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The Otero Players, a consortium of faculty members, students, college staff, and community volunteers have produced live theatrical events, stage plays, and mediated performances for many years. Learn about some of our more recent productions by scrolling this page or using the quick links above. All information about these past performances were taken from the press releases at the time of the production.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
April 15 and April 16, 2011
By William Shakespeare
The Otero Players opened their production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Friday, April 15, 2011, with a special noon performance for over 300 middle and high school students from all over the Arkansas Valley. On Friday evening, April 15, at 7:00 p.m., a second performance was offered on the night of the full moon.
The final performance at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, took place in “The Hollow” between the Life Sciences Building and McBride Hall. The outdoor performance space offered fine spring weather for Shakespeare’s most popular comedy.
Admission was one penny, just as it was for the groundlings in Shakespeare’s day to enter the Globe Theatre in London.
Director of Theatre Steve Simpson assembled a diverse cast of over 30 actors who worked hard to master Shakespeare’s language and interpret their characters.
“The language is always the place to start with Shakespeare,” according to Simpson. “Of course it’s English, but if you use Shakespeare’s text instead of a modern adapted version, the actors have to be completely clear on what their characters are saying. Otherwise, it’s impossible to convey the language to the audience with any kind of clarity.”
“You could almost say that it’s a process of translation. Where a contemporary person today might say, ‘It’s hard being in love,’ Shakespeare says, ‘The course of true love never did run smooth,’” he explained.
Adding to the fun was the time period during which the Otero Players chose to set the play. Directors often take liberties with Shakespeare’s settings, a testament to the universality of the plays that have remained popular for over 400 years. The Players’ production was set near the end of the 1960s.
The royalty represented what used to be called “The Establishment,” or the conservative parents. The young lovers were the rebellious youth who questioned and defied their parents’ outlook. The “Rude Mechanicals,” laborers who put on a play within a play for the Duke’s wedding, portrayed the working class from a time when workers were identified by the uniforms they wore to do their jobs. The fairies and woodland spirits were the hippies, living communally in the woods and creating havoc with some of the herbs and flowers they had access to.
The play was full of 1960s music from Iron Butterfly to Steppenwolf, from Canned Heat to the Turtles and from the Beatles to the Moody Blues.
“I feel blessed to have worked with such a talented, diverse cast,” Simpson observed. “Of course, the opportunity to perform Shakespeare doesn’t come up that often, and I’m very happy with the wide range our cast comprised. We had very small children as fairies and several seasoned citizens as well. We had high school students from around the valley, OJC students, OJC alumni and community members from all over. It was a pleasure to work with such a dedicated, joyful cast and crew.”
“You may ask, Why would anyone invest four hours a night, five nights a week (with occasional weekends thrown in) for three months to put together a play?” he added. “I can only answer in the words of William Shakespeare: ‘Lord, what fools these mortals be!’”
The cast of the Otero Players production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at dress rehearsal.
Seated (l-r) Chapin Galena, La Junta; Cynthia Justice, La Junta; Destiny Clarke, La Junta; Melody Clarke, La Junta; Lindsay Hodges, Manzanola, holding Daphne Clarke, La Junta; Annie Clarke, La Junta and Kat Dennis, La Junta.
Center row, (l-r) Steve Lange, Cheraw; Mark Randall, La Junta;, Nathan Clarke, La Junta; Glenn Parker, La Junta; Dawn Jenkins, Lusk, Wyo. and Alex Sonnier, La Junta.
Back row (l-r) Chris Corey, Ordway; Norm Milks, La Junta; Adam Clark, La Junta; John Eubank, La Junta; Charles Hatfield, Ordway and Dale Havill, La Junta.
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Love on the Border
October 29 through October 31, 2010
An Original Play Created by the Cast
Jesus & Dolores (Steven Lange & Roberta Garcia)
Julietta & Roman (Brenda Erwin & Chris Corev)
Carpa Otero, which offers performing arts in the Hispanic tradition, presented an original play, Love on the Border, in the Round Room at the Koshare Kiva on Friday, October 29, Saturday, October 30, and Sunday, October 31, 2010. The performances were a collaborative artistic effort among cast and crew members and, according to Steve Simpson, the play’s director, the actors worked together to write the play themselves.
