Perfectly timed for Halloween, it's Bat Boy -- The Musical, and it's coming soon to your favorite community theatre!!

The story follows Edgar, the half-boy, half-bat title character, who is discovered living in a cave and the ensuing attempt to integrate him with the townsfolk of Hope Falls, West Virginia. What follows is a wild and wicked adventure that veers from manically farcical to deeply tragic--and often times both at once--while addressing some heavy themes, such as acceptance, racism, hypocrisy, and forgiveness.

The musical defies easy categorization, but has garnered significant public recognition. It received nods as the best Off-Broadway musical by both the Lucille Lortel Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award in 2001 for Best Off-Broadway Musical and was declared by the New York Post to be an "instant classic." The New York Times, referring to this show, said: "It's remarkable what intelligent wit can accomplish, even within an outlandish frame."

Under the direction of Barb Nichols, the cast features Shea Coffman in the title role of Edger the "Bat Boy," Kipp Simmons as Dr. Parker, Stasha Case as Meredith, Shelby Floyd as Shelley, and Jake Borowski as the Sheriff. Musical direction is by Martha Risser and includes a panoply of good tunes and palpitating rhythms, including pop, rock, tango, gospel, country, and even rap. The production runs Oct. 26-28, Nov. 2-4, and Nov. 9-11. Be sure to mark your calendars now and plan to attend our upcoming production of Bat Boy -- The Musical. It'll have you bobbing your head in time with a catchy show tune one minute, then gagging as Bat Boy plunges his fangs into some helpless creature the next. No matter your age, this show will have you shaking your head and laughing despite yourself.

Remember, it's all "bloody fun," so come on out and join us this Halloween!!

Those first few sultry notes from the saxophone transported audiences to the smoky, hard-boiled world of classic film noir for the production of The City of Angels, winner of six Tony Awards, including best musical, score, and book, and also winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best musical. Set in Los Angeles of the 1940s, the show follows Stine, a Hollywood screenwriter busily working on his first film adaptation, and Stone, his gumshoe detective character. Starring Travis Murray as Stine and George Guastello as Stone, the show used special lighting effects (by Eric Loffland) to differentiate between the real world of the screenwriter and the "reel" world of the flat foot detective. That theatrical trick helped audiences better follow the parallel story lines of this complex movie-within-a-play-within-a-musical that boasts many plot twists and turns, red herrings, and false identities.

The show's presentation of two interrelated stories required most of the cast to take on two (or more) roles. Joining Murray and Guastello with outstanding performances were first-time Barn Player Kristin Leathers in the dual roles of Stine's wife Gabby and Stone's love-interest Bobbi; Eryn Hamer as Stine's long-suffering gal pal Donna and Oolie, Stone's dependable "Girl Friday"; and Laura Jacobs as screen siren Carla Haywood and as the show's leading femme fatale Alaura Kingsley.

"This show is, in my opinion, one of the most challenging musicals to produce. From an acting perspective, it was sometimes difficult to keep track of where you were during the story," said Murray. "However, the writing is brilliantly done, and that makes it so much easier in terms of telling the story."

Leathers and Hamer agreed.

"The two roles definitely stretched me artistically--especially reconciling two characters who were so different from one another," said Leathers. "By finding the tragedy in Bobbi, she became more real for me. I think the shift in reality between the characters is what helped keep them separate but related."

"I knew it would be a challenge to convey two different characters, but that's part of what drew me to the script," said Hamer. "There are differences in the characters, but each gets to take on their own personality traits, which resulted in far more complicated personas than distinctly different caricatures. It was a very enjoyable process fleshing out these lush and sumptuous people."

Amidst the antics, audiences had the opportunity to see the movie played out scene-by-scene, with characters from both sides of the story colliding as the stories intertwined, and the lines between reality and fiction blurred, ending in a full Technicolor finale, with choreography by Andrew Brian Simmons.

"There was so much talent in our cast," Murray stated. "It was a pleasure to be a part of this show."

With the holiday season approaching, your favorite community theatre is bringing something special to the stage -- the wickedly tongue-in-cheek, slapstick comedy Inspecting Carol. You'll never think of Ebenezer Scrooge the same way again when we're through with you!

Inspecting Carol is both a tribute to and a send-up of the various catastrophes and triumphs shared by nonprofit arts organizations everywhere and is a virtual attack upon the perennial seasonal classic, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, turning that family favorite on its head.

The hilarious and wildly entertaining hit was written by Tony-winning Broadway director Daniel Sullivan and was first performed in collaboration with the Seattle Repertory Theater Company. The show depicts the zaniness that ensues when a man auditioning for a small theatre is somehow mistaken for an informer from the National Endowment for the Arts. As the cast and crew cater to his every whim, audiences are treated to a raucous, over-the-top comedy packed with dozens of laugh-out-loud lines.

The production runs 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, December 7, 8, 14, and 15, with Sunday matinee performances at 2:00 p.m. on December 9 and 16. The production is directed by Nino Casisi.

Mark your calendars now and be sure to include one of the upcoming performances of Inspecting Carol in your plans for this holiday season.

To paraphrase Tiny Tim: God help us, everyone!!

BECOME A "FRIEND" TO THE BARN PLAYERS THEATRE!

The heart of any community theatre is its base of volunteers, contributors, and sponsors. That means your support is absolutely essential to our mission of providing quality theatre for our community. That's why we hope you'll participate in our newest fundraising effort and become a friend of The Barn Players Theatre, using any of these six "friends" categories:

You'll notice new donation/gift envelopes in our programs. Please help support The Barn Players! Your donation/gift is completely tax deductible and directly supports our efforts to bring you the very best in local community theatre.

--Board of Directors--

Eric Magnus, President
Beate Pettigrew, Artistic Director
Nancy Wallerstein, Vice President
Michael Ruth, Treasurer
Vida Bikales, Secretary
Cecelia Baty -- Casey Carl -- Ross Harmon
Mandy Lagoski -- Frank Robertson -- Susie Rowland

It's hard to believe that we've almost reached the end of the year. And what an incredible season 2007 has been for the Barn! And we still have two amazing offerings left before we've finished this season, with Bat Boy -- The Musical opening October 26 and Inspecting Carol opening on December 7. You won't want to miss them, so mark your calendars now and be sure to reserve your seats for both shows. Better yet, grab your friends and neighbors and make it a night out: entertainment at the Barn and a bite to eat at Lucky's Bar & Grill, one of our newest Barn sponsors!

As you know, the Barn is committed to providing the very best value for your entertainment dollars. Our 2008 line-up supports that commitment by brining you such diverse offerings as the family favorite You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Shakespeare's classic tragedy Macbeth; the rocking musical The Who's Tommy; and the Gothic-inspired Jekyll & Hyde, just to name a few. For your best value of all, purchase a Barn Players Multi-Pass so that you can reserve your seat for all the upcoming productions!

Finally, I'm thrilled to report that the Board of Directors has elected Eric Magnus as its President. In addition to being a fine theatre artist (as both actor and director), Eric brings experience, passion, and a commitment to the Barn's mission of being the best community theatre in the area, and I know he will provide strong leadership to the Board in the year ahead. I wish him all the best, and look forward to working with him.

And--last but not least--I am excited to say the Barn has expanded its performance space through a permanent extension to our stage. The added eight feet of performance space will not only increase our flexibility, but will enable us to dedicate use of our risers for much-needed audience seating. Many, many thanks to the Barn's Technical Director Bill Wright for his work on this important project!!