My pal Dave Lavender offers up an excellent (and comprehensive) story about this summer's theatre offerings in our area, which you can read right here:
Like fireflies dancing in a mid-summer night’s dream, actors are lighting up the stage and the night at amphitheaters all over the region.
From southern Kentucky’s famous Jenny Wiley Theatre where such famed actors as Michael Cerveris, Sharon Lawrence and Randy Jones of the Village People cut their acting teeth to Tecumseh, the cannon-blasting, horse-dashing drama that has drawn in more than one million people to the Sugarloaf Mountain in Chillicothe, Ohio, our area is rich with outdoor theater history.
Get out the Sharpie, pack the picnic and the bug spray, here’s a look at the outdoor theater schedule for summer 2010.
Red Lion Theatre
THE SHOWS: Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Musical, a modern take on the age-old love potion gone wrong tale wrapped in ‘80s pop and rock music.
WHERE: Greenbo Lake State Resort Park Amphitheater in Greenup, Ky.
THE SCHEDULE: 8:05 p.m. Sunday, June 6, and 8:05 p.m. June 10-13. Red Lion will also stage Pippin at Greenbo at 8 p.m., Aug. 12-15.
HOW MUCH: $12 and $10 seniors and students. Dinner theater tickets for the KYOVA weekend are an additional $10.
TICKETS: For more information or to make reservations for the dinner theatre weekend, call 606-571-6478 or visit www.redliontc.org.
ON THE WEB: Go online at www.redliontc.org.
WHAT ELSE: Greenbo Lake State Resort Park is home to a lake that offers fishing and boat rentals. There is also a swimming pool with a water slide, 18-hole mini golf, campgrounds, a lodge, hiking and biking trails and more.
Also, Red Lion will do a special dinner theater weekend of the show at KYOVA Tri-State Mall at 8:05 p.m. June 17-19, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 20.
Huntington Outdoor Theatre
THE SHOWS: The timeless musical Annie.
WHERE: Ritter Park Amphitheater
THE SCHEDULE: Annie will be performed at 8:30 p.m. on July 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25, and 30 through Aug. 1.
HOW MUCH: $15, seniors (65 and older) and children (5 to 12) are $13. Children under 5 get in free. Group tickets are $13. All tickets include an additional $1 park surcharge.
TICKETS: At the Big Sandy Superstore Arena and at the Ritter Park amphitheater starting at 6 p.m. day of show.
GETTING THERE: The amphitheater is located in the hills of Ritter Park beyond the tennis courts and the rose garden.
ON THE WEB: Go online at www.hotwv.org.
WHAT ELSE: The amphitheater opens at 6:30 nightly. Each night at 7 p.m. there will be pre-show entertainment. The main show begins at 8:30 p.m.
The Aracoma Story
THE SHOWS: Always ... Patsy Cline, the musical about the life and death of the late country music singer, Patsy Cline. The show is based on a true story about Cline’s friendship with a fan from Houston named Louise Seger, who befriended the star in a Texas honky-tonk in l961 and continued a correspondence with Cline until her death.
Aracoma Story — Spirits and Legends, the newly modernized telling of the classic love story of Shawnee princess Aracoma and a pioneer Boling Baker, a scout with the U.S. Army captured by Chief Cornstalk and rescued from death by Cornstalk’s daughter Aracoma.
Jungle Book Kids, the classic Disney musical starring Mowgli the human and his jungle full of funky animal friends.
WHERE: Chief Logan State Park’s Liz Spurlock Amphitheater
THE SCHEDULE: Always... Patsy Cline runs June 15 through July 3. Show nights are 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
The Aracoma Story — Spirits and Legends runs July 20 through Aug. 7, and Jungle Book Kids runs Aug. 10-15.
HOW MUCH: For “Patsy Cline” and “Aracoma Story,” advance tickets are $11, $9 for senior citizens and $8 for children under 12. For Disney’s “Jungle Book Kids,” tickets are $10, and $8 for children under 12. Add $1 per ticket if you buy them at the gate.
GET TIX: To purchase tickets by phone using Visa or MasterCard call 304-752-0253. Group rates available for advance ticket purchases by phone for groups of 15 or more. The box office opens nightly at 7:30 p.m.
ON THE WEB: Go online at www.loganshows.com or www.thearacomastory.com.
WHAT ELSE: One of West Virginia’s busiest state parks, Chief Logan is an oasis in the heart of Logan with a swimming pool, a wildlife center, miniature golf, tennis, basketball, fishing, 18 miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking, and nearby is the new Chief Logan Lodge as well as the extensive Hatfield and McCoy Trail. Go online at www.chiefloganstatepark.com.
