Past Shows

Swingtime Canteen

Nov 2010

Directed by Kelly Van Oosbree

After 17 years with MGM, still-glamorous movie legend Marian Ames has endured four flop films in a row and is being put out to pasture. But this is 1944 and no time for self pity. So Marian has gathered up her instrument playing gal pals from the Hollywood Canteen and headed for London to entertain the troops. Joining her are Jo Sterling, (her drum playing stand-in on 17 pictures), her skittish niece Katie Gammersflugel, solid as a rock piano playing riveter Topeka Abotelli and leggy chorine Lilly McBain. Get ready for the rip-roaringest canteen show of them all as these five archetypal film characters from the 1940's prove their mettle while they sing over 30 vintage classics from the war years.

Cast

Marian Ames - Ellen Gauthier

Topeka Abotelli - Amy Stuemky

Jo Sterling - Jill Lentz

Katie Gammersflugel - Alix Brickley

Lilly McBain - Amy York

Commanding Officer/Radio Announcer - Jake Williamson

Our Town

July 2010

Directed by Kelly Van Oosbree

Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives (particularly George Gibbs, a doctor's son, and Emily Webb, the daughter of the town's newspaper editor and George's future wife). Using metatheatrical devices, Wilder sets the play in a 1930s theater. He uses the actions of the Stage Manager to create the town of Grover's Corners for the audience. Scenes from its history between the years of 1901 and 1913 play out.

Cast

Stage Manager - Dan Bray

Dr. Gibbs - Shane Delevan

Joe Crowell - Addison VandeWalker

Howie Newsome - Walden Schmidt

Mrs. Gibbs - Amy Stuemky

Mrs. Webb - Valerie Swanson

George Gibbs - Ryan Turner

Rebecca Gibbs - Lexi VandeWalker

Wally Webb - Jack Brogan

Emily Webb - Bri Tracy

Professor Willard - Keith Metz

Mr. Webb - Rand Moritzky

Woman in the Balcony - Carol Barros

Man in the Auditorium - Russel Neilsen

Lady in the Box - Carol Barros

Simon Stimson - Rob Gleichman

Mrs. Soames - Shelly Davis

Constable Warren - Zachary Venn

Si Crowell - Addison VandeWalker

Baseball Player 1 - Jake Cooper

Baseball Player 2 - Russell Nielsen

Sam Craig - Jake Cooper

Joe Stoddard - Dan Bray

Driector - Kelly Van Oosbree

Stage Manager - Gina Hebert

Dark Deeds At Swan's Place (Or Never Trust A Tattooed Sailor)

May 2010

Directed by Kelly Van Oosbree

"Dark Deeds at Swan’s Place (or Never Trust a Tattooed Sailor)" is a tongue-in-cheek, uproarious, melodrama with no redeeming social value whatsoever. This sparkling entertainment is loaded with laughs and seedy jokes. Montague Leech and Carlota Castanet make a tidy profit shanghaiing lads from a disreputable tavern. The owner expires leaving the tavern to his only heir, Bertha Birthright. Montague must get rid of the damsel. Enter Jack Swan, English sailor with a love for the theatre. He offers Bertha protection and the hilarity mounts, especially after gold is discovered.

The Cast

Mother McGoof - Karen Krause

Captain Bermuda - Larry Ayers

Carlotta Castanet de San Diego - Kelly Van Oosbree

Montague Leech - Dan Bray

Sourdough Birthright/The Preacher - Keith Metz

Jack Swan - Matthew Gnojek

Rawhide - Walden Schmidt

Billy - Jake Cooper

Tai Pan - Gina Eslinger

Bertha Birthright - Kelly Krause Herndon

Mary Fairweather - Leah Noel Smith

Augusta Van Gush - Carol Barros

Lt. Lorne Order - TJ Hogle

Suspicious Female - Gina Hebert

Director - Kelly Van Oosbree

Stage Manager - Gina Hebert

Production Manager - Nyla Taylor

Suspenders

Nov 2009

Directed By Kati Holligan

Set in a nursing home, this locally written musical about the lives of several residents was both fun and hard hitting, dramatic and comical. Nadine Goodale had no idea what she was in for when she checked in to the nursing home of her childhood hometown and neither did the other residents. While Nadine teaches them to live for the moment and live life to the fullest, they in turn, give her a reason to live as well.

