Author: Tom

March 2016

Moon Over Buffalo will be a real audience pleaser!
By Sharon Benchoff, Director

If you love theatre (and obviously you do or you would not be receiving this Newsletter) you are in for a wonderful treat when you attend a performance of Moon Over Buffalo.
The play takes place in the Green Room of a theater in Buffalo, New York before the matinee performance. You will have a glimpse of what can go horribly wrong just prior to the curtain rising.
Carol Burnett was coaxed back to Broadway when she read the script. The play takes place in 1953 just as television is coming into every living room in America and Tours of Broadway productions are declining. But never fear, this is not a sad drama but rather a comical look of what life on the road can be.
There will be plenty of doors slamming while wild misunderstandings complicate matters. One such misunderstanding? How about the lead does not know which production, Cyrano DeBergerac or Private Lives will be performed in ten minutes?
If you attended Laughing Stock or Tom, Dick & Harry, you know I love to direct comedies, but really witty, action based comedies.
When I read Moon Over Buffalo I laughed out loud, which is usually a sign that it will be an audience pleaser. I have a wonderful, talented cast who can’t wait for you to come and see the show and have as much fun as they are having in rehearsals.
Performance dates are April 22–23 and April 29–30.
I hope to see you there!

The cast of Moon Over Buffalo
George Hay: Pete Evans
Charlotte Hay: Stephanie Davis
Roz: Megan Davis
Paul: Matt Hatfield
Ethel: Robin Finley
Richard: Matt Bogdan
Howard: Seth Brady
Eileen: Lilia Dobos

Auditions for Mary Poppins
Auditions for Mary Poppins will be held at Christ UM Church, 211 Phillip Morris Drive, Salisbury on:
Monday, March 28 at 7 PM
Tuesday, March 29 at 7 PM
Wednesday, March 30 at 7 PM
See page 2 of this newsletter for information on auditions, characters, and who to contact.

Mary Poppins is coming in June
By Joe Benamati, Director
“The winds are changing!” and that can mean only one thing, Mary Poppins is on her way. Community Players will fly this beloved musical into Wicomico High School on June 17, 18, 19, 24, and 25.
Auditions will be at Christ UM Church, 211 Phillip Morris Drive, at 7 PM on March 28, 29, and 30.
This show is full of singing and dancing, so everyone will need to sing and dance during auditions. You will need to arrive prepared to sing 18 measures of a Broadway style, published, work which is NOT from Mary Poppins or any other Disney production. Please choose something which highlights your vocal qualities. Remember, sometimes ‘Popular’ tunes don’t ‘Show off’ the range of your vocal talent.
The cast has twenty-two named characters and a “Dancing Ensemble” made up of chimney sweeps, towns people, and servants. Which makes it a practically perfect size. Everyone speaks with a British accent, (either Cockney or Received Pronunciation) except three who speak in German, Northern English, and Caribbean.
Whether we see you at auditions (March 28, 29, and 30) or we see you at the show (June 17, 18, 19, 24, and 25) we’re sure you’ll have a supercalifragilistic time!