Theatre West Virginia
THE SHOWS: Celebrating its 50th season, Theatre West Virginia is putting on four shows this summer: Hatfields and McCoys, Honey in the Rock, (about the founding of West Virginia), Footloose and Willy Wonka.
WHERE: The Cliffside Amphitheater at Grandview, located just off of I-64 in Beckley, W.Va.
THE SCHEDULE: “Hatfields” runs June 8 - Aug. 22; “Honey” runs June 8 through Aug. 22; “Footloose” runs July 6 through Aug. 20; and “Wonka” runs Aug. 3-21.
HOW MUCH:$17, $15 for seniors and AAA members, children under 12 $9 or free per child sitting on a lap. Also a 20-percent discount is given to groups with 15 or more members.
GET TIX: Ticket orders are taken 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 304-256-6800 or toll free at 1-800-666-9142. Between June 10 and Aug. 24, ticket orders will be taken by phone with extended hours Tuesdays through Fridays (up to 7:45 p.m.), as well 10 am. to 7:45 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 7:45 p.m. Sundays.
ON THE WEB: Go online at www.theatrewestvirginia.com.
WHAT ELSE: There will be a fundraising concert for Theatre West Virginia on Friday, Aug. 27 with oldies rock band, Phil Dirt and the Dozers. Tickets are $15 advance or $20 at the door.
Also, Theatre West Virginia’s home, Grandview, is part of the New River Gorge National River. Check out panoramic views of the New River, 1,400 feet above the river, overlooking the town of Quinnimont, where the first coal was shipped out of the gorge in 1873. Grandview is home to many miles of trails, as well as picnic shelters, a playground and basketball courts. Go online at www.nps.gov/neri
GET IN FREE: All current West Virginia residents can bring a staple food item or a back-to-school supply item to be donated to a local charity Helping Hands, and get in free for the closing night show of Honey in the Rock on Sunday, Aug. 22.
Tecumseh!
THE SHOW: Tecumseh! The Ultimate Outdoor Drama Experience. “Witness the epic life story of the legendary Shawnee leader as he struggles to defend his sacred homelands in the Ohio country during the late 1700s on a huge outdoor stage with live horses, live military cannon in action and battle scenes. Seen by more than 1 million people, this professionally produced outdoor drama is written by seven-time Pulitzer Prize nominee and Emmy recipient, Allan W. Eckert. The score was recorded exclusively by the London Symphony Orchestra and its narration sequences recorded by Native American actor Graham Greene.
WHERE: Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheater in Chillicothe, Ohio
THE SCHEDULE: June 11 through Sept. 4. Show time is 8 p.m.
HOW MUCH: $22.95 and $15.95 per child (10 and younger). The show is not recommended for children ages six and under due to some violent content and loud battle scenes.
GET TIX: Call toll free 866-775-0700.
ON THE WEB: Go online at www.tecumsehdrama.com.
WHAT ELSE: California resident and Jesse Stuart Foundation author, Allan W. Eckert will attend the Saturday, June 12 performance and do a book-signing.
Also, regular extras include a Behind-the Scenes Tour at 4 and 5 p.m., on show nights. Cost is $4 or $3 per child 10 and younger. There is a mini museum in cooperation with the Ohio Historical Society. It is open 5 to 7:45 p.m. and is free. There is also restaurant on-site, The Terrace Buffet is $12.50 and $7.50 for kids.
There is a meet and greet immediately following the performance.
Jenny Wiley Theatre
THE SHOWS: Mid-Life Crisis: The Musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jack and the Beanstalk.
WHERE: Jenny Wiley Theatre amphitheater inside Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in Prestonsburg, Ky.
THE SCHEDULE: “Mid-Life” runs June 11 through July 23; “Cinderella” runs June 26 through July 24; “Joseph” runs July 31 through Aug. 14 and “Jack” runs July 13 through Aug. 10.
HOW MUCH: Tickets for “Cinderella” and “Joseph” are $24 and $20, $18 and $24 for seniors and $11 and $15 for youth. Overflow seating (only available Friday and Saturday) is $15 for adults or seniors and $9 for youth. “Jack and the Beanstalk” ticket are $12 adults and seniors and $8 for youth.
"Mid-Life Crisis" tickets (all inside the Wilkinson/Stumbo Convention Center) are $24, $20 or $40 with meals. Seniors tickets are $24 and $18 and for youth, $11 and $15.
GET TIX: Call 877-Call-JWT (877-225-5598).
ON THE WEB: Go online at www.jwtheatre.com.
WHAT ELSE: Jenny Wiley State Resort Park is home to Dewey Lake, which has pontoon boat rentals. There’s also 10 miles of hiking trails, a 9-hole golf course, lodge pool, the 49-room May Lodge, one and two-bedroom cottages and the Country Music Highway Grill.
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