“As rehearsals began, the cast and I began by talking about issues that affect the Latino/Latina population locally, regionally and nationally. Immigration quickly came up as an issue of overriding importance. The cast began performing improvisational scenes concerning all sides of the debate regarding immigration and an outline, or scenario, for the play began to take form,” explained Simpson.
According to Simpson, one of the things that made the process of creation so fulfilling was the fact that the play had a diverse cast consisting of Anglos, Latinos, senior citizens, OJC and La Junta High School students, an international student from Armenia, children and a small baby.
“We had several theatre veterans and some who had never been in a play before. It made our cast very much like a family and provided a wide range of perspectives regarding the issues of discrimination that we address. I think every one of us has had our horizons expanded by our exposure to the opinions and experiences of our new friends in the cast,” said Simpson.
In order to give the play an organizational framework, the cast decided to loosely base their improvisations on the story of Romeo and Juliet. In Love on the Border, two families live next door to each other. The Otero family consists of Jesus (Steven Lange), his wife Dolores (Roberta Garcia), and their daughter Julietta (Brenda Erwin). Their next-door neighbors are Richard Morgan (Adam Clark), Natasha Morgan (NaTasha Montoya), and their son Roman (Chris Corey).
The action takes place during Julietta’s Quinceañera, the traditional 15th birthday celebration for Latinas. Of course, Roman and Julietta are in love and, of course, their fathers want no part of each other and certainly do not want their children to be together. The Oteros and the Morgans end up together at the Quinceañera, as well as the members of Carpa Otero, a traveling performing troupe, who entertain the guests and each other by singing, dancing, and acting out humorous plays-within-the-play. The feuding fathers finally confront each other and are brought to their senses by the practicality of their wives and the unconditional love of their children.
Danny Romero provided vocal entertainment beginning one-half hour before curtain time. Other cast members included Amanda Rusher, Mikaela Wolfe, Charles Hatfield, Elizabeth Llaca, Brenda Llaca, Danny Romero, Michael Garcia, Katrina Files, Joanna Olague, Graciella Olague, Martha Pearson, and Doris Gomez. Hana Vinduska was the stage manager. Tamara Khlghatyan served as assistant stage manager and photographer. Steve Castaneda ran sound. Wayne Abbott was the lighting operator.
The cast and crew decided that admission to the Carpa would be one item of non-perishable food per person, which was donated to a Thanksgiving food drive sponsored by OJC’s Non-Traditional Students Organization (NTSO). NTSO placed the donated items in holiday baskets for needy families in Bent, Crowley and Otero counties.
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Wit
Performed March 5, 6 and 7, 2010
By Margaret Edson
Steve Simpson
The Otero Players presented Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Wit, on Friday and Saturday, March 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m., with a Sunday, March 7 matinee performance at 2:00 p.m. The performances took in McBride Hall, Room 137, a lecture room on the OJC campus.
According to Steve Simpson, OJC’s Director of Theatre and director of the spring production, there is no need to conceal a surprise ending when discussing the plot of this award-winning drama. The main character, Professor Vivian Bearing (Anna Bravo Gearhart), tells us in her first speech, “I think I die at the end.” She is correct. Although the drama takes an uncompromisingly serious look at death, it also shows how language, humor, wit and simple human kindness can help us deal with tragedy.
The cast of Wit had a unique opportunity during the first week in March during their final rehearsals to enjoy a conference call with the playwright, Margaret Edson.
Playwright Margaret Edson
“The playwright reiterated in her conference call that the play is not about cancer so much as it is about redemption – the journey to grace of a strong, intelligent woman to come to terms with what it means to be human,” said Simpson.
Simpson explained that the main character, Vivian, prides herself on the idea that she is perfectly comfortable without other people in her life. Instead, she has the words and the language of John Donne and his Holy Sonnets. She comes to recognize that language has the capacity to inform, but also to obscure; language can create humor and provide emotional comfort and connection, but it can also create false hope and fail to lend comfort when not used in a sensitive manner.
