Monday, August 28, 2017

Final Show of the 2017 Season! Laughing Stock!


Putnam County Playhouse presents its final show in the 2017 Season of Laughs with the comedy, Laughing Stock on September 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, and 16.   The Box Office is Monday – Saturday from 5 – 7 p.m. beginning Monday, September 4.   Tickets may be reserved by calling 765-653-5880 or in person during Box Office hours.   Laughing Stock is sponsored by Bittles & Hurt, Hopkins-Rector Funeral Homes




Murphy’s Law could be a replacement title for this fun romp that tells the tale of a summer theatre troupe that performs their repertory season in an old converted barn (Sound Familiar???) with hilarious outcomes.  All of the characters necessary to lampoon the art of theatre are here:  invisible producers that really run the show, wacky directors that think rehearsals just get in the way of true performances, a tottering older couple who know nothing more than their lives in the theatre, the spaced out actress, a “serious” actor who must find motivation for every possible movement on stage, an artistic director who writes his own scripts to save on royalties,  and even a drunken stage manager holding it all together by a very loose thread.  Mix these misfits in with a season that includes the plays Hamlet, Dracula, and Charley’s Aunt and you have a delicious and hilarious recipe for disaster.

 Everyone person in theatre has a tale of something that went wrong in a production, so imagine if all of these things happened at ONCE!  That is Laughing Stock.  While the show is funny and the disasters come one right after another, the true heart of this show is summed up by all those involved: “We wouldn’t trade it for anything.”  


The Cast of Laughing Stock is headed by PCPH veteran, Dustin Bond who plays Gordon Page; he is joined on stage by Dustin Boothby (Jack Morris).  Ashlee Vitz returns to the Playhouse stage as Susannah Huntsman; while newcomer to PCPH MacKendra Stewart plays Mary Taylor.   T.J. Tincher, who delighted audiences in this season’s hit, The Foreigner, returns in Laughing Stock as Tyler Terry.   PCPH veterans Jim Rambo & Don Wilson, last seen in 2016’s musical, 1776, are seen in our season finale as Vernon Volker and Richfield Hawksley, respectively.    Dianna Baysinger plays Daisy Coates and Andrew Ranck lends his comedic talents to his character, Craig Conlin.   Caroline Good, last seen as Grandma in The Addams Family, plays stage manager Sarah McKay.   Kathryn Dory makes her return to the PCPH stage as Helen Mills with newcomer Brian Cox (Braun Oakes).   Sandra Rossok (Karma Schneider) and Drew Harris (Ian Milliken) play overworked interns in the hilarious happenings of the season.

Director Andrew Ranck is assisted by his production staff:   Stage Manager, Jessica Masner; Technical Director, Dusin Bond; Stage Design, Linda Gjesvold; Costume Design, Shelly McFadden; and Production Assistant, Aubrey Sutherlin. 

Come join us for the 4th and final show of the season at the Playhouse. You’ll laugh and you may also gain a little insight into why we do what do!

Sunday, August 6, 2017

The Addams Family is Coming!


Putnam County Playhouse’s third production of the 2017 “Season of Laughs” is a musical comedy, The Addams Family. Show dates are August 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19.    Tickets are available beginning Monday, August 7, 2017. Tickets may be obtained by calling 765-653-5880 from 5 – 7 p.m. or stopping by the box office at the theater from 5 – 7 p.m.

The characters are the same as you might remember from the 1960’s television show:  Gomez (Joshua Saul Bain), Morticia (Tarah Thornburg), Wednesday (Chloe Hayes), Pugsley (Devin Huff), Lurch (Michael McClaine), Uncle Fester (Brad Sandy), and Granny (Caroline Good).  This time around, the unsuspecting Beinecke family has been added including parents Mal (TJ Tincher) & Alice (Shelly McFadden) and son, Lucas (Cameron Callan).

The Addams Family features an original story, and it’s every father’s nightmare.  
Wednesday Addams has grown up and fallen in love with Lucas, a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family.  A man her parents have never met.   And if that weren’t upsetting enough, she confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother.   Now, Gomez must do something he’s never done before – keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia.   Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents.  

The Addams Family ancestors sing and dance throughout the show and are played by:  Sarah Arnold, Sarah Bond, Samantha Flannelly, Drew Harris, David Lorimer, Bryana Perry, Winter Prewitt and Stephanie Zhivotovsky. 

Ric McFadden is the director of the production and serves as vocal director.   Isaiah Mattas, Josh Bain and Sarah Bond are the show’s choreographers.   Sound and lighting design is by Dustin Bond with set design/construction by Linda Gjesvold.   Shelly McFadden is the costume designer for the show with make-up/costume assistant, Susan Price.   Stage Manager, Jessica Masner is assisted by stage hands:  Mason Allen, Mariah Taylor, and Cameron Wunderlich.   Darvell Barger is the sound board operator and Haley Wilson is the light board operator.   Spot light operators are Sarah Nowling and Grace Elmore.  


The orchestra for The Addams Family is led by pianist, Marilyn Rush.  Morgan Asher plays keyboards for the production, with Drew Brattain on bass and Dedee Schwomeyer on drums.   The Addams Family is sponsored by First National Bank.