HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-05-31, Page 22THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 1989. PAGE 23.
Playhouse needs audience
volunteers for plays
Book shopping is serious business for Janet Koetsier (left) and Grace DePutter of Holmesville. They
got right down on the floor surrounded with boxes of books as they searched for a special buy at the
Blyth Festival’s annual used book sale Saturday. The event raises money for Festival activities.
For the first time in history of
Huron Country Playhouse, audi
ence members will be offered a
chance to become a part of the
action on the main stage.
Artistic Director, Tony Lloyd will
need 11 honest and law abiding
citizens to leave their seats in the
audience to become jury members
during the court room scenes of
Agatha Christie’s “Witness For
the Prosecution”. This tension
filled mystery melodrama kicks off
the 18th season of the Playhouse on
June 27 and closes on July 15 after
23, sure to be, suspense filled
performances.
“Witness For The Prosecution”
was first presented tin London in
October, 1953, and ran for two
solid years there. It was also a
huge success in New York where it
ran for 644 performances between
December, 1954 and June, 1956.
This play has been considered the
most ingenious melodrama devised
by the Author who, with her
Hercule Poirot stories and many
other books and plays, has profited
more from murder than any woman
since Lucrezia Borgia.
Much of the action is set against
the elaborate ceremony of an
English court-room •
Familiar faces return for Festival's 15 season
Names and faces from the past
are populating the streets of Blyth
these days as the Blyth Festival
begins rehearsals for its 15th
season.
Rehearsals began last week for
the two opening productions at the
Festival: “The Perils of Perse
phone” by Dan Needles and
“Sticks and Stones” by James
Reaney and brought a host of
former actors, designers and direc
tors back to the Festival.
Jerry Franken, Diana Belshaw
and Patricia Vanstone return to
Blyth to appear in “Perils of
Persephone” the comedy that will
open the season June 16. The
comedy deals with what happens
when a truck carrying nuclear
waste goes off the road in rural
Persephone Township.
Jerry Franken has appeared in
such shows as “Bordertown Cafe”
at the Festival. Diana Belshaw first
appeared at the Festival in 1980
and appeared most recently in
“Beaux Gestes and Beautiful
Deeds” in 1985. Patricia Vanstone
has been a regular member of the
company and appeared in “Girls in
the Gang”.
Newcomers in the cast include
Garrison Chrisjohn, Greg Ellwand,
Reed Needles (brother of the
author) and Ann Baggley. The
show is directed by Douglas Beat-
tie, recently appointed artistic dir
ector of the Red Barn Theatre, at 40
years of age the oldest summer
theatre in the province.
Set and costume design for the
play is by Kerry Hackett who first
came to the Festival in 1981. Harry
Frehner, who has been a regular
designer at the Festival since 1983
(as well as being a regular designer
at Stratford) will design the light
ing.
Thomas Hauff, Lorna Wilson,
Kevin Bundy and Dean Hawes are
Festival veterans returning for
“Sticks and Stones” the play based
on the Donnelly legend. Thomas
Hauf is a veteran stage, television
and movie actor who first appeared
at the Festival in 1980 in “John and
the Missus” and “He Won’t Come
In From The Bam”. Loma Wilson
has been in many plays over the
years including “Bordertown
Cafe” in which she co-starred with
Kevin Bundy. Dean Hawes is
perhaps best remembered as the
embattled farmer whose wife left
him in “The Tomorrow Box”. Also
in the cast for “Sticks and Stones”
are Michelle Fisk, Mellisa Bell,
David Fraser, Scott Fischer, David
Storch, Stephen Walsh and Mi
chael Taylor.
Directing the play is Terry
Tweed who has been at the Festival
several times and was associate
director in 1987. Designing the
show is Shawn Kerwin, who has
spent recent years designing in
theatres such as the Stratford
Festival but was part of the Festival
Company in the 1970’s.
Later in the season more familiar
faces will return. Raymond Storey
and John Roby will return as
authors of “The Dreamland”, a
musical with a cast of nearly 30
people. Richard Rose, one of
Toronto’s top directors who direct
ed “Lily, Alberta” will return to
direct the show. Designing the
show will be Charlotte Dean who
was at the Festival early in the
1980’s.
In “The Right One” Peter Smith
and Laurel Paetz will return as the
couple (they’re also married in real
life) who find it isn’t always easy to
get married. Also in the play is
Carol Sinclair, who appeared last
year in “Fires in the Night” and
“The Mail Order Bride”. The play
is written by Bryan Wade, former
writer in residence at the Festival.
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