Pictured is Margaret Edson, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Wit, a play that details the final few months in the life of a respected English professor as she battles with stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer.
“The intention of the playwright became the intention of our cast. Through the language of Wit, we gain insight into the worlds of medicine and literature and, ultimately, the importance of communication, especially at the end of life,” said Simpson.
In Wit, Vivian Bearing is diagnosed with stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer. As she observes, “There is no stage V.” Her condition is incurable, and Edson uses the situation to involve the audience in a process of experiencing Vivian’s gradual discoveries of the importance of love, caring, and human contact. As her doctors, Harvey Kelekian (Norm Milks) and Jason Posner (John Eubank) use her as a research subject to test the strong drugs that might help others, she comes to rely on the attentions of Susie Monahan, her nurse (Jaime Herrell). Susie provides the humanity that is not always evident in the doctors.
A reviewer for The Boston Globe observed, “The play isn't a tearful lecture on how to die; it's a dry-eyed lesson on how to live--with simplicity and kindness. To say that Wit is about cancer is misleading; it is really about finding a balance between head and heart.”
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The Fantasticks
Performed November 6, 7, and 8, 2009
By Tom Jones
The Otero Players, in conjunction with the Arkansas Valley Community Orchestra, presented The Fantasticks by Tom Jones on Friday, November 6, and Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, November 8 at 2 p.m.. The Players’ collaboration with AVCO enhanced a timeless musical score, with lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, that included “Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” “I Can See It,” “Round and Round,” “They Were You,” and “Try to Remember.”
The Fantasticks "Together at Last!"
Front Row L to R: J. R. Thompson (Bellomy) and Norm Milks (Hucklebee).
Back Row L to R: Jaime Herrell (Luisa) and Mark Randall (Matt)
The Fantasticks combines old-fashioned showmanship, classic musical theatre, commedia dell’arte, and Japanese Noh theatrical traditions. It is the world’s longest-running musical and the longest-running uninterrupted show of any kind in the United States and, to date, it has played in every state in more than 11,000 U.S. productions in over 2,000 cities and towns. Internationally, more than 700 productions have been staged in 67 nations from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
The Fantasticks originally premiered at the Sullivan Street Playhouse, a small off-Broadway theater, on May 3, 1960, with Jerry Orbach (Law and Order) as El Gallo. The original off-Broadway production closed on January 13, 2002, after a record-shattering 17,162 performances.
The plot revolves around Amos Babcock Bellomy, played by J. R. Thompson of Rocky Ford, and Ben Hucklebee, played by Norm Milks of La Junta, who scheme to get their respective children Luisa (OJC student Jaime Herrell) and Matt (OJC graduate Mark Randall) to fall in love. Knowing they will resist their fathers’ interference, the two men use reverse psychology and fabricate a feud, building a wall between their houses and forbidding their children to speak to each other. When their plan works, they enlist the aid of El Gallo (John Eubank of La Junta), a bandit and the proprietor of a traveling carnival, to put an end to their supposed disagreement in such a way that the deception will not be revealed.
The Fantasticks "A Bandit!"
El Gallo played by John Eubank of La Junta
El Gallo pretends to kidnap Luisa with the help of his troupe, which includes elderly Shakespearean actor Henry Albertson, played by OJC student Chris Corey, and his sidekick Mortimer, played by OJC student Adam Clark, and a mute, played by OJC student Edith Price. El Gallo arranges for Matt to rescue Luisa, and the couple settles into what they anticipate will be domestic bliss. However, through the eyes of El Gallo and company, they see the harsh realities of the world, and their innocent romanticism is replaced by a more mature understanding of love.
Thompson reprised his role as Bellomy, which he played in a 1982 production directed by Ed Stafford, OJC’s long-time Director of Theatre who retired in 2002. The show was directed by OJC’s current Director of Theatre, Steve Simpson, who dedicated the production to Stafford.
