ASC Looks Forward to Theater Season; '9 to 5' Tickets on Sale Now
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Community performers sing numbers from 9 to 5 the Musical” during rehearsals June 22 at The Arts & Science Center. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6, Aug. 13, and Aug. 20, Saturday, Aug. 7, Aug. 14 and Aug. 21, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8, Aug 15, and Aug. 22. Tickets are on sale now.
Musical Based on Dolly Parton Comedy Kick-Starts Season of Growth in Theater Program
Bethany Gere (left) and Ashley Thompson rehearse for 9 to 5 The Musical on May 13.
Live, in-person theater shows are returning to The Arts & Science Center, after the 2020 season was all but canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tickets for the first live production of 2021 are on sale now. Based on the classic comedy film, 9 to 5 The Musical opens Aug. 6 in ASC’s Catherine M. Bellamy Theater.
Not only is the theater back, but with an exciting expansion as the 65-seat Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater opens in September 2021 in ASC’s new ART WORKS facility.
The rest of the 2021 season includes a touching drama classic, a Shakespeare play that best goes unnamed, and a family holiday double-feature. (The first production of 2021 — April’s Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: A Virtual Fractured Fairy Tale — was exclusively online.)
To make in-person shows possible again, ASC will keep certain COVID precautions in place. These include socially-distanced seating and keeping each show below capacity. Patrons will also be required to wear masks. (Guidelines are subject to change.)
“We’re taking every precaution that we can this season,” said Lindsey Collins, ASC’s theater education coordinator.
Season tickets are now on sale. For more details and to purchase, visit asc701.org/current-season.
Actor Ashley Thompson (left) and musical director Faron Wilson rehearse one of her musical numbers from 9 to 5 The Musical. Thompson, who portrays Doralee, is making her theater debut in the ASC’s summer production.
9 to 5 The Musical
Performances: August 6-7, 13-14, 20-21, at 7:30 p.m.; August 8, 15, & 22, at 2 p.m.
Catherine M. Bellamy Theater
Tickets on sale now
Set in the late 1970s, 9 to 5 The Musical is a story of friendship and revenge in the Rolodex era. The show is based on the classic 1980 comedy film starring Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Dabney Coleman.
Pushed to the boiling point, three female coworkers concoct a plan to get even with their sexist, egotistical boss. In a hilarious turn of events, Violet (Angelica Glass), Judy (Tiffany Lowery), and Doralee (Ashley Thompson, in her stage debut) live out their wildest fantasy — giving their boss the boot. While Hart (Danny Troillett) remains "otherwise engaged," the women give their workplace a makeover, taking control of the company that had always kept them down.
Faron Wilson, musical director of 9 to 5 The Musical , gives cues during rehearsal on May 13.
Other cast members include Cheryl Troillett, Kayla Earnest-Lake, Bethany Gere, Jonathan Hoover, Tonya Lane, Freddie Savage, John Proctor, Will Witt, Clara Taylor, Rick Wilson, Kerri Akines, Anna Bailey, Paige Boast, Taylor Bumann, Emily Burris, Whitney Dutton, Harlie Hipp, Dakota Mansfield, Caleb Menard, Lanie Ratliff, Briar Thompson, and Gabrielle Vernor.
Music and lyrics are by Dolly Parton. Book is by Patricia Resnick, who was one of the writers of the film.
“It’s so fun and upbeat,” said Collins, who is directing. “It moves quickly and is full of crazy antics, great songs and wonderful characters that the audience will just love...and in some cases, love to hate. They’re hilarious and they’re very endearing. Audience members will watch it and go ‘Hey that’s me. I see myself in this character, I see myself in that character.’”
Collins directed ASC’s recent summer musicals — Legally Blonde The Musical (2019) and Sister Act: The Musical (2018) — and the holiday comedy A Christmas Story (2019).
Joel Anderson co-directs. Musical direction is by Faron Wilson, with choreography by Tana Soto Cook.
9 to 5 The Musical is sponsored by Simmons Bank.
The Miracle Worker
Performances: September 17-18, at 7 p.m.; September 19, at 2 p.m.
Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater
Auditions: July 25-27
The Miracle Worker — written by William Gibson and based on the life of Helen Keller — will be the first production in the Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater. Kayla Earnest will direct.
This classic tells the story of Annie Sullivan and her student, Helen Keller. The Miracle Worker dramatizes the volatile relationship between a lonely teacher and her charge.
The young Helen Keller, left blind and deaf by illness as a baby, is trapped in a secret, silent world. Unable to communicate, Helen is violent and her family doesn’t know how to manage her. Only Annie realizes that there is a mind and spirit waiting to be rescued from the dark, tortured silence.
