Boone Community Theatre announces 2022-23 season; kids’ summer club kicks off
The Boone Community Theatre offers several shows each season aimed at a variety of interests and age groups. It recently announced the lineup for its 2022-23 season: “A Year with Frog and Toad,” “Matilda the Musical,” “Robin Hood and Maid Marian” and “Wait Until Dark.”
“A Year with Frog and Toad” written by Robert and Willie Reale, will be directed by Gershom Levi. Showtimes will be 7 p.m. on Sept. 22, 23 and 24, with a 2 p.m. matinee also on Sept. 24. It will be staged at the BCT’s headquarters, 705 Story St. in Boone.
The show is based on the contents of the popular Frog and Toad children’s stories written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel between 1970-79. The story follows the woodland adventures of two amphibious friends, a worrywart toad and a perky frog, plus all their friends.
The show has been cast:
Frog - David Michael
Toad - Christopher Levi
Trio- John Pea
Jennifer Kokjohn
Johanna Levi
Snail - Brandon Windus
“Matilda the Musical” is seeking people ages 8 and up to audition for roles from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 26 and 27. The play is by Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin and is based on the 1988 children’s novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. People may be familiar with the movie adaptation from 1996 directed by and co-starring Danny DeVito. Locally, Susan Herrick and Michele Jacobson will direct the play.
“It will be a fun play with a chorus,” Jacobson said.
The show follows the antics of 5-year-old Matilda who has telekinesis, as she overcomes obstacles caused by her family and school, and forms a special bond with one of her teachers.
There will be five performances of this play from December 3-10 with the location to be determined.
“It’s got a cast of at least 20, so we need a bigger venue for it than our headquarters,” Jacobson noted.
“Robin Hood and Maid Marian” is a play written and directed by Jonathan Levi, a familiar face with BCT. Robin Hood and Maid Marian is a family-friendly, romantic drama and coming of age story, appropriate for the entire family. Showtimes will be 7 p.m. on Feb. 9, 10, 11, 14 and 17 with a 2 p.m. matinee on February 18.
The show will be performed at BCT’s headquarters.
The final show in the season lineup is the thriller “Wait Until Dark” written by Frederick Knott and directed by Janae Erickson. A popular film adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn was released in 1967.
The show is described thusly: “A sinister con man, Roat, and two ex-convicts, Mike and Carlino, are about to meet their match. They have traced the location of a mysterious doll, which they are much interested in, to the Greenwich Village apartment of Sam Hendrix and his blind wife, Susy. Sam had apparently been persuaded by a strange woman to transport the doll across the Canadian border, not knowing that sewn inside were several grams of heroin. When the woman is murdered the situation becomes more urgent. The con man and his ex-convicts, through a cleverly constructed deception, convince Susy that the police have implicated Sam in the woman’s murder, and the doll, which she believes is the key to his innocence, is evidence.”
A game of cat and mouse with an exciting climax has made this an enduring show since the play debuted on Broadway in 1966.
Showtimes will be 7 p.m. April 13, 14, 15 and 21 with a 2 p.m. matinee April 22.
Jacobson said the Boone County Community Endowment Fund donated $3,000 to BCT. That money will be used to upgrade its audio equipment to enhance the theater experience.
Youth theatre summer club begins
BCT is offering a Youth Theatre Summer Camp for those aged 8-18 at its headquarters.
“We’ll have a variety of activities. Each night will be different,” Jacobson said.
In addition to directing shows, Jacobson heads the youth theater committee.
Future dates are: June 13, June 20, June 27, July 11, July 18, July 25 and Aug. 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Each day of camp is $10 at the door or $65 up front for the whole summer. A $20 discount for each additional family member will be applied. Registration is not required. Scholarships are available for families in need by reaching out to Jacobson at: michelemjacobson@gmail.com
Each installment will consist of one hour of instruction, plus theater games and information on many aspects of putting on a show, both on stage and behind the scenes. Participants will learn about lighting, sound, stage makeup, acting and more.
“We had a lot of kids that were in the Marvel shows wanting more opportunities to get together, so hopefully this will be a way to bring them back together and bring in some new, young people to get them excited about experiencing the theater,” she added.
The adults teaching the summer club have varying degrees of experience in the theater world.
“They’ll be a different instructor each night and there will always be people there that are members of the youth theater committee,” she said of the setup.
To learn more about BCT, visit: boonecommunitytheatre.org and its Facebook page.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Boone Community Theatre announces 2022-23 season; kids’ summer club starts