In his program notes, Simpson said, “Ed told me that The Fantasticks is the only play he ever directed twice. Now the same is true for me. There must be something special in a play to which a director returns a second time. Complex simplicity; the joy and pain of lasting love; letting moonlight mesmerize you; accepting the fact that often things look different in the harsh light of the sun. It’s easy for me to ‘Try to remember the kind of September when love was an ember about to billow,’ and I can attest that ‘Deep in December it’s nice to remember the fire of September that made us mellow.’ The fire is still burning. The play goes on.”
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Dust Bowl Romance
Performed February 13, 14, and 15, 2009
A CHAUTAUQUA WITH SONGS OF THE 1930S AND
RADIO PLAYS OF THE FEDERAL THEATRE PROJECT
The Otero Players presented Dust Bowl Romance, a Chautauqua with songs of the 1930s and radio plays of the Federal Theatre Project over the Valentine’s Day weekend. Production dates were Friday and Saturday, February 13 and February 14 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, February 15 at 2 p.m. in the Ed Stafford Theatre on the Otero Junior College campus.
“This show is a Valentine to our audience,” said Managing Director RuAnn Keith. “If you’re looking for a fun way to celebrate this special day of romance, then spend a few hours with us as we celebrate courtship the way it was for past generations.”
Back row (L-R):
James Reece (Musical Director, Piano Player);
Steve Simpson (Guitar, solo, Technical Director, "Viscount Thurman");
Bea Jae Viascas ("Betty Lou Jones").
Middle:
RuAnn Keith (Artistic Director, "Elspeth Mendenlaub");
Melinda Viescas ("Elizabeth Louise Edwards")
Front:
Stephen Lange ("William Leatherfoot MacLeod", Photographer);
Adam Clark ("Benjamin L Lockhead aka Bill");
Chris Corey ("Stumpy Pete")
The performance features radio plays from the Oklahoma Federal Theatre Project, which was sponsored by the Works Progress Administration. These radio plays were written by high school students in 1939 based on stories told to interviewers during oral history recording sessions at the end of the Great Depression.
The Works Progress Administration was established during Franklin Roosevelt’s administration to provide jobs and income to the unemployed during the Great Depression, according to Simpson, and between 1935 and 1943 the WPA provided almost 8 million jobs.
“The Oklahoma project was the only one in the country to create original plays from the stories of the people,” according to Simpson, director of theatre at OJC. “There were other units nationwide that focused on radio, but their plays were originals created by writers or adapted from existing sources.”
Keith described the plays as sentimental glimpses of courtship as it existed for the folks who grew up during the Dust Bowl and the generation that preceded it.
“These students were interviewing people of their parents’ and grandparents’ generation, and their stories reflect an entirely different perspective on romance than what we have now,” observed Keith.
The WPA affected every region of the country, but especially rural and western mountain populations, Keith added. In addition to constructing public buildings and roads, WPA workers operated large arts, drama, media and literacy projects.
“The goal of the Oklahoma research department was to preserve the folklore of the Southwest for the building of regional drama,” said Keith. “They produced several 15-minute plays as a way of preserving these set pieces of Americana from that era.” The production is being staged as a Chautauqua, a tent show that was a popular form of entertainment for rural and small-town America beginning at the turn of the century.
“Chautauqua, like vaudeville, was a stepping stone between late 19th century forms of mass entertainment and early 20th century forms of electronic mass media,” said Keith.
Music was a staple of the tent shows, and readers, elocutionists, and plays were also part of the program. In fact, dozens of radio performers honed their storytelling skills under the “big brown tents” of the Chautauqua.
Audiences will be greeted by actors who will assume the roles of Chautauqua performers, and will be treated to some of the elements of these tent shows, such as barkers, interlocutors, prohibitionist lectures, pioneer mother stories, and advice to the lovelorn.
Following these pre-show activities, the actors presented the radio plays with musical interludes.
The program included an audience sing-along, and a post-performance reception with Valentine sweets.
In keeping with Depression era tradition, there was also a drawing at each performance for gifts from area merchants.
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Coyote’s Christmas Carol
Performed December 5, 6, & 7, 2008
A new, unique production of a Christmas classic
The OJC Department of Arts, the Otero Players, and Carpa Otero presented MacDonald’s unique production of a Christmas classic, based on Dickens’ short story, at the Ed Stafford Theatre on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7, 2008.
