursday auditions with some weekends starting Monday, September 14 through the opening night of Friday November 6. The show will run Friday and Saturday nights November 6-28 plus one Sunday matinee on November 22.
This Pulitzer Prize finalist centers around Barry Champlain, Cleveland's controversial radio host. On the air Barry does what shock jocks do best: insult the pathetic souls who call in the middle of the night to sound off. But tomorrow, Barry's show is going into national syndication and his producer is afraid that Barry will say something that will offend the sponsors. This, of course, makes Barry even more outrageous. Funny, moving, off beat and totally entrancing, Talk Radio had a long run at New York's Public Theatre starring the author and has been called "A compelling work that draws you straight into the heart of its fringe world," by critics.
"This is a great show and I'm excited to offer it to the Klamath Basin," says Walker adding, "I think by November people will be so grateful to return to some normalcy and invite the Arts back into the community. I think many people have keenly felt their absence in the current state of the world and THIS is the perfect show to do that with."