First of all, let me thank our Director, Cyndi Atkins, for arranging a mid-week performance at Hilltop Manor here in Pella. A good number of the orphans, servants and the principal characters were on hand to entertain the residents last night. Both of our Annies (Hannah Emmert and Rachel Peter) were able to perform. The residents also heard “Hard Knock Life,” “I Think You’re Gonna Like It Here,” “Easy Street,” “Gussie Her Up,” and “Don’t Need Anything But You.” Thanks to all the orphans (for whom the trip was optional) and the parents who helped being taxi drivers!
Ticket Update
The word of mouth from last weekend’s performances prompted a flurry of phone calls and visits to the Pella Community Services office. Many heartfelt thanks to Brenda Ross who has spent much of the past two weeks managing the ticket board.
As of Wednesday afternoon, less than 10 single seats were left on the floor of the auditorium (that’s 10 total for all three shows). There are still General Admission balcony seats available for all three shows, but they are dwindling rapidly!
If you’re thinking of coming from out of town, we suggest that you call and order tickets by phone (call Tom or Wendy at 641.620.9107) Wednesday night or Thursday. If you live in Pella or the surrounding area we suggest you pick up tickets at the Pella Community Center between 7:30-11:30 a.m. or 12:30-4:30 p.m. tomorrow.
After 4:30 p.m. tomorrow, there will be no advance ticket sales. All remaining tickets will be sold at the door.
Loved the show. Would like to see the inappropiate use of God left out and the other words like damn. Thanks for all the hard work.
Thank you for the kind words!
Please know that your concerns regarding the language of the script are understood. Our intention is never to offend, and we trust that most of our audience members have little appreciation for how the production team, USP board members, and cast wrangle with these issues on virtually every production. It is an ongoing subject of considerable debate because 1) it is a deceptively complex issue and 2) we do care about our audience and their experience.
What many people fail to understand is that the production of a copyrighted play or musical requires a legally binding, contractual agreement between USP and the writer and/or publisher who holds the copyright of the show. When we agree to produce the show we agree to present the script as it is written. To add, alter, or eliminate words from the script (even the dropping of a word that might be “inappropriate”) is against the law. What appears to be a simple decision to cut inappropriate words from the play is actually a sticky moral dilemma. We don’t want to offend, nor do we want to break the law. It would be nice if there were a host of popular shows that met the moral criteria of every audience member, but almost every show we produce contains something that someone finds inappropriate.
Add to the legal dilemma a number of artistic considerations and the personal values of actors, directors, producers – and you have the recipe for long conversations and difficult decisions. Nevertheless, they are long and difficult convesations worth having because we really do care about our patrons and our responsibility to do the right thing.
Thanks for sharing your comment!