The play, which features original songs by Diego Flores, is set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, instead of 19th century England, and Scrooge is a Mexican American who made his fortune selling real estate. He has no intention of honoring Christmas until a heart attack lands him in the hospital's emergency room, where he encounters the great Native American animal spirit Coyote, played by La Junta’s Melecio Baca, who introduces him to three other spirit guides: Mariposa, who travels with him to visit Christmas Past; Venado, who helps him see Christmas Present; and La Llorona, who shows him Christmas Future.
Coyote is a character celebrated in hundreds of Native American stories and legends. He is not only a great creator who placed the stars in the heavens and brought fire and light to mankind, but he is also a shape-shifter and a humorous trickster intent on puncturing people's puffed-up egos. Coyote has a troupe of minions called The Changers, shape-shifters who help him play his tricks. They are played by Travis Erickson, Chris Corey, Janae Phillips, Maribel Baca Gonzales, Margie Olague, and Maria Baca.
Coyote introduces Scrooge to three other spirit guides; Venado (the deer dancer) played by OJC acting student Chris Corey, and Mariposa (the butterfly) and La Llorona, both of whom are played by Cassidy Kahler, a La Junta High School student.
Author of Coyote’s Christmas Carol Attends OJC Production
Los Angeles playwright Malcolm MacDonald visited La Junta to attend Otero Junior College’s fall production of his play Coyote’s Christmas Carol. The Otero Players and Carpa Otero hosted a reception for the author after their performance on Saturday, December 6. Mac Donald flew to Denver from Los Angeles and drove to La Junta to see the Saturday night performance, visit with the actors, and discuss the production with director Steve Simpson.
“I never had the opportunity to ‘workshop’ the play before it was published,” said MacDonald, “so this was a wonderful opportunity to talk with the actors and the director about their experience of interpreting the script and bringing the story to life.”
According to Simpson, “We feel fortunate to have discovered a play that not only remains true to the spirit of the traditional Dickens story, but that also honors the heritage of the Southwest and the Native and Latino cultures that comprise such a prominent part of life here in southern Colorado.
This is a Christmas Carol for everybody. It’s a true community effort. We have actors from all over the Valley, older actors, families, and an exciting, exuberant group of children. The Otero Players and Carpa Otero offer Coyote’s Christmas Carol as our Christmas gift to the community,” said Simpson.
In 2004, Coyote’s Christmas Carol was awarded 2nd prize in the Marilyn Hall Awards in Youth Theatre by the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild. Since that time, MacDonald’s play has been performed onstage and used in classes by teachers throughout the world.
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The Lords of Swing
Performed February 22, 23, 2008
Two evenings of Murder, Mystery and Mayhem performed by the Otero Players
The Otero Players and the Otero Junior College Department of Arts presented a double bill of noir style murder mysteries for an “Evening of Murder Mystery Mayhem” on February 22 and again on February 23. Both plays were performed in the 1940s’ radio drama format, complete with sound effects, commercials, and cued applause.
The Otero Players began the double bill with a one act play, The Lords of Swing, based on a radio detective series featuring Pat Novak, a man for hire, who finds himself in the middle of an espionage ring operating on the Santa Fe Railway in La Junta, Colorado in 1949.
Act two of the double bill featured former OJC student, Cory Moosman, who is now the Artistic Director of The Southern Colorado Theatre Company. Moosman and his company of players presented Death Wore Elevator Shoes, a radio detective genre full of rough guys and dangerous gals, falling bodies, and the kind of deceit and intrigue that makes life worth living. Death Wore Elevator Shoes, which was written by Moosman, was most recently performed to sold-out audiences at Pueblo’s La Renaissance Restaurant in January of this year. Moosman has worked as a producer and marketing director for the Steel City Theatre Company. He is a member of the Damon Runyon Repertory and a faculty member at the Colorado Springs Conservatory for young performing artists.