This was PVP's first performance at the new Armory building at the Brighton Cultural Center and proved to be a wonderful and unique show in PVP history. One very important cast member worth mentioning was Roxy, a very beautiful Akita mix who played the role of Shoefly. What a sweet dog she was! Keith Metz (who played Bob Krause) would put peanut butter on his face in order to get a nice kiss from her while onstage. Thank you so much to Roxy and also to her owner Nancy Graham for all of their time and energy!

The Cast

Tom Brand - Dave Rhoades

Nadine Goodale - Betty Metz

Lou Carrozza - Joe Holligan

Alice Beal - Sherry Rickets

Mimi Kurtz - Carol Baros

Bernie Kurtz - Larry Ayers

Bob Krause - Keith Metz

Velma - Marcia Nivens

Alma - Liz Ryan

Marge Butler - Maureen Allen

Edith - Thelma Wright

Shirley - Dolly Garcia

The Dog Owner - Dan Bray

Daisy Demay - Vee Lind

Sarah - Cindi Stinnett

Waitress - Kimberly Kelly

Jesse - Laura Pohlman

Shoefly - Roxy

Director - Kati Holligan

Stage Manager - Dolly Garcia

Musical Director - Don Dupree

Harvey

Sept 2009

Directed By: Kelly Van Oosbree

harvey When Elwood P. Dowd starts to introduce his imaginary friend, Harvey, a six-and-a-half-foot rabbit, to guests at a society party, his sister, Veta, has seen as much of his eccentric behavior as she can tolerate. She decides to have him committed to a sanitarium to spare her daughter, Myrtle Mae, and their family from future embarrassment. Problems arise, however, when Veta herself is mistakenly assumed to be on the verge of lunacy when she explains to doctors that years of living with Elwood's hallucination have caused her to see Harvey also! The doctors commit Veta instead of Elwood, but when the truth comes out, the search is on for Elwood and his invisible companion. When he shows up at the sanitarium looking for his lost friend Harvey, it seems that the mild-mannered Elwood's delusion has had a strange influence on more than one of the doctors. Only at the end does Veta realize that maybe Harvey isn't so bad after all."

PVP was very happy to put on this warm and wonderful show. In addition to it being a Pulitzer Price Winner (written by Mary Chase), it's also just really fun to do! This cast really did bond and worked extremely hard to do this production justice. While everyone did work exceptionally hard, one actor is worth mentioning. After the actor portraying Lyman Sanderson had to unfortunately drop out less than two weeks before showtime, the wonderful Joel Adam Chavez stepped in and did an amazing job. Thank you Joel!

The Cast

Elwood P. Dowd - Robin Hebert

Veta Louise Simmons - Karen Krause

Myrtle Mae Simmons - Sara Closson

Mrs. Chauvenet - Sheri Beattie

Dr. Lyman Sanderson - Joel Adam Chavez

Nurse Kelly - Laurel Patterson

Dr. Chumley - Larry Ayers

Betty Chumley - Carol Baros

Wilson - Dan Bray

Judge Gaffney - Robert Gleichman

Cab Driver - Russell Nielson

Harvey - Himself

The Fantasticks

Feb/March 2009

Directed by Shauna Dunlap

The Fantasticks is a classic Broadway musical, and the longest running Broadway show to date! This musical comeday has all the essentials: A boy, a girl, a forbidden romance, 2 conspiring parents, a bandit, and 2 has been "actors" to help pull off a crazy conspiratory wedding. You will recognize songs such as "Try to Remember the Days of September" in this classic, yet updated, musical.
Music by Harvey Schmidt, and Lyrics by Tom Jones.

