Best Summer Stock Theater — Page 2

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#26

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 8/19/07 at 3:42pm

Goodspeed
North Shore
Music theatre of Wichita
Pappermill
PCLO

A LOT OF THEATRES IN CHICAGO ARE GREAT FOR WORK

if you buy the backstage actors handbook to regional theatre , which is an amazing book there are tons of places which you can look into and the whole book give you a rundown

"what? what is it? do i have something in my teeth? ok lets get this over with : no im not seasick,yes ive always been green, and no i didnt chew grass as a child "

#27

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 12:28am

Theatre-by-the-Sea in Matunuck, RI
Weston Playhouse, Weston VT

#28

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 12:51am

Buck's County Playhouse and Pittsburgh CLO.

#29

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 12:53am

Pittsburgh CLO, North Shore, and the St. Louis MUNY are extremely popular with college kids.

Updated On: 4/10/08 at 12:53 AM

#30

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 1:00am

Totem Pole Playhouse in Caledonia, Pennsylvania. For years, it was run by Jean Stapleton and her husband William Putch (she appeared in many of the productions.) The theatre and the housing are located in a beautiful state park with a river running through it--it's the most leisurely, serene atmosphere for a theatre I've ever seen. The productions (it's an Equity house) are fairly conventional, but each one is top-of-the-line, with amazing sets and marvellous personnel. And the rehearsal process is almost always free of ego and friction. How many theatres can make THAT claim?

I ask in all honesty/What would life be?/Without a song and a dance, what are we?/So I say "Thank you for the music/For giving it to me."

#31

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 9:53am

College students want to work where they can join Equity (and then half of them never work again, because they shouldn't have joined Equity so soon). It has very little to do with the quality of the work.

There's a difference between theatres with a lot of money and good theatres.

The Barn in Michigan is a terrible place to work--I can't even believe Equity allows it--like Bartending at intermission of the show you are in. How is that allowed by Equity? They hire people, and then they make you re-audition for each show when you get there. So you could end up parking cars all summer. And the shows are totally mediocre, anyway.

And the MUNY does big shows with close to zero artistic value, IMHO.

Also--summerstock theatres only operate in the summer. There are a lot of good ones out there, all over the country. A lot of the places these people are talking about operate year-round, or at least 9-10 months out of the year.

#32

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 2:59pm

"Also--summerstock theatres only operate in the summer. There are a lot of good ones out there, all over the country. A lot of the places these people are talking about operate year-round, or at least 9-10 months out of the year."

- Some operate as both. In summer they are an in-residence summer stock company and in the spring and fall the theatre opens its doors to touring companies.

#33

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 3:14pm

This may be a tad off the topic, but I must throw in a plug for the now-defunct St. John Terrell's Music Circus in Lambertville, NJ. It operated from 1949 - 1973, but the 50's were its heyday. Any musical that opened on Broadway would be performed there subsequent to its Broadway run and, to fill in the gaps, they went back to the 20s and 30s for their shows. How else could a 6-year-old kid in those days have seen Rio Rita, Hit the Deck, The Firefly, Roberta, The Boys from Syracuse, Desert Song, Merry Widow, The Student Prince, Countess Maritza, etc.? And this to fill in for newly-closed Broadway shows -- not only the South Pacifics and the Pajama Games, but rarities like Me and Juliet and By the Beautiful Sea? The leads were always Equity, usually having performed in the original runs in NYC. It was wonderful and I owe my passion for the musical theatre -- any variety -- to that very special. Time machine, anybody?

BroadwayEd

#34

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 3:19pm

I saw Johnny Guitar at the Theater Barn in NY. Loved it :)

"But I can tell you that Raoul, who was so handsome in "The Phantom," is now a drunken wreck."

#35

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 3:24pm

I too, have worked at the New London Barn Playhouse

#36

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 6:03pm

Have to agree that a theatre that presents shows year round is not a summer stock theatre.

Now Sacramento's Music Circus is summer stock because their summer productions are all self-produced in the round and is distinctly different from their "Broadway" season which is in a proscenium house and includes mostly tours. But Paper Mill - sorry - not a summer stock theatre. North Shore - sorry - not a summer stock theatre. You could hardly call Kansas City Starlight summer stock. 3 out of 5 shows each summer are tours generally. Another one is brought in from Atlanta or somewhere. They usually only produce 1 show. That does not cut the true definition of summer stock which is a single company, producing show after show on top of show. Usually only the leads change and they are working with the same ensemble.

That does not prevent Paper Mill, North Shore, and Starlight from being great theatres but they are hardly "summer stock" in the truest definition of the words.

#37

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 9:01pm

Well Amalou, i think you're a bit biased for obvious reasons. The video I saw was iffy.

#38

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/10/08 at 9:06pm

Starlight Theater at Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL.

Doing Millie, Jonah (New Musical, Little Shop, and The Wiz this summer.

Starlight paid for the orchestrations for Gepetto last year and had the world premiere of the music and show there.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I? I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

#39

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/19/08 at 5:23pm

Is there an online site and forum that covers summer theatre (and summer stock) exclusively?

I did a site search and an article about the Mountain Playhouse stated that it was one of "only 10 remaining resident summer stock theaters in the United States".

Is this true, are there only 10 ? I'm planning an X country road trip and would like to "hit" as many as possible.

#40

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/19/08 at 9:28pm

That can't be true! I can think of ten off the top of my head. at least I think I can. PM me for more names.

#41

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 4/19/08 at 9:38pm

I'm so glad this thread was resurrected! It's been great to here about all these theaters I didn't know existed. And I will pick up that Backstage guide, I think it could really help me out.

#42

re: Best Summer Stock Theater

Posted: 1/6/13 at 5:25pm

Let's re-resurrect this thread!

"These rabid fans...possess the acting talent to portray the hooker...Linda Eder..." -The New York Times

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