The Lords of Swing featured OJC students Taylor Ballard as Pat Novak, and John Eubank as his sidekick Jocko Madigan. Douglas Golding appeared as Max Hunter, a no-good drifter who sets Novak on his misadventure, and Terilynn Russ as Hunter’s girl, Francine, a gal who paid the cost for her devotion. Maria Armijo played the femme fatale who lured Novak into her web of deception.
Eubank also played a migrant Jamaican laborer and acted as the program’s announcer. Golding was doublecast as a small town cop, and Russ performed as a lounge singer as well as Novak’s co-worker Bess. Armijo also appears as a phone operator who provides a crucial link to solving the mystery.
Otero Players Managing Director RuAnn Keith directed the players. Director of Theatre Steve Simpson and OJC student Daniel Tilton designed the set, and OJC student Nancy Pearson designed the costumes. Stage management was provided by OJC student Britany Keen, who also provided sound effects, and Michael Garcia, who made a cameo appearance as a technical assistant.
Students from OJC’s Cosmetology Career Academy designed hair and make-up for the production, and were the make-up artists and hair dressers for the performances. Academy Director Tammy Dorenkamp and Instructor Lynette Reeves coordinated the joint venture with the Arts Department. It is the first of many such collaborations the Otero Players plan to have with the cosmetology students.
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Hearts that Weep, Bones that Laugh
Performed November 2, 3 2007
A Carpa about Days of the Dead
Hispanidad, a celebration of Hispanic culture sponsored by the Otero Junior College Department of Arts, presented the Otero Players’ production of Hearts That Weep, Bones That Laugh: Reunion in the Koshare Kiva.
The production opened on the evening of the traditional celebration of the “Day of the Dead” (Dia de Los Muertos) when deceased family members are honored and invited to rejoin the family for one night. Directed by Steve Simpson, OJC’s Director of Theatre, the program features a one-act play about a soul who cannot cross over to visit his family until they build him an altar, and a vaudeville-like afterpiece called a carpa.
“The carpa was a Southwestern tradition from the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century,” according to Simpson. “The comedy was created by the cast, and it will feature dancing and acrobatics.
Simpson described carpas as traveling shows that moved from town to town across northern Mexico and the American Southwest. “They were performed in a tent much like a traveling circus or religious revival meeting. They were irreverent, funny, politically astute, and satirical, using music, dance, storytelling, improvisation, and short skits,” he said. He added that Cantinflas, the Mexican actor best remembered by American audiences for his role in the 1956 film Around the World in Eighty Days, cut his acting teeth in the carpa tradition.
“The cast has created their own carpa based on their experiences and sensibilities surrounding contemporary issues of interest to the Latino/Latina community here such as immigration, bilingualism, hard work for low pay, and border issues,” he explained.
The Carpa Otero skits include comedic turns entitled “Dos Pelados,” “Lousy Lover,” “Look, She’s Moving,” and “That’s Good, That’s Bad.” Also featured are Dance Folklorico from Rocky Ford, a lively dance troupe specializing in Mexican folk dances, and Cassidy Kahler, a local actress, dancer, juggler and gymnast, who appeared previously as an olio act in the Otero Players spring 2007 production of 45 Minutes From Broadway.
The inspiration for the performance is the Colorado premier of Reunion, an unpublished play by Olga Sanchez, Artistic Director of The Miracle Theatre Group in Portland, Oregon. In the play, Ernesto, played by Michael Anthony Garcia de Leon, wants to return to visit his family for Los Dias de las Muertos, but is intercepted by Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of the underworld, played by Melecio Baca. Tezcatlipoca is skeptical of the ritual, and forces Ernesto to undergo physical trials that test his determination to cross over into the land of the living. Encouraging Ernesto, and helping him confront the formidable Tezcatlipoca, are the ghosts of his relatives, including Eugenia, played by Eunice Petramala, Eusebia, played by Maria de Arcos, and Eduardo, played by Joe Frausto. Ernesto’s family who are waiting for him to return, and who wonder if the myth of the Day of the Dead will come true, are Estela, played by Mary Jo Jaramillo, and Elena, played by Kandi Ruiz.