The Cast

El Gallo (Narrator) - Matt Dunlap

Luisa (The Girl) - Annie Malin

Matt (The Boy) - Ryan Turner

Belle (The Girl's Mother) - Jen Kroff

Hattie (The Boy's Mother) - Karen Krause

Henry (The Actor) - Larry Ayers

Mortimer (The Man Who Dies) - Joe Holligan

The Mute - Rosamond Hopkins

The Trip to Bountiful

July 2008

Directed By Kelly Van Oosbree

Carrie Watts is living the twilight of her life trapped in an apartment in 1940's Houston, Texas with a controlling daughter-in-law and a hen-pecked son. Her fondest wish -- just once before she dies -- is to revisit Bountiful, the small Texas town of her youth which she still refers to as "home." The trouble is her son, Ludie, is too concerned for her health to allow her to travel alone and her petty daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae, insists they don't have money to squander on bus tickets. This prompts "escape" attempts each month which coincide with the arrival of Mrs. Watts' Social Security check. Then, Mrs. Watts makes a successful escape and last trip home.

The Cast

Mrs. Carrie Watts - Karen Krause

Ludie Watts - Robin Hebert

Jessie Mae - Laurel Patterson

Sheriff - Bill Jordan

Thelma - Carol Baros

Roy - Trey Beattie

First Bus Ticket Man - Keith Metz

Second Bus Ticket Man - Mark Baros

Dearly Departed

Feb/March 2008

Directed By Kelly Van Oosbree

In the Baptist backwoods of the Bible Belt, the beleaguered Turpin family proves that living and dying in the South are seldom tidy and always hilarious. Despite their earnest efforts to pull themselves together for their father's funeral, the Turpin's other problems keep overshadowing the solemn occasion: Firstborn Ray-Bud drinks himself silly as the funeral bills mount; Junior, the younger son, is juggling financial ruin, a pack of no-neck monster kids, and a wife who suspects him of infidelity in the family car; their spinster sister, Delightful, copes with death as she does life, by devouring junk food; and all the neighbors add more than two cents. As the situation becomes fraught with mishap, Ray-Bud says to his long-suffering wife, "When I die, don't tell nobody. Just bury me in the backyard and tell everybody I left you." Amidst the chaos, the Turpins turn for comfort to their friends and neighbors, an eccentric community of misfits who just manage to pull together and help each other through their hours of need, and finally, the funeral.

The Cast

Ray-Bud - Robert Gleichmann

Raynelle - Karen Krause

Marguerite - Kate Holligan

Royce - Robin Hebert

Lucille - Amy Stuemky

Suzanne - Kate Barnett

Junior - Tim Moore

Rev Hooker - Trey Beattie

Clyde - Joe Holligan

Norval - Keith Metz

Nadine - Shauna Dunlap

Delightful - Maureen Hines

Veda - Maureen Allen

Juanita - Carol Baros

Merline - Betty Metz

Godspell

Nov 2007

Directed By Michael Bowerman

A modern-day version of the gospels, opening with John the Baptist calling a disparate group of young New Yorkers from their workaday lives to follow and learn from Jesus. They form a roving acting troupe that enacts the parables through song and dance, comedy, and mime. Jesus' ministry ends with a last supper, his Crucifixion in a junkyard, and, the following morning, his body being carried aloft by his apostles back into the world of the living on the streets of New York.

The Cast

Robert - Robert Riney

Keith - Keith Hershey

Sarah - Sarah O'Connor

Taylor - Taylor Eisenach

Kelly - Kelly Van Osbree

Larry - Larry

Laurel - Laurel Patterson

Sheri - Sheri Beattie

Trey - Trey Beattie

Tim - Tim Moore

Renetta - Renetta Lloyd