Tickets for Broadway Bash IX: A Traveling Show are ON SALE NOW! Broadway Bash IX will run from on Jan 27 (8 pm), Jan 28 (8 pm) and Jan 29 (2 pm) at The Refinery in Saskatoon. Tickets available at McNally Robinson (306-955-3599).
Tickets are also available at On The Boards box office (ontheboards.ca, (306) 653-5191).
Click here for more information.
If we include the sponsorship of the non-musical play, Walsh, it will mean that next year will mark our 40th year and our 50th production! So how did it all begin? Until the end of the fifties, the University staged a major musical production at the Capitol Theatre; for various reasons this was discontinued and that was that for amateur musical theatre in Saskatoon. At that time, Knox United Church was sponsoring some adventurous projects including a Concert Series that attracted some famous performers. A core group of individuals promoted these activities: Darby and Ellen Gaunt, Walt and Darlene Cherry, Vi and Doug Morrow, Nancy and Burt McReath and pianist Garth Becket together with the organist from St John's, Ted Reed. When Lawrence Ritchie, choir director of Knox United Church, floated the idea of doing a musical - Oklahoma! - this enterprising and capable production team was at hand. They were used to taking risks to put on concerts and knew all about needing money for ticket printing, advertising and sales and booking a performance venue. These ten people used their business connections to persuade a bank manager to let them co-sign a loan for $1000.00.
In addition, they decided that each one of them would approach 10 businesses and sell ads for $10.00. They met their goal and that gave them another $1000.00. Finally, Doug Morrow, as manager of Labatts Brewery, talked the company into a $600.00 donation! Add to this mix two new Knox members, Bev and Ian Sisetki, who were enthusiastic supporters: Bev had her eye on the part of Ado Annie and Ian was easily persuaded to produce the show.
The first ad for auditions for "Summer Players" came as a complete surprise to the avid theatre group operating in Saskatoon under various guises. Bill and Pat Heighes, Dennis Beerling and Jake Ens were among those who turned out eagerly hoping to be part of this production. Bud Stilling agreed to work on crew and the result was a core of experienced theatre types who could lend their expertise to the project. Ellen Gaunt was not fazed by the job of costuming the show and Bill Heighes was eager to design and build the set.
Unfortunately, Lawrence Ritchie proved to be a very unorthodox director and the musical came close to floundering with just a couple of weeks to opening. It was clear to him and to us that he was not going to be able to get it ready in time. But we had a resource that we knew could pull everything together - Bob Hinitt! A delegation approached Bob and he was only too ready to step in and help out. Gary Gullickson and Marge Jamieson were the able accompanists and the show received glowing reviews. Enough money was made to pay off the loans and think in terms of another show in the future. At the meeting to decide this future, Bill Heighes volunteered Pat Heighes as director for South Pacific and made the annual musical a sure thing. But something else contributed very strongly to the continuation of the tradition: Bob Hinitt designed, and persuaded the school board to build, Castle Theatre at Aden Bowman Collegiate. Summer Players had a permanent venue worthy of full-scale musicals and Bob set the standard with Oliver! as the first musical at Castle Theatre. Since then, we have never missed a year and in some years done two shows including a series of Christmas shows at the Centennial auditorium. If you have had the fun of performing in a Summer Players' musical, I hope you will be inspired by the efforts that went into starting the company and that are needed each year to stage the show to consider doing a stint on the production side.