Mary Poppins audition information

Auditions will be held at Christ UM Church at 211 Phillip Morris Drive on Monday, March 28, Tuesday, March 29, Wednesday, March 30 at 7:00 PM.
MARY POPPINS: Jane and Michael Banks’s new nanny. She is extraordinary and strange, neat and tidy, delightfully vain yet very particular, and sometimes a little frightening but always exciting. She should be able to move well. Must not be afraid of heights. Female.
BERT: The narrator of the story, is a good friend to Mary Poppins. He has charm, speaks with a Cockney accent, and is a strong song-and-dance-man. Must not be afraid of heights. Male.
GEORGE BANKS: The father to Jane and Michael, he thinks he is a banker to the very fiber of his being. Demanding “precision and order” in his household, he doesn’t have much to do with his children and believes that he had the perfect upbringing by his nanny, Miss Andrew. Male.
WINIFRED BANKS: George’s wife and Jane and Michael’s mother. A former actress, she is a loving and distracted homemaker who is busy trying to live up to her husband’s desire to only associate with “the best people” as well as be a model wife and mother. Female.
MICHAEL BANKS: Cute and cheeky. Excitable. Naughty. Adores his Father and tries to be like him. Must be able to sing and have basic dance. Must look and act younger than Jane.
JANE BANKS: The high-spirited daughter is bright and precocious but can be willful and inclined to snobbishness. Female, Must look and act older than Michael.
MRS. BRILL: The housekeeper and cook for the Banks family. Her intimidating exterior is a cover for the warmth underneath. Mrs. Brill doesn’t have a high opinion of nannies in general and Mary Poppins in particular. A strong comedic actress. Female.
MISS ANDREW: George’s overbearing and scary nanny. With her bottle of nasty-tasting brimstone and treacle to keep naughty children in line, she is a bully who only knows one way of doing things - her way. Also part of the Ensemble.
ROBERTSON AY: The houseboy to the Banks family. Lazy, sleepy, and grumbling, he never gets things right and believes himself to be useless. Male.
ADMIRAL BOOM: A neighbor of the Banks family. A physically large man with a loud and booming voice, he speaks in Navy jargon and has a soft spot for his neighbor, Miss Lark.
BANK CHAIRMAN: The head of the bank where Mr. Banks is employed, is an Edwardian stuffed shirt. Also part of the Ensemble. Male.
BIRD WOMAN: Covered in a patchwork of old shawls and her pockets are stuffed with bags of crumbs for the birds. She tries to sell her crumbs for the birds. Also part of the Ensemble. Female.
POLICEMAN: A neighborhood fixture who is respected by and observant of the households on his beat. Also part of the Ensemble. Male.
KATIE NANNA: Jane and Michael’s nanny at the beginning of the show. Overwhelmed and upset, she has absolutely had her fill of the Banks children. Also part of the Ensemble.
MISS LARK: The next-door neighbor of the Banks family who treats her dog, Willoughby, as if he were her child.
JOHN NORTHBROOK: An honest businessman seeking a loan to build a factory for his community. He speaks with an accent from Northern England. Also part of the Ensemble. Male.
VON HUSSLER: A businessman seeking a loan from the bank for a shady business deal. He speaks with a German accent. Also part of the Ensemble. Male.
MRS. CORRY: Owns a magical conversation shop. She is a mysterious woman of “great age” who speaks with an accent unique to her. Also part of the Ensemble. Female.
NELEUS: The statue of a young boy posed with a dolphin in the park. Neleus was separated from his father, Poseidon, and misses him very much. A lonely being, he is very happy to befriend Jane and Michael. Also part of the Ensemble.
QUEEN VICTORIA: A statue in the park. Also part of the Ensemble.
ENSEMBLE: Heavy dancing and singing requirements. Performers double as toys, park goers, chimney sweeps, and ‘extras’. The Ensemble will be moving set pieces and dressing the stage in pre-defined choreography, under the guidance of the Assistant Stage Manager(s).
If you have any questions about any of these roles please contact Joe Benamati at 410-251-2137 or mr.benamati@gmail.com.

Tickets for Moon Over Buffalo and Mary Poppins are available at 410-546-0099

Theatrical Superstitions
“Sleep with your script under your pillow”
Can sleeping with a script under your pillow help you learn your lines faster?
Science says no, but theatrical superstition says yes! The practice is said to help actors learn “by diffusion,” but we suggest you hedge your bets and memorize lines the old-fashioned way.

Moon Over
Buffalo Friday, April 22 at 8 PM
Saturday, April 23 at 8 PM
Friday, April 29 at 8 PM
Saturday, April 30 at 2 PM
WorWic Community College
For tickets call 410-546-0099

Work days are scheduled at Nutters Cross Road
We will be working at Nutters on the following dates to organize and take inventory of sets, props, etc. Please come by on any or all of the following dates:
March 26 from 9-12
April 2 from 9-12
April 9 from 9-12

Please fill out and remit form with payment to:
Community Players
P.O. Box 2431
Salisbury, MD 21802

Community Players of Salisbury
P. O. Box 2431
Salisbury, MD 21802

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

NONPROFIT ORG.
U. S. POSTAGE PAID
SALISBURY, MD 21801
PERMIT 176

Membership Dues Reminder
If the address label on this newsletter does not show 2015-16 — your dues are not current.
Join today! Fill out the form on the previous page.

Next Monthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, April 6, at 7 PM
At Community Players, 5109 Nutters Cross Road, Salisbury 21804

April 6

Community Players Officers & Board of Directors - 2015-2016
President: Tom Robinson - tomchicken@aol.com
Vice President: Megan Davis - m.l.davis43@gmail.com
Recording Secretary: Sharon Benchoff - fresnelop@aol.com
Corresponding Secretary: Matt Hatfield - mmhatfield1596@gmail.com
Treasurer: Charlie Linton - charliecamtransport@yahoo.com
Immediate Past President: Rusty Mumford - popirusty@comcast.net
Board Members
Jeff Baer, Joe Benamati, Mary Veise - Term Expires 2016
Pete Cuesta, Ken Johnson, Katie Simms Parsons - Term Expires 2017
Judy Hearn, Kel Nagel, Steve Culver - Term Expires 2018

We’re on the Web: www.communityplayersofsalisbury.org