Category Archives: News & Updates

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USP Tulip Time Opportunities

USP logo GR MEDThe sun is out and Tulip Time is just a week away! Here are a couple of related opportunities for USP and our followers:

Volunteers Needed to March in Tulip Time Parade

Dick Redman has asked for USP volunteers who would dress in period costume and walk alongside the Dr. Honeycutt wagon in the Tulip Time parade. He needs two volunteers for each parade:

  • Thursday 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
  • Friday 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
  • Saturday 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

If you’re interested in helping out by marching in one or two of the parades please contact Tom Vander Well at info@unionstreetplayers. Volunteers can get costumes from the USP Costume Shop.

Performances of “The Dominie’s Wife”

USP members (Pat Moriarity, Tom Vander Well, Wendy Vander Well, and Lisa Witzenburg) are performing The Dominie’s Wife in a special production for the Pella Opera House. The show is directed by USP member Ann Wilkinson. The one-act play tells the story of Dominie Scholte and his wife Mareah. It is a fascinating, true story that adds layers of meaning to our town and our festival for both tourists and Pella residents.

There are several opportunities to support your local USP members and see the show:

  • A cutting of the show will be performed in the lower level of Central’s Maytag Building at Central’s Fringe Festival. It will be performed at 7:10 p.m. tonight (Wed April 24th).
  • On Tuesday, April 29th at 7:00 p.m. at the Pella Opera House there will be a special V.I.P. night at the final Dress Rehearsal. In a continuation of an old USP tradition, this special dress rehearsal preview is intended for local residents who are volunteering during Tulip Time and would otherwise not get to see the show.
  • Send or bring your family, friends, and visitors to the performance each day of Tulip Time at the Pella Opera House: Thu (4:30 p.m.); Fri (4:30 p.m.); Sat (12:30 p.m.)
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Pat Van Zante Brings Home ICTA Award for USP

Pat Van Zante won the ICTA award for Costuming for USP's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

Pat Van Zante won the ICTA award for Costuming for USP’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

Union Street Players, Pella’s award-winning community theatre, is proud to announce that Pat Van Zante won the Iowa Community Theater Association’s (ICTA) award for costuming for her outstanding costuming work in USP’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Van Zante is a veteran of Pella’s community theatre. She directed USP’s first musical (Music Man in 1997) and has been credited in many different production roles over the years. She costumed two of USP’s three shows last year (Night of January 16th and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). The award was presented this past Saturday night at ICTA’s annual festival in Newton.

Congratulations to Pat who surely deserved the award for her incredible costumes! She is representative the incredible work of every USP cast and crew member in one of USP’s most successful productions!

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USP’s “Joseph” Earns Five ICTA Nominations

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Union Street Players, Pella’s award-winning community theatre, is proud to announce that the December 2012 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has been nominated for five awards from the Iowa Association of Community Theatres (IACT). Each year IACT awards shows from around the state for outstanding achievement during their annual festival. This year, the festival is scheduled for April 4-6 in Newton. Awards will be presented on Saturday night of the festival.

2013 IACT Festival Information (click link to download IACT Festival information)

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was USP’s holiday musical and completed the community theatre’s 25th Anniversary season. Not only was the show popular with audiences, virtually selling out three of the six performances, but it also become the highest grossing show in USP history.

Nominated for ICTA awards this year:

  • Director: Pat Moriarity
  • Costumes: Pati Van Zante
  • Choreography: Brystal Hopkins
  • Ensemble: The Joseph Brothers (Karl Deakyne, Doug DeWolf, Dayrel Gates, Gifford Graham, Gary Kopsa, Greg May, Larry Peterson, James Punke, Mark Schaefer, Drew Senn, Mike Wignall)
  • Supporting Male Actor: Tom Vander Well (Pharaoh)

Congratulations to the nominees and to the entire production team, cast and crew who made Joseph a huge success. Everyone at USP recognizes that a successful production is an ensemble effort of every person involved. The nominations are a recognition of the hard work, dedication and outstanding efforts of every person involved in the show!

