The Stage Door Theatre Inc.

Stage Door seeking directors for 2013-14 Season

The Stage Door is proud to announce a fantastic slate of shows for the 2013-14 Season (the season runs from September through June) and they are currently seeking directors for these shows.

The Stage Door will entertain bids from directors with all levels of experience.  The theater has a proud tradition of hiring first time directors.  The only way to gain experience is to be given a chance, and with a little guidance and tutelage, The Stage Door has seen the birth of many fine directors.

The 2013-14 slate consists of the five following shows:

“Rumors” by Neil Simon (Show dates September 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, & 15, 2013) – The Deputy Mayor of New York has just shot himself. Though only a flesh wound, four couples are about to experience a severe attack of Farce. Gathering for their tenth wedding anniversary, the host lies bleeding in the other room and his wife is nowhere in sight. His lawyer and wife must get “the story” straight before the other guests arrive. As the confusions and mis-communications mount, the evening spins off into classic farcical hilarity.

“Halloween Screams” by L. Don Swartz (Show dates October 25, 26, 27, 31, November 1, 2, & 3, 2013) – When a theatre group in Chestnut Hollow agrees to transform the community center’s basement into a Halloween spook house, little do they know that the basement is already haunted! Phantom laughter, flying skulls, ghostly photographs and other worldly voices are just some of the clues that help the troupers unearth the secret that has been buried in the basement for over 200 years.

“Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson, Music and Lyrics by Carol Hall (Show dates February 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, & 23, 2014) – This happy go lucky view of small town vice and statewide political side-stepping recounts the good times and the demise of the Chicken Ranch, known since the 1850s as one of the better pleasure palaces in all of Texas. Governors, senators, mayors, and even victorious college football teams frequent Miss Mona’s cozy bordello until that puritan nemesis Watchdog focuses his television cameras and his righteous indignation on the institution.

“A Piece of my Heart” by Shirley Lauro (Show dates April 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, & 13, 2014) – This is a powerful, true drama of six women who went to Vietnam:  five nurses and one country western singer booked to entertain the troops.  The play portrays each young woman before, during, and after her tour in the war-torn nation and ends as each leaves a personal token at the memorial wall in Washington.  A Piece of my Heart has recently been named “The most enduring play on Vietnam in the nation,” by the Vietnam Vets Association.

“Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” adapted for the stage by Randal Myler (Show dates June 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, & 15, 2014) – Relive the great riverboat days of the Mississippi with Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer and Jim in this new adaptation.  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a folktale chock-full of outlandish episodes, as two outcasts, fleeing down the Mississippi on a makeshift raft, yield to a current that brings a new view of their society and, finally, themselves.

All interested parties are asked to contact The Stage Door at 265-1590 (leave a message) or e-mail the theater at stagedooryukon@gmail.com.  A meet and greet will be arranged with the board of directors at which time the interested parties will be asked to share a little of their vision for the show.  Interested parties will also need to provide a resume.  Pay is contingent upon experience.

Oops . . . wrong title, but right genre!!  And the genre begs the hypothetical question:  If you could receive your heart’s desire by committing a perfect murder . . . would you?  Could you??

The majority of us would undoubtedly reply with a resounding “no,” but in Deathtrap by Ira Levin, that is almost the exact situation that lands in the lap of Sidney Bruhl, a somewhat has-been murder mystery playwright.

Eighteen years ago, Sidney wrote the perfect murder mystery that made him an instant success.  Following that initial smash, he had a few other plays with moderate success, but then he had a string of flops, and lately, hasn’t even been able to get any ideas down on paper.  He’s burned through all of his money and has been forced to live on his wife’s affluence.  He’s seemingly lost his mojo, his status, and his self-respect and has been relegated to teaching summer writing seminars at a nearby college.

Then, in walks Clifford Anderson.  Clifford was a student in one of Sidney’s seminars, and taking Sidney’s instruction to heart, has written a murder mystery that, Sidney is convinced, will be a sure-fire hit that will run for years and make millions.

Sidney is beside himself with envy.  Here is this upstart kid, who has paid no “dues” whatsoever, and he has somehow managed to write the play of the century!!  Not realizing that he has written the perfect play, Clifford asks his teacher, his mentor, if he would mind reading it and making some suggestions on improving it.

Sidney invites Clifford out to his secluded country home for a meeting and begins to hatch a plan on how he might kill Clifford and then present the play as his own.  As things begin to fall into place, Sidney’s distraught wife Myra worries that he’s really capable of committing murder and that he just might do it.  She wonders if she has ever really known the man she’s married to . . .

