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"Our stage manager is a former ballplayer himself," Decker explains, "so he and another guy have set up a week-long baseball minicamp for the cast. The first week is going to be nothing but going out and playing ball together."
There's plenty more excitement in store at Actor's Theatre, where Decker is currently playing bass guitar in the company's revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Decker himself will direct Eric Coble's Bright Ideas (November 3) which Decker describes as a satirical farce that skewers parents who begin mapping out their children's lives before the child is even conceived.
Christmas on Stonewall Street will feature a doubleheader of revivals, as Epic Arts Repertory's A Mad, Mad Madrigal opens in tandem with ATC's Santaland Diaries on December 3. Decker is eagerly welcoming Epic Arts into his facility for the entire 2004-05 season, beginning with Arthur Miller's The Crucible (October 7).
Decker has nothing but praise for Epic Arts' co-founders, the husband-and-wife tandem of Stan Peal and Laura Depta.
"Laura is a brilliant actress," says Decker, "and Stan is just an up-and-coming phenomenal playwright. The two of them are going to be a force to be reckoned with. And we're as excited as hell to have them under our roof."
Epic Arts will also offer the first public performance in the intimate 60-seat Studio Theatre newly nestled into the Stonewall Street estate. That happens when Peal offers his latest installment of Halloween at the Poe House (October 30).
We're straying more than a month beyond the winter solstice in announcing Steve Umberger's curtain call at Charlotte Rep. But it sounds like God himself is writing the script when we proclaim that Umberger will return to direct the regional premiere of The Exonerated at Rep, opening February 4.
Happily, the Ubiquitous One's return to the local scene after a year's absence occurs in a matter of weeks as he directs Theatre Charlotte's revival of Cabaret (September 9). Billy Ensley stars as The Emcee after he tosses aside his Hedwig wig. The presence of Patrick Ratchford, Polly Adkins and Dennis Delamar in the cast will amp up the excitement. Another distinguished Rep alum shows up at the Queens Road barn as Randell Haynes directs the Theatre Charlotte version of Picasso at the Lapin Agile (October 28).
Leadoff Hits
Aside from wishing to jump aboard the annual Charlotte Shout hoopla (September 3-25) in style, local theater groups are learning the wisdom of putting their best foot forward in opening their seasons. Getting to first base with your audience in September helps to build audience loyalty for the entire season and jacks up subscription sales.
Local theater companies are likely to see more hits from their leadoff shows than ever before. BareBones Theatre Group is obviously eager to please, opening on September 9 with Psycho Beach Party. That same night, Carolina Actors Studio Theatre brings us an apocalyptic vision that stunned audiences at the 2003 Humana Festival in Louisville, Bridget Carpenter's The Faculty Room.
Then we get a peep at Off-Tryon Theatre's Pageant beginning September 16, with men playing all six contestants for the Miss Glamouresse crown -- and a new winner at successive performances. A trio of pleasantries opens the following night. CPCC Theatre presents the revised version of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, while Children's Theatre launches its mainstage season with Laura Numeroff, on hand for a book signing, and her If You Give a Mouse a Cookie performed by the Tarradiddle Players.
Rep's interim artistic director, Terry Loughlin, directs Joe DiPietro's Over the River and Through the Woods -- not a huge surprise since he directed the Blowing Rock Stage Company production back in June. The unlikely DiPietro festival resumes on December 4 when the company opens I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change! as their Special Holiday musical.
All the major players on the local theater scene will converge under the Charlotte Shout umbrella on September 19 as the Metrolina Theatre Association presents its first annual Metrolina Theatre Awards at McGlohon Theatre. Red carpet arrivals, emotional acceptances, artful sanctimony -- the works!
The Real Producer
PAC chieftain Tom Gabbard gets huge kudos for the Broadway Lights lineup. With old-timey titles like The King and I (September 19) in the mix with the hot new titles -- and new slice-and-dice subscriptions for those who like one or the other -- more people are apt to be pleased with their tickets.
"Response has been really phenomenal," Gabbard acknowledged after the first day ticket sales were tabulated, "way beyond the norm."
It's not just the season slate that's creating the box office buzz. Gabbard and the PAC created momentum for young and old theatergoers with major Summer Sensations attractions that included Rent and Camelot. They're also pepping up activity at Spirit Square and shining a fresh spotlight on Charlotte's fringe theater scene.
