Pleasure Guild Seeks Director for 2011 Production

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Pleasure Guild of Nationwide Children’s Hospital seeks a director for its March, 2011 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Direct questions or send resume or CV and any supporting materials to Nicole Papa at nicolejpapa@gmail.com or 5731 Dover Court, Worthington, OH 43085 by May 28, 2010. Candidates will be considered for experience directing full scale family musicals, handling large casts of 50 or more, including child actors and ability to attract a quality creative team.

So what the heck…You’re Welcome! Glad to have you with us!

On behalf of the entire cast and crew of Pleasure Guild’s The Music Man, we would like to thank everyone who came out to the Palace Theatre last weekend to support the show and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. It was a very successful run full of good audiences, good laughs, good friends and great memories.

If you were lucky enough to attend the opening night performance on Friday, March 12, then you you’ll know that the lyrics from the song Lida Rose, “…at the least suggest I’ll pop the question…” now have a special place in the hearts of The Music Man company as Patrick Walters proposed to director Brooke Andres on the stage following the performance. If you weren’t there in person – well, we have a special video treat for you.

Thanks again, and hope to see you again next year at the Palace Theatre!

Another openin’, another show!

The cast and crew of Pleasure Guild’s The Music Man had a very successful opening night, with a fantastic Friday audience! All the long rehearsals and hard work have finally paid off! Now there are only 3 more chances to catch this great production and support Nationwide Children’s Hospital:

2 performances Saturday, March 13 @ 2pm and 7pm

1 performance Sunday, March 14 @ 2pm

Still don’t have your tickets? Tickets can still be purchased HERE or at the Palace Theatre box office.

Here’s an idea of where all of the cast and crew’s hard work has taken them…

The Music Man – In the News

Columbus is all abuzz with anticipation as the opening night of The Music Man is just around the corner! Check out the In the News page for links to recent articles about the upcoming production.

A glimpse at recent MUSIC MAN rehearsals

We are just a short 5 days away from the opening performance of Pleasure Guild’s The Music Man at the Palace Theatre on Friday, March 12. As we prepare for tech and dress rehearsals, we wanted to share a few images taken during our last rehearsals before the move to the theatre. We hope you enjoy them!

You can also view more rehearsal photos on our Flickr Photostream.

Photo credit: Marc Walters, Marc Walters Photography.

With a capital “T,” and that rhymes with “P,” and that stands for…PALACE!

At this time next week, the cast of crew of The Music Man will be in the middle of their performance schedule at the fabulous Palace Theatre in downtown Columbus. There is still a lot to be done before the show is ready for an audience!

There will be 2 more rehearsals held at the rehearsal space. The first will be when the cast reviews the “abridged” version of the show that will be performed for school groups during the day on Friday, March 12. The 2^nd will be a sitzprobe with the orchestra. (A sitzprobe is a seated rehearsal with the actors and the orchestra, with the main focus being to bring together the two groups of performers that have been rehearsing separately up to this point.)

On Monday, the crew will begin moving the sets, costumes and props into the Palace Theatre. Once these items are moved into the theatre, the crew and director will work diligently to get all of the sets in their proper places, backdrops hung, lights focused, among many, MANY other tasks! Monday will be a very long, but productive day for this dedicated group of people.

The actors will move into the theatre on Tuesday, bringing with them all of their personal items such as make-up and dance shoes. Each performer’s costume will have already arrived at the theatre – they just have to take it to their assigned dressing room. Following the big “move in,” the cast and crew will have their first tech rehearsal in the theatre. This will be a working rehearsal to figure out details such as when/where set pieces need to be moved, where actors need to go to pick up props and microphones, or where quick costume changes need to take place backstage. It’s a lot of information to figure out in one evening! Wednesday and Thursday night will be dress rehearsals, and then Friday is OPENING NIGHT!

We hope that you will be joining us at the Palace Theatre next week. If you don’t have tickets yet, they are still available HERE.

If you are a subscriber to the Columbus Dispatch, you can get a code for discounted tickets when you log into Reader Rewards HERE.

In the Spotlight – Kathy Taylor

Kathy Taylor (Mrs. Paroo) always enjoys theatre, whether it is being on the stage herself or cheering on her family from the audience. The Music Man is Kathy’s 2nd Pleasure Guild production after appearing as the “Aristocratic Lady” in last year’s Beauty and the Beast. Her boisterous “Bonjour!” kicked off the opening number “Belle.” Kathy has also enjoyed performing with the St. Brigid Player’s in Dublin, Ohio, gracing the stage in their production of The Man Who Came to Dinner as the glamorous “Lorraine Sheldon.”

Keep reading and see how Kathy answered our little questionnaire!

How did you get started in theatre? I saw “The Sound of Music” in 3rd grade. I wanted to be just like Julie Andrews! My small town upstate NY high school had a terrific music department in which I was very active but no drama dept. We did have a senior play.  I was cast as Audrey in “I was a Teenage Dracula”. Great fun but I was too timid and practical to pursue either any further.  The joy of watching my 2 daughters participate in music and theatre in high school (hmm…where’d they get that from?) inspired me to jump in 5 years ago with the newly formed St Brigid Players.  I have loved every minute and feel like I’m home!

Tell us what your favorite non-Pleasure Guild role has been. It’s hard to choose a favorite role or show because each has special moments and challenges. I like variety and have had a ball playing mousy to glamorous! I especially enjoyed playing “Lorraine Sheldon” in The Man Who Came to Dinner.  Lots of furs, jewels and red nails!

What is your favorite part about being involved in a show? The whole process! I love the rehearsals observing how each actor develops their character and the little “aha!” moments when my own comes into better focus. Most shows I do involve all of us working tech, costumes, set etc., digging through our own homes for props and furniture. We all love what we’re doing through the frustrations and laughs.  I just like to pretend…. bringing myself and the audience someplace else for a short time.

What has been your favorite theatre moment? That’s easy! The opening and finale of Beauty and the Beast! Being at place in the wings, hearing the orchestra swell, watching Brooke’s beaming face in the ready, Mindy and all of us bursting with anticipation. I couldn’t believe I was there! The finale was a thrill with the gorgeous music and the applause in which I really noticed the audience. All I wanted to do was turn the applause back on them in great thanks for being there in support of Pleasure Guild. It was humbling.

Any bloopers/onstage mess-ups you can share with the readers? In You Can’t Take It With You, I played Penny who went to answer the front door. My fellow actor decided to prank me. Unseen by the audience, there stood “Tony” wearing this huge woman’s pink- flowered straw hat with a ridiculous dopey grin on his face, and the rest of the off stage cast jumping up and down behind him.  I could barely hold it together and it seemed like eons before I could choke out “Is this Mr. Anthony Kirby Jr.?” Apparently some on-stage cast members lost it…so I was pretty proud I kept it together, much to the chagrin of “Tony”!

What do you like best about your Music Man character? How much I enjoy playing Mrs. Paroo when I never planned to audition for her! I love working with Kirstin, Patrick, Daniel and Camille. I like Mrs. Paroo’s spunk and Irish temper mixed in with a mother’s dilemma of when to guide and when to let go.

Why should people come and see THE MUSIC MAN? If you don’t know The Music Man, it’s time you do so! It is a classic of a show with recognizable songs and sayings (trouble in River City, etc.). There’s nothing like the energy of live theatre! Dancing, hummable music, timeless themes, a few hours away from it all! You never know what theatrical/musical spark you might ignite in your child’s (or your own!) life which can be nothing but rewarding! An inexpensive, utterly enjoyable way to contribute to Nationwide Children’s Hospital!