This wonderfully complex thriller is full of twists and turns, laughs and surprises.  It will keep the audience on the edge of their seats, and just when they think they have figured out the plot, a new twist sends them careening in a completely different direction.  It will keep everyone interested and invested until the very last line.

Deathtrap is under the direction of Denise Harris, a staple and veteran of The Stage Door.  She came to the theater about 15 years ago when she was cast in Smoke on the Mountain.  Since that first endeavor, she has been involved in every aspect of the theater you can possibly imagine.  She has acted, directed, sewed costumes, procured props, run lights and sound, built sets, stage managed, been on stage crews, served on the board of directors, sold concessions, swept floors, and cleaned toilets.  If something needs done for the show to go on, Denise has done it.  Deathtrap will undoubtedly be another feather in her director’s hat and star on her theater crown.

Deathtrap is set to run April 5, 6, 12, & 13 at 7:30 p.m. and April 7 & 14 at 2:00 p.m.  Tickets are $9.00 in advance and $12.00 at the door.  They may be purchased by visiting the theater’s website at www.stagedooryukon.com or by calling 265-1590 (leave a message).

Deathtrap is being produced with special permission from Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York, NY.

Pygmalion

February 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24

Pygmalion both delighted and scandalized its first audiences in 1914.  A brilliantly witty reworking of the classical tale of the sculptor Pygmalion, who falls in love with his perfect female statue, it is also a barbed attack on the British class system and a statement of Shaw’s feminist views. In Shaw’s hands, the phoneticist Henry Higgins is the Pygmalion figure who believes he can transform Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flower girl, into a duchess at ease in polite society. The one thing he overlooks is that his ‘creation’ has a mind of her own.

$9 online
$12 at the door

PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE

The Stage Door, located at 601 Oak St. in Yukon, is proud to be collaborating with the Homeschool Drama Troupe as they bring us “Songs of the Season,” a Christmas variety show.  Tickets will be sold at the door only and admission is $5.00 a person or $4.00 along with any canned good that will be donated to Yukon’s Manna Pantry.

The Stage Door also has it on good authority that Santa Claus will be available for pictures with your little ones for a few hours before each performance.  Pictures are only $5.00 and come in a festive holiday folder. 

“Songs of the Season” is scheduled for two performances only on Friday, December 14^th at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, December 15^th at 2:00 p.m.  Santa will be available for pictures on Friday from 4:00-7:30 and Saturday from 11:00-2:00.  Skip the long lines and expensive prices at the mall and come enjoy a holly, jolly Christmas at The Stage Door!!

“Pygmalion” by Bernard Shaw is the stage play that was the basis for the smash hit musical, “My Fair Lady.”  “Pygmalion” both delighted and scandalized its first audiences in 1914.  A brilliantly witty reworking of the classical tale of the sculptor Pygmalion, who falls in love with his perfect female statue, it is also a barbed attack on the British class system and a statement of Shaw’s feminist views.

In Shaw’s hands, the phoneticist Henry Higgins is the Pygmalion figure who believes he can transform Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flower girl, into a duchess at ease in polite society.  The one thing he overlooks is that his “creation” has a mind of her own.

Auditions are scheduled for December 1 from 1-3 pm and December 3 & 4 from 7-10 pm.  Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script.

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Stage Door Theatre’s production of “CLUE: The Musical” opens this Friday, and to celebrate, we are giving you TWO chances to win a pair of tickets to one of the performances.

To enter on Facebook:

1. LIKE The Stage Door Theatre page on Facebook.
2. SHARE the contest post on Facebook (will be posted later today)
3. COMMENT your “Accusation” on that post, stating ”I accuse (Suspect) of committing the crime in the (Room) with the (Weapon)”.

To enter on Twitter:

1. FOLLOW The Stage Door on Twitter @StageDoorYukon
2. RT the contest post on Twitter.
3. @ your “Accusation” on that post, stating ”I accuse (Suspect) in the (Room) with the (Weapon)”.

All three points (LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT) must be done to qualify. First person to correctly solve the mystery will win two tickets to the Stage Door production of “CLUE: The Musical”. One “Accusation” per person per social media site; in other words, you CAN enter on both Facebook and Twitter. Each game is different, so the Suspect, Room, and Weapon are different for Facebook to Twitter. Winners will be contacted via the social media where their winning entry was placed.

Opening night of The Stage Door’s production of “Clue the Musical” is quickly approaching.  And true to the Parker Brothers board game, a murder has been committed.  And just as in the board game, it is up to the players (or in this case, the audience) to follow the clues and solve the murder.

However, in the board game version, the players simply know and understand that a murder has been committed and proceed from there.  In this stage adaptation, the murder victim, Mr. Boddy, spends Act I introducing the audience to all of the murder suspects and helps to enact scenarios that provide a “clue” as to why they might want him dead.  At the end of Act I the dastardly deed is committed.