“The Miracle Worker was one of the first plays I ever saw here at the Arts & Science Center a long long time ago,” Collins said. “Laurie Pascale played Annie Sullivan and Crystal Hillbourn played Helen Keller, and I just remembered it being this amazing production.”
She continued, “It’s one of those shows in which you walk out of the theater feeling empowered and really happy. You’ll cry because it's a very moving story about the life of Helen Keller and this world that she lived in and the process of reaching her. It’s really amazing and I’m excited to bring that to life.”
The real-life Helen Keller was an American author and educator who was born in 1880 in Alabama. Illness at 19 months old left her became blind and deaf. Her education and training represent an extraordinary accomplishment in the education of persons with these disabilities.
Annie Sullivan began teaching the 6-year-old Keller in 1887. Sullivan taught Keller that objects have names and that she can use her fingers to spell them.
Keller eventually learned to communicate via sign language, to read and write in Braille, to touch-lip read, and to speak. Keller’s autobiography, The Story of My Life, was published in 1903. The following year, she graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College, becoming the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Sullivan remained with Keller until her own death in October 1936. Keller died in 1968.
Keller went on to become one of most recognizable figures in history, Collins noted. “We learn about her in school — my daughter learned about her in school not too long ago. I’m excited to bring that one to life. Factually, historical plays are I think really fun to do because people need to remember and experience it and learn from it. It’s very cool.”
The original production of The Miracle Worker opened on Broadway in 1959 and won four 1960 Tony Awards, including Best Play. The original production starred Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, who went on to play their respective roles in the 1962 film adaptation. They both won Academy Awards for their performances.
“It’s a very physically demanding show,” Collins said. “Because when you think about it, Helen Keller lives in this world that is a completely dark and empty void. She’s 12 when the show takes place and in 12 years, all she’s known is isolation and anger. People just thought that there was ‘nothing going on upstairs,’ as they say, and Annie Sullivan is able to tap into that mind that’s definitely in there. And she’s responsible for bringing that out in her.”
Macbeth
Performances: October 8-9 & 15-16, at 7 p.m.; October 10 & 17, at 2 p.m.
Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater
Auditions: August 15-17
The following production is William Shakespeare’s haunting Macbeth, which is appropriately scheduled for October. It will also be staged in the Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater.
“Having this really, really spooky and terrifyingly accurate portrayal of greed during October is really exciting,” Collins said. “Especially in such an intimate, small setting. It’s going to make for a really cool, immersive experience. And it will be, because you’re right there in the middle of the action.”
Three witches tell Scottish general Macbeth their foretelling that he will be King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, seeing the opportunity, plots with her husband as they risk it all for the ultimate prize.
Martin Carty will direct. A longtime ASC volunteer and former board member, Carty directed ASC’s previous production of Macbeth in fall 2000.
Razzle Dazzle 2021
Performances: November 12-13 & 19-20, at 7:30 p.m.; November 14 & 21, at 2 p.m.
Catherine M. Bellamy Theater
Auditions: September 26-28
Razzle Dazzle, ASC’s biennial variety show fundraiser, benefits the youth theater program while showcasing talent from around Southeast Arkansas.
Each year features a different theme. This year, the volunteer performers will present a collection of well-known Broadway and main-stream hits.
Lindsey Collins and Joel Anderson will co-direct the production.
Razzle Dazzle 2021 is sponsored by Relyance Bank.
Holiday Double Feature: A Charlie Brown Christmas / A Seussified Christmas Carol
Performances: December 10-11 & 17-18, at 7 p.m.; December 12 & 19, at 2 p.m.
Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater
Auditions: October 24–26
ASC brings a double-dose of holiday fun with a special double feature to close out the season.
A Charlie Brown Christmas brings the 1965 animated television special to life as Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang discover the true meaning of the season.
The musical dramatic comedy is based on Charles M. Schulz’s beloved comic strip characters. The stage adaptation is by Eric Schaeffer and by special arrangement with Arthur Whitelaw and Ruby Persson. It is based on the television special written by Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson.
For the next show in the double feature — imagine if Charles Dickens and Dr. Seuss collaborated on a play. The result would be A Seussified Christmas Carol. Dickens’ holiday classic is whimsically reinvented in wacky rhymed couplets. This tale of glorious cheer follows everyone’s favorite cold-hearted miser, Scrooge, and introduces Scrooge’s nephew, Bed-Head Fred.
The production is written by Peter Bloedel.
Both plays are 30 minutes each, and have plenty of roles for young actors.