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Union Street Players 2013 Season

Union Street Players, Pella’s award-winning community theatre, is proud to announce our 2013 season. Originally planning to produce My Fair Lady this summer, we were delayed in announcing our season because months of effort to secure the rights to the show proved futile. Nevertheless, “the show must go on” and we are excited to have two great shows for our patrons and community this year!

Bye Bye Birdie
by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.
Directed by Denise Gregory
Audition dates have not been set but tentatively scheduled for early/mid May
Production dates tentatively set July 26-28 and Aug 1-3

Originally titled Let’s Go Steady, the satire on American society is set in 1958. The story was inspired by the phenomenon of popular singer Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the Army in 1957. The rock star character’s name, “Conrad Birdie,” is word play on the name of Conway Twitty. Twitty is best remembered today for his long career as a country music star, but in the late 1950s, he was one of Presley’s rock ‘n’ roll rivals. This musical with its 50′s nostalgia and rockabilly music is sure to be a crowd pleaser for the whole family! This is the first time USP has produced the popular Broadway musical.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
by Barbara Robinson
Directed by Tom Vander Well
Audition dates have not been set
Production dates December 5-8

Imogene, Claude, Ralph, Leroy, Ollie, and Gladys Herdman are the worst kids ever. The Herdman kids go to church for the first time after being told that the church offers snacks. Despite protests from other church members, they are given roles in the Sunday school’s Christmas play. Chaos ensues, yet amidst the non-traditional telling of the nativity everyone gains a new perspective. Performed during the annual “Christmas in Pella” weekend, this is the third time USP has produced this Christmas classic. It’s sure to delight all audience members and will be fun for the whole family!
Ticket are available on-line or through the USP Box Office approximately 30 days before the show  641-204-1094.  All shows, dates, and ticket prices are subject to change.  For more information please email info@unionstreetplayers.com.
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USP Opens New Curtains on Pella’s JKF Auditorium

New curtains were installed on the stage of the Joan Kuyper Farver Auditorium this week.

New curtains were installed on the stage of the Joan Kuyper Farver Auditorium this week.

Union Street Players, Pella’s award winning community theatre, celebrated our 25th Anniversary season this past year. In celebration of the silver anniversary, the Board of Directors and members of USP launched an initiative to raise over $10,000 to replace the curtains on the stage of the Joan Kuyper Farver Auditorium in the Pella Community Center. The auditorium has been the stage home of USP since we officially incorporated in 1989 and the old curtains had been in use since the old high school and middle school building was renovated into the Pella Community Center just a few years before that. The existing curtains were showing significant wear. Some curtains were threadbare and patched with duct tape. The grand drape across the front of the stage no longer closed completely.

Union Street Players approached the City of Pella last year with a proposal to replace the curtains and the City gratefully partnered with us in the endeavor. Both USP and the City contributed funds to the project while seeking local financial support. The Marion County Foundation and Pella Community Foundation each contributed significantly to the initiative. At last December’s performances of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, USP President Tom Vander Well made a plea to audiences to help with the project and a small army of USP patrons answered the call with their generous support.

This week, Central Lighting and Equipment out of Des Moines installed the new curtains on the existing hardware tracks. All of the curtains on the stage were replaced. The grand drape, which had originally been beige was replaced with plum colored curtains to present one solid color across the stage that compliments the existing color scheme. USP wishes to express our heartfelt gratitude to the City of Pella (with special thanks to Jenny Hesseltine and Brenda Ross), the Marion County Foundation, the Pella Community Foundation, the Kuyper family, and all of our patrons who contributed to the project. Individual patrons who donated to the project will be recognized in 2013 USP programs. We are excited to open these new curtains on another quarter century of quality stage productions for Pella and our surrounding communities!