Act II – enter the capable detective to sort out the clues and decipher who among the suspects (who all wanted the demise of Mr. Boddy), actually committed the act.  There’s just one problem . . . there’s no body!  It is completely agreed that Mr. Boddy was murdered, but his actual corpse cannot be found!  Gasp!!  Perhaps the reason for that is because Mr. Boddy keeps popping up all through Act II helping the detective interrogate her suspects and making sure she gets needed information, etc.  Mr. Body may be somewhat of a scoundrel, but in this case, it is literally impossible to keep his body down . . . and dead!!

“Clue the Musical,” written by Peter DePietro, is under the capable direction of Kelly Harris.  With witty lyrics by Tom Chiodo and interesting music by Galen Blum, Wayne Barker, and Vinnie Martucci, musical direction by Michelle Lloyd has been an experience.

Says Ms. Lloyd, “This is certainly not the recognizable songs from shows like ‘The Sound of Music’ or ‘Oklahoma!,’ but I think the audience will find the music enjoyable and the cast’s performance hilarious.”

Adds director Harris, “As the cast is able to put their scripts aside and immerse themselves into their characters more and more, I can see where they are going to start ‘one-upping’ each other which will put the end result out in the stratosphere somewhere.  I’m very excited to see where their talent takes the show.”

Mr. Boddy and the detective are portrayed by somewhat of a Stage Door newcomer and one of the theater’s favorite actresses.

J.P. Jordan (Mr. Boddy) was just introduced to The Stage Door audience in the recent “Cheaper by the Dozen” where he played the “older” Frank Gilbreth, Jr.  An attorney by day, J.P. is no stranger to the stage having performed at the Preservation Playhouse in Guthrie while in college.  One of his characters was “Elvis” in a musical variety show entitled “Country Cool and Classic.”  Maybe Mr. Boddy will do a little “Elvis” for the audience!!  J.P. says he has been diagnosed with having an irregularly thick skull . . . perhaps that’s why his character doesn’t stay down!!

The hard-nosed detective is played by Allison Penn, a Stage Door regular and audience favorite.  Allison is not sure whether her popularity stems from her acting or the characters she plays.  Some of her roles include the clueless Audrey in “Little Shop of Horrors,” a ‘walker’ in “Through the Cracked Mirror,” a dominatrix call-girl in “No Sex please, We’re British,” and a promiscuous wife in “Till Death Do us Part.”  Well, those who may be worried about her moral compass will be happy to know that not only is she a respectable character in this show, she actually spurns the advances of one of the suspects.

“Clue the Musical” opens November 2 at 7:30 p.m.  Other show dates are November 3, 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. and November 4 and 11 at 2:00 p.m.

 Tickets are $9.00 in advance or $12.00 at the door.

“Clue the Musical” is being funded in part by a grant from the OAC and NEA.

The Stage Door hosts 3^rd annual “A Funny Thing”

“Last Comic Standing” style entertainment one night only on October 13

The Stage Door’s 3^rd Annual “A Funny Thing” will tickle the funny bones of audience members beginning at 7:30 p.m. on October 13^th.

Loosely resembling the popular “Last Comic Standing,” several aspiring comedians from in and around the metro and Tulsa areas will perform 5-7 minute monologues of their humorous material.  Then, the microphone will be handed to as many as two volunteers from the audience who think they have what it takes to make people laugh.  After all comedians have performed, the panel of elite judges will narrow down the group to the top 3-5 contestants and they will come back and perform a 3-minute segment to vie for the prize of 1) bragging rights, 2) a co-hosting gig at The Stage Door’s 5^th annual Golden Door Awards and Gala in June, and 3) a beautiful crystal trophy.

The Stage Door is proud that this has become such a popular event.  It gives aspiring comics a chance to hone their skills in a non-bar atmosphere, and because the theater asks all material to be PG-13 rated or less, it is a wonderful family outing.

All those who have questions or wish to throw their hats in the ring to perform can do so by contacting “A Funny Thing” organizer/emcee, Kelly Hilburn at kellyisok@sbcglobal.net.  There is no charge for the participants.

Tickets are $7.00 each.  Tickets may be purchased on the theater’s website at www.stagedooryukon.com, or by calling the theater at 265-1590 (leave a message) or at the door.  There is no reserved seating for this event.

So, bring the kids, load up the grandparents, and don’t forget to invite your friends and neighbors as well!!  Caravan to The Stage Door at 601 Oak Street where the laughs will be prolific and the enjoyment will be abundant!!  Say, did you hear the one about . . .