1999

Amish Acres: A Grand Night for Singing

By Angela Pletcher-Stillson

As the century draws nearer to its grand finale, the appearance of lists documenting the most important events of the 1900s seems inevitable. In the theatre world, no event has had a longer lasting effec than the emergence of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II as a songwriting team of musical plays. Their musical contribution to the century is now being chronicled in an evening of song, dance, and romance titled A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING at the Round Barn Theatre at Amish Acres. The professional repertory theatre in Nappanee unveiled the revue on Thursday April 22, 1999, and it will run in repertory with PLAIN & FANCY through October 28.

Fifty-five years since their debut and over three decades after Rodgers' and Hammersteins' final Broadway show THE SOUND OF MUSIC closed, Walter Bobbie brought GRAND NIGHT to Broadway in 1994, garnering two Tony nominations, including Best Musical. Thirty songs made famous by the collaborators in eleven Broadway shows are woven together, many in new lights. For example, the familiar "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" from OKLAHOMA! became a very successful introduction line for a handsome young suitor; "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" from THE SOUND OF MUSIC is no longer sung by a group of disgruntled nuns, but by a very young boy trying to cope with the arrival of his baby sister; the haunting "It Might As Well Be Spring" from STATE FAIR becomes an expression of the private neurosis of a psychiatrist.

Seven performers, all members of the Round Barn resident acting company, perform the numbers which feature selections from all of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway, motion picture, and television scores. The actors who were selected from past ensembles and nationally held auditions are Jennifer Cousin, Margaret Eilertson, Lindsay Genshaft, Benjamin Green, Brian Madrigal, Jason Miller, and Scott Saegesser. They are supported by Robert Geils and Marcia Sofley, who play two cupid-like characters who control the evening's festivities.

Staging for the show has been provided by artistic director Jerry O'Boyle and resident choreographer Jessica Harrigan Texidor, with addition staging by guest choreographer Susan Harrigan and Scott Saegesser, an artistic associate and cast member who also provides costumes for the piece. Musical director Ryan Claus is joined by accompanist Kay Johnson and cellist Sara Dorian in the orchestra loft. Technical director Dave Waterman, sound designer Timothy Bennett, and lighting designer M. Andre' Huff are responsible for creating the atmosphere for each of the musical selections.