Sanchez observed that her play “needs attention to the movements of the ensemble. There was always a lot of movement around the ‘trials’ that Cabeza de Papa Ciega [Ernesto] undergoes to reach his final resting place of reunion [with his family].”
Reunion was originally produced by Seattle Teatro Latino in 1997, and Sanchez, who is also affiliated with Miracle MainStage and Bellas Artes in Portland, is “honored and delighted’ that the work is being resurrected to recognize the holiday it commemorates. “I’m glad to hear [the Otero Players] ensemble enjoys the play,” she said. “It means a great deal to me and I’ve always been surprised that it ‘works’.”
Sanchez will be unable to attend the performances because she is performing with Teatro Milagro through October 14, and directing her theatre company’s own show about Dia de Muertos, which is has also co-written.
Reunion features a cast of seven actors, all of whom are of Hispanic ancestry. Even so, some of the cast had to learn the Spanish dialogue written by Sanchez. “The play is written using both English and Spanish dialogue,” said Simpson, “and we all learned the poetic meaning of the language together.” He added that one of the cast members, Kandi Ruiz, is fluent in Spanish and yet her character in the play does not use any Spanish. “She coached the rest of us, and was a tremendous asset to us. She worked to ‘Anglicize” her speaking since her role is that of the younger generation who has moved away from using Spanish regularly.”
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45 Minutes from Broadway
Performed March 2, 3, & 4, 2007
A Musical Play with Vaudeville and Olio By George M. Cohan
The Otero Players’ production of George M. Cohan’s musical play 45 Minutes From Broadway was presented as vaudeville, a style of multi-act theatre that featured an olio consisting of specialty acts that was performed downstage while the upstage set was being changed between scenes. At its height of popularity when Cohan’s play was written 100 years ago, vaudeville was celebrated as a commitment to entertainment that could be enjoyed by women and children and not offend anyone.
According to Otero Players’ Managing Director RuAnn Keith, “When we started planning for the show last summer we couldn’t locate a copy of the original script anywhere. Thanks to an extensive search by our Director of Library Services, Kendra Swope, and our [Wheeler] library technician Lisa Fritch we finally found a copy of the play on microfiche at the University of Iowa.”
Keith explained that Fritch had to generate oversized copies from the microfiche, and then cut and paste the script onto a standard, letter-sized template. Fritch spent over two months piecing the pages together to produce a workable copy of the play, which was typewritten in 1903.
“As far as I know, the library at Otero Junior College now has the only bound copies of the play in the entire country,” Keith said.
“The script is full of typing errors and misspellings,” she added. “These were the days before ‘Spell Check’ and even before ‘Liquid Paper,’ so it was probably common for typists to just let the errors go since there was no easy way to correct them.”
“Also, the action in the script includes notes such as ‘Do the hat bit here,’ and ‘He picks up a tauberrette,’ that called for a bit of research. We were able to figure out what a tauberrette was [an antique clock that was a replica of the town clock in Tauber, Germany] but we’ll probably never know what ‘the hat bit’ was.”
The original script contains none of the music or lyrics for the five songs that are part of the story, so Keith and director Steve Simpson used Internet searches to locate the original sheet music in the Lester S. Levy Collection at Johns Hopkins, and the Digital Sheet Music Collection of Popular American Music at the University of Southern California.
However, there was one song that was impossible to locate. “The opening number, called ‘We’re The Gentlemen of the Press,’ has apparently never been published anywhere by anyone,” said Simpson. “We searched for months. The only version of the song that we could find was on a recording of 45 Minutes From Broadway made in 1959 for the Omnibus television program. That was a shortened version of the play starring Larry Blyden and Tammy Grimes.”
“Our music director, Clara Lee Stafford, eventually asked a local musician and teacher, John Brindle, to transcribe the song by listening to the recording,” said Simpson. “He very generously did that for us and, as a result, The Otero Players are now in possession of the only copy of any sheet music for this song in existence.”
He added that this rare version of the song will be bound with the scripts and added to the Wheeler Library collection.
“The cast is working very hard,” said Simpson, “to make this an evening of pure entertainment for the audience. It is being performed in the spirit of energetic fun that is the hallmark of George M. Cohan’s work.”
