End of the Season

I can't believe it's August already! This summer has flown by so fast...I guess it just goes to show what a good time I have been having here at Saint Michael's Playhouse! Tonight begins the second week of performances of Always, Patsy Cline at the Playhouse, and this week is almost entirely sold out. Get your tickets now for this heartwarming musical featuring all your favorite Patsy Cline hits, based off a true story about a Patsy Cline fan who had the chance to meet her star.
Driving the story of this friendship is Sarah Carleton, UVM professor and a familiar face at the Playhouse, in the role of Louise, who exchanged letters with Patsy for years after meeting her one eventful night. Lucy Sorensen hits home as Patsy Cline herself, a sweet country girl belting those tunes away. Accompanying Sorensen is a 6-piece country band, a glossy set designed by Tim Case, and vibrant lights from John Wylie. Performances run Tuesday to Saturday, 8pm with a 2pm matinee on Saturday.

Also in the area that I recently had the privilege of seeing was Lucky Stiff performed by the Commons Group at the Skinner Barn in Waitsfield, Vermont. Having worked there for two summers starting in 2007, it was strange to be a guest at the Skinner Barn, but I was very excited to attend and enjoy a musical I was not familiar with. The Commons Group, as always, stunned me with their professionalism and sheer talent. Lucky Stiff is the story of Harry Witherspoon, played by recent UVM graduate Matt Trollinger, who comes into a windfall inheritance with one condition: he must go on vacation to Monte Carlo and take the body of his uncle along for the ride. With this twist comes hilarity and confusion as Witherspoon is followed by Annabel Glick (played by Micaela Mendicino) to make sure he completes all the activities laid out in his uncle's will. The seductive role of Dominique Du Monaco was played by Taryn Noelle; Peter Boynton played the mysterious guide and plot twister Luigi Gaudi. With a tremendous performance by Kris Holz as Vinnie De Ruzzio and Mary Wheeler as Rita La Porter, as well as a variety of roles and scene change effectors such as Doug Bergstein, Judy Milstein, Karl Klein, Michael Halloran, and Emma Walker, the audience was captivated from start to finish.

One of my favorite things about shows at the Skinner Barn is the way the set connects the story and provides an acting space that is thoroughly danced, jumped, and trampled on without needing to be location-specific. And as always, the beautiful Vermont air at the Barn was a refreshing change of pace from 8+ weeks of hard work at the Saint Michael's Playhouse.