Photo: Veteran Thingamajig Theatre actors, and new faces, will arrive in Pagosa to perform in Thingamajig Theatre Company’s Broadway in the Mountains live professional theatre season this summer, at the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts. Photo courtesy Carole Howard.
At a wine and cheese “Meet the Cast” event for season ticket holders at the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts on March 16, Tim Moore, artistic director of Thingamajig Theatre Company, previewed the three Broadway musical hits, a fundraising gala event and a special children’s show that will make up the live professional theatre’s exciting Broadway in the Mountains season this summer.
Guests took advantage of the occasion to purchase discounted summer season tickets. Moore also announced that Debby Shulsky and Ericka Bailey are the theatre’s new company managers.
Thingamajig’s three summer musicals are “Something Rotten!” opening Friday, May 30, “The Wild Party” opening Friday, June 13 and “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” opening Friday, June 27.
They will run in rotation until August 30.
Ronald Dahl’s “James and the Giant Peach Junior” on July 12 and 13 will be the theatre’s Whatchamawhozits children’s summer camp musical.
This year’s fundraising Broadway Gala will take place Tuesday evening, July 29 showcasing the incredible talents of the summer performers.
Returning favorites plus new talent
Highlight of the season ticket holders event was Moore’s introduction via photos and audition videos of the professional actors, directors and production experts who will be arriving from cities across the country to direct, sing, dance and perform in this summer’s shows.
More than a dozen artists, designers and performers will come to Pagosa from as far away as New York City and California. Eight of the actors are much-admired favorites with local and out-of-town audiences from previous performances at Thingamajig. They are Cassandra Brooks, Trevor Brown, Dominic Girolami, Evan Hoefer, Jesse Kortus, Samantha Luck, Dan Morrison and Alicia Osborne. Tim Moore also will perform.
Others on stage will be talented new faces.
The summer actors were recruited by Moore on a month-long audition trip that took him to New York City and the Unified Professional Theater Auditions (UPTAs) in Memphis. He met with more than a thousand artists in person and many thousands more online before choosing the final summer cast.
Thingamajig’s talented performers often head to Broadway and to larger theatres after their careers bring them to Pagosa. Some of our favorite past performers can be seen onstage throughout the country – on Broadway, with Broadway touring shows, at other prestigious regional theatres and even at the West End in London.
Moore said, “I’m looking forward to another fantastic season this summer, and I know our audiences will love these amazing shows and performers. They represent a return to narrative theatre, works that are based on storytelling with great music.”
Three popular directors will return to Pagosa to direct the musicals.
Dennis Elkins comes from New York City to direct “Something Rotten!” The former head of the Fort Lewis College theatre department, he is well known to Thingamajig audiences. Here he starred in dramas including “Red,” “A Picasso” and “A Few Good Men;” played major roles in musicals like “Cabaret” and “Hairspray;” directed hits like “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Jersey Boys” and “The Odd Couple: Female Version;” and wrote and starred in a one-man autobiographical trilogy, “box.,” “bag—” and “bloodline.”
Originally from Victoria, B.C., Canada, Pia Wyatt comes from Louisiana to direct and choreograph “The Wild Party” and also choreograph “Something Rotten!” She is professor of theatre and dance at Northwestern State University. Her previous Thingamajig credits include directing and choreographing musicals like “Guys and Dolls,” “SpongeBob SquarePants Broadway Musical,” “Tommy,” “Mamma Mia” and Jekyll & Hyde.”
Andrew Barratt Lewis comes from Utah to direct “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” He is associate professor of musical theatre at Weber State University in Utah and well known here as a talented director and choreographer. Also a Thingamajig favorite, he has directed “Bright Star,” the Christmas shows “Grand Night for Singing” and “Miracle on 34th Street,” “All is Calm” and “Escape to Margaritaville.”
In addition to his acting roles, Dominic Girolami returns to Pagosa from New York City to be music director for all three shows.
Costumes will be the responsibility of Nanette Cheffers, resident costume designer, with intern Sophia Raymond. Mackenzie Lowe returns as lighting designer.
Three hit Broadway musicals
“Something Rotten!” is a musical comedy about two playwright brothers in Elizabethan England who are struggling to compete with the huge success of their contemporary and rival William Shakespeare. It was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and won one.
“Something Rotten!” is famous for its nimble word play, clever historical references and satirical humor. One reviewer called it “pure escapist entertainment,” writing, “It’s hilarious, witty, filled with kitschy dialogue, clever jokes, catchy songs and over-the-top characters that you’ll instantly fall in love with.” Theatre lovers will especially enjoy one of its songs that has been called “a crash course on classic show tunes and Broadway musicals” because in the nearly eight-minute-long piece there are at least 20 different references to famous Broadway scores.
“The Wild Party” is adapted from an epic narrative poem written in and about the Roaring Twenties. It tells the story of one wild evening in the Manhattan apartment shared by Queenie and Burrs, a vaudeville dancer and a vaudeville clown. In a relationship marked by reckless behavior, mirroring the time in which they live, they decide to throw an extravagant Gatsby-like party to end all parties.
“The Wild Party” is a steamy, thought-provoking prohibition tale about self-indulgence and decadence. It was nominated for seven Tonys including best musical, book and original score.
“A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder” is a musical comedy that one reviewer called “a murderous romp filled with unforgettable music and non-stop laughs.” It was the most nominated show of the 2014 season, with 10 Tony nominations and four wins including best musical, book, direction and costumes.
“Gentlemen’s Guide” is about a low-born Englishman who learns he is ninth in line for an earldom so he creates a plan to get rid of the eight heirs in his way. The New York Times said it features a “conniving killer who helps turn murder most foul into entertainment most merry…. Despite the high body count, this delightful show will lift the hearts of all those who’ve been pining for what sometimes seems a lost art form: musicals that match streams of memorable melody with witty turns of phrase.”
Season ticket benefits
To ensure you don’t miss any of the three summer musicals, consider buying season tickets.
Multiple benefits come with being a season ticket holder including invitations to exclusive events like an open rehearsal, a free drink on opening weekends, discounted tickets, reserved seats, unlimited ticket exchanges at no extra charge, come-again tickets to see a show again while bringing a paying guest when you attend an Opening Weekend performance, and an invitation to the wine and cheese winter season announcement in August.
Season tickets are $120 per person. Reserved seats are $210 per person. They are available on the theatre’s website at pagosacenter.org or by phoning the box office at 970-731-SHOW (7469). Individual tickets and all show dates also are available on the website.
Friends of the Theatre benefits
You also can pay your annual Friends of the Theatre dues of $40 per person on the theatre’s website.
Becoming a Friend brings you many exclusive interactions with the actors and directors throughout the year. Those opportunities include multiple social gatherings like welcome and farewell parties, an exclusive summer cabaret concert, invitations to participate in Tech Tuesday potlucks, Behind the Scenes presentations, a laser light show and dance party, plus excursions to Williams Lake for water sports in the summer and Wolf Creek for skiing in the winter.
Thingamajig Theatre Company was cofounded in 2011 by Tim and Laura Moore. It is an award-winning professional 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre in residence within the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts. Its talented actors, directors and production experts come from across the U.S. to produce musicals, comedies and dramas year-round.
Thingamajig also is dedicated to providing theatrical experiences and educational opportunities for youth and teens in our community.