Randy Daniher will play Kid Burns, the role played by Cohan in the 1912 revival of the play. Burns is secretary to Tom Bennett, played by Mark Randall, whose millionaire uncle, Mr. Castleton, has died without a will. A Public Administrator named James Blake, played by Norm Milks, notifies young Tom of the death, presuming he is heir to his uncle’s fortune. When Bennett and Burns arrive at his uncle’s estate in New Rochelle, they are met by Mary Jane Jenkins, played by Elizabeth Montejano, a house maid who was the favorite servant of the deceased millionaire, the old man’s butler Andy Gray, played by Artyom Chelbayev, and the neighborhood gossip Mrs. Purdy, played by Rachel Stroh.
New Rochelle is also invaded by Bennett’s fiancé, the lovely chorus girl Flora Dora Dean, played by Melissa Root, her overbearing mother, Mrs. David Dean, played by Cari-lyn Langston, and Daniel Cronin, played by Glenn Parker, a con man who swindled Bennett’s uncle using phony mine stock. These shady out-of-towners are closely observed by the Gentlemen of the Press, played by Dan Haddan, Trent Nelson, and Akeem Ray.
Other residents of New Rochelle who must cope with this assortment of characters include the captain of police, played by Melecio Baca, and the station master, played by Jesse Bradford. The women of New Rochelle are played by Jessica Brown, Judy Hensley, Dawn Pollmiller, Alice Rizzi, and Jessica Tilton.
Olio performers include Cassidy Kahler, Lucy Montejano, Janae Phillips, Akeem Ray, and Bart, the Wonder Dog. The olio will feature magic, juggling, music, comedy, acrobatics, gymnastics, and recitations.
Scenes from 45 Minutes from Broadway:
(These are extremly large files not recomended for dial-up users)
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Voices Under the Wind
Performed October 27, 28, & 29, 2006
Voices Under The Wind is an original radio drama adapted from the play of the same title written by Timothy F. Walsh and Ed Stafford in 1983. A variety of local talent appeared in the historical drama that depicts historical events at Bent’s Fort. Voices Under The Wind was first performed at Bent’s Fort on May 26, 1983. The fort was also the site of the play’s sold-out revival in May 1987 and again in 1993 (see cast at right).
Compressing a dozen years into two hours, the play highlights major historical events at the fort. The action, comedy, drama and tragedy of the fort’s history are all captured in multiple scenes combining poetry, dialogue and music of the 1830s and the 1840s as the fort’s residents mingle with historical figures such as John Charles Fremont, Charles Preuss, Lewis Garrard, Kit Carson, and Bill Williams.
According to producer Stephen Simpson, and director RuAnn Keith, the radio drama offers a unique learning experience for actors and technicians alike. “The actors are being challenged to expand the range of their vocal talent. The techniques they will be using are similar to what film actors use when they need to portray an emotion without building up to the moment of the performance through a sequence of scenes,” observed Keith. “Because the physical performance is limited, the interaction with other players is dependent upon the imagination of the actor, what the actor can visualize about the other characters.”
Simpson noted that lighting will play an important part in setting the emotional tone of the scenes, and will be used to indicate the season of the year and suggest whether a scene takes place during early morning, late afternoon, or evening, as well as mark the passage of time. “The technical design, lighting, and sound all work to create an imaginary world in the minds of the listening audience,” he said, “an imaginary world built from the memory of real events.”
The Otero Players’ technical crew has spent the past few months cataloging sound effects and recording live at Bent’s Fort. The theatre department began assembling a sound library of bird calls, animal sounds, and daily activities such as blacksmithing, outdoor cooking, and adobe building in June. Over the summer, sound crews have recorded a variety of events at the fort, including living history demonstrations, lectures and encampments.
“Everyone at the fort has been extremely helpful and very supportive,” said Keith. “On one occasion, [living history interpreter] Greg Holt yoked up the oxen and ran them through their paces for us so we could record his commands and the sounds of the ox cart and wagon wheels crossing the prairie.”
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Otero Players Past Performances
