Tag Archives: USP

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USP Posters Now on Display in the Pella Community Center

USP Show Posters now grace the Pella Community Center hallway.

USP Show Posters now grace the Pella Community Center hallway.

Union Street Players (USP) and the City of Pella anxiously await the installation of new curtains on the stage of the Joan Kuyper Farver Auditorium, but they aren’t the only new attraction to the Pella Community Center. USP recently hung show posters from recent years along the hallway outside of the auditorium. USP Board Member and Central Art Professor, Mat Kelly, has been the community theatre’s graphic artist for several years. Kelly has not only designed posters but has also designed and assisted with the designs of several sets for USP shows (K.O.L.D. Radio, Cheaper by the Dozen, Morning’s at Seven). His posters, along with others, can now be viewed by all visitors to the Community Center.

“We are so appreciative for what Mat has done for us,” said USP President, Tom Vander Well. “We are certainly proud of the quality of shows we’ve been putting on the stage, but we’re equally proud of the quality of everything we’ve been doing off stage as well, and our posters are a big part of that. To have an artist of Mat’s caliber working with us is a huge asset for which we are very grateful.”

USP has been gathering and archiving posters from past shows. Many of the early shows did simple graphics on letter sized paper, which are not generally conducive to reproducing in larger formats. Kelly and the USP Board have been discussing creative ways to showcase and honor the legacy of USP’s history through the display of past show posters.

The Pella Community Center is generally open each weekday during regular business hours. Visitors who would like to see the posters should enter through the south entrance and walk up the first flight of steps. The posters can be seen along the south wall.

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Correction

Don Graves

Don Graves

In our previous post about USP members in upcoming local productions we failed to mention USP veteran and member Don Graves who also appears in this weekend’s production of Red Rock Retro Radio Theatre’s (RRRRT) Best Job for the Man. The show is tonight, February 22 at the Fox Restaurant in Knoxville and tomorrow night at the Pella Community Center. Please see RRRRT page on Facebook for details. Our apologies to Don and his wife Bev for the unintentional oversight.

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USP’s “Joseph” Amazes

Joseph Finale1

Tom Palmer starred as Joseph

Union Street Players closed it’s successful six show run of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with a sold out performance on Saturday afternoon. The Tony Award winning Broadway musical was a huge success. Tremendous word-of-mouth increased demand for the final two performances. By the end of the run, nearly 1700 tickets were sold across the six performances. When you count ushers and volunteers, the total number of audience members surpassed the 1700 mark. The official Box Office tally of tickets sold each night for the 311 available seats was:

Fri Nov 30: 271
Sat Dec 1: 285
Sun Dec 2: 300
Thu Dec 6: 220
Fri Dec 7: 311
Sat Dec 8: 311

Total: 1698

The cast of 46 and crew of 41 were assisted by a number of volunteers under the leadership of Director Pat Moriarity.

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Packed Opening Night Crowd “Amazed” by Joseph

Joseph (Tom Palmer) is mobbed by adoring girls in "Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"

Joseph (Tom Palmer) is mobbed by adoring girls in “Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”

The Joan Kuyper Farver Auditorium in the Pella Community Center was packed last night for the opening of Union Street Players‘ production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. After the show, many audience members were heard mentioning that they were planning to return next weekend to see the performance. One audience member posted this review on Facebook this morning:

From the moment those brightly costumed kids dashed out on stage and filled the space with song (no timid vocals here) we knew this Technicolor Friday night on Union St. would take us to an amazing biblical tale rocking with dreams, angels, and song.

I mean the stage shook with choreography so synchronous, joyous, rambunctious that somewhere Twyla Tharp feels an itch she can’t scratch. I mean in that small stage space, I was waiting for someone to come flying out over the audience. This was not Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney putting on a show in a garage where we smile at the effort and follow with polite applause as we check the watch. 

No, I’m telling you this was Broadway quality stuff, and I am no broadcasting homer who sees the team effort in a halo beaming from self-interest. The French scene was so comically dolorous that if Maurice Chevalier, Marcel Marceau, and Jerry Lewis had been cast, it would not have been funnier. I have a loud laugh but you could not hear it because the place was San Francisco in 1906. And the statuesque pharaoh (Tom Vander Well) be-wiggly wigged as an Elvis whose hips wiped out stage left and stage right was The King! I thought his screaming fans would rush the stage. Elvis is really alive. 

And the Cowboy, Calypso, and Stone the Crows numbers snapped, crackled and popped, nobody held back waiting for the leads to lead. Joseph’s (Tom Palmer) beautiful voice in this crazy quilted version of an Old Testament story perfectly echoed the emotions of an ancient desire to get back home. Directors Pat Moriarity and Wendy Vander Well and the fantastic set crew will have to add another wing to the theatre just to have enough tickets for next weekend. – Marty Feeney

Tickets are going fast for remaining performances. You can purchase your tickets on-line to ensure you get a seat. Here are the number of remaining seats as of 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 1:
Sat Dec 1 at 7:00 p.m.: 65
Sun Dec 2 at 2:00 p.m.: 55
Thu Dec 6 at 7:00 p.m.: 212
Fri Dec 7 at 7:00 p.m.: 151
Sat Dec 8 at 7:00 p.m.: 131
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Ticket Sales are Surging for USP’s “Joseph”

Cast and Crew of USP’s “Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”

Union Street Players‘ production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” opens tomorrow night (Friday, November 30) and there has been a surge of ticket sales the past two days. Over 200 tickets have been sold in the past two days. Tickets are still available for all shows, though a limited number of seats are available for the opening weekend. More seats are available for the second weekend’s performances. As of 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 29 the number of available seats:

Fri Nov 30 (7:00 p.m.): 81
Sat Dec 1 (7:00 p.m.): 114
Sun Dec 2 (2:00 p.m.): 79

Thu Dec 6 (7:00 p.m.): 235
Fri Dec 7 (7:00 p.m.): 183
Sat Dec 8 (2:00 p.m.): 151

Order tickets online by clicking here.