The Walpole Footlighters is pleased to announce the cast for our May production of Calendar Girls!
​
Cora: Nicole DAttilio
Chris: Liz Eacmen
Annie: Cindy Bell
Jessie: Barbara Schapiro
Celia: Anita Harkess
Ruth: Leanne Law
Marie: Evie Rayburg
Brenda Hulse/Lady Cravenshire: Cynthia Small
John: Woody Farrick
Rod: Kevin Lowney
Lawrence: Gary Mlinac
Elaine: Kristen Annese
Liam: Daniel Corwin

Thank you to all who auditioned!

The Walpole Footlighters are pleased to announce open auditions for Calendar Girls by Tim Firth, based on the Miramax motion picture by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth, on Tuesday, January 21 at 7:00 pm at the Footlighters Playhouse, 2 Scout Rd, East Walpole, MA. If you can’t make the auditions on January 21, please contact the director at mariannephinney@outlook.com to make other arrangements. Callbacks, if needed, will be held Sunday, February 9 at 7:00 pm. The script calls for 10 women, apparent ages 20 to 70, and 4 men, apparent ages 20 to 50. The production will be directed by Marianne Phinney.
Performance dates are May 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17. Rehearsals will begin on February 11 and will be on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings.  This is a non-union production and there is no pay for actors.

Actors cast in the six leading roles must be willing to pose nude but will be concealed by a variety of props – cinnamon buns, flowers, balls of wool on knitting needles, and fruit. The audience will never see any “naughty bits.”

Auditions are by appointment and will consist of readings from the script. Sign up for a time slot at https://www.theaterforms.com/walpolefootlighters/calendargirls/auditionform/. Upload your resume and headshot when you sign up or bring copies to your audition.

Summary:
When Annie’s husband John dies of leukemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They manage to persuade four fellow Women’s Institute members to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar, with a little help from hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. The news of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on their small village. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their new-found fame. Calendar Girls is based on a true story.

Characters:
CHRIS - 50s. You want Chris at your party. She will talk to people she doesn’t know, find things to say to all silences and generate laughter. Part of this is because Chris is at home in crowds, holding court, being the centre of attention. Without Chris in her life, Annie would be better behaved, her life less fun. The two of them are like naughty schoolgirls. Poses for the nude calendar.
ANNIE - 50s. Annie will join in mischief but is at heart more conformist and less confrontational than Chris. After Chris has put a waiter’s back up in the restaurant, Annie will go in and pour calm. The mischievousness Chris elicits saves Annie from being a saint. She has enough edge to be interesting, and enough salt not to be too sweet. Poses for the nude calendar.
CORA - around 40. Cora’s past is the most eclectic, her horizons broadened by having gone to college. This caused a tectonic shift with her more parochial parents. She came back to them pregnant and tail-between-legs, but Cora has too much native resilience to be downtrodden. She is the joker in the pack, but never plays the fool. Her wit is deadpan. It raises laughter in others, but rarely in herself. Cora must be able to sing well enough to start the show with “Jerusalem” and sing the snatches of other songs required. If the actor can play basic chords on the piano, so much the better. Poses for the nude calendar.
JESSIE - late 60s/70s. Get on the right side of Jessie as a teacher and she’ll be the teacher you remember for life. Get on the wrong side and you will regret every waking hour. A lover of life, Jessie doesn’t bother with cosmetics — her elixir of life is bravery. Jessie goes on rollercoasters. Jessie bothers about grammar and will correct stallholders regarding their abuse of the apostrophe “s”. Poses for the nude calendar.
CELIA - age anything 35-50. The fact that Celia is in the WI is the greatest justification of its existence. A woman more at home in a department store than a church hall, she may be slightly younger than Chris or the same age, but she always feels like she’s drifted in from another world. Which she has. She is particularly enamoured of Jessie, and despite the fact Jessie has very little time for most Celias of this world, there is a rebelliousness in Celia to which Jessie responds. It’s what sets Celia apart from the vapid materialism of her peer group and made her defect. Poses for the nude calendar.
RUTH - 40s. Ruth’s journey is from the false self-confidence of the emotionally abused to the genuine self confidence of the woman happy in her own skin. Ruth is eager to please but not a rag doll, and despite being Marie’s right-hand woman she is desperate to be the cartilage in the spine of the WI and keep everyone happy. She has spine herself — if she was too wet, no-one would want her around. But they do, and they feel protective of her because they sense there is something better in Ruth than her life is letting out. They are proved right. Poses for the nude calendar.
MARIE - 50s. Marie has gradually built the current ‘Marie’ around herself over the years as a defence mechanism. She went to her Oz, Cheshire, and found Oz didn’t want her. She came back scorched. The WI is a trophy to her, which justifies her entire existence. There is a lingering part of Marie that would love to be on that calendar.
BRENDA HULSE – 40s - 60s. Brenda is a dull speaker who goes to various Women’s Institutes to give lectures, accompanied by slides, on topics like “The History of the Tea Towel.” Her topic this time is “Broccoli.” Brenda may be played by the same actor as Lady Cravenshire.
LADY CRAVENSHIRE - 60s. Lady Cravenshire really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing. But the WI girls seem from another world. The world of her estate workers. When she makes an entrance, she must make an entrance. She must glide in like a galleon.
ELAINE - 20s. Elaine really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing. But Jessie seems from another world. The world of her gran. Her clinical whites slice through like a knife. You feel you could cut yourself on that dress.
JOHN - 50s. John is a human sunflower. Not a saint. Not a hero. Just the kind of man you’d want in your car when crossing America. When he dies it feels like someone somewhere turned a light off.
ROD - Chris's husband, 50s. You have to be a certain kind of guy to stick with Chris and Rod loves it. He can give back what he gets, and has a deadpan humour which has always made Chris laugh. He drinks a lot but never so much as to have a problem. He would work every hour to make his shop a success. And John was his mate, even though the relationship was originally channelled through their wives.
LAWRENCE - late 20s. Hesitant without being nerdy, Lawrence is a shy young man with enough wit to make a joke and enough spirit to turn up at the WI hall in the first place. When he arranges the shots he is close to female nudity but sees only the photo. May be played by the same actor as Liam.
LIAM - late 20s. Liam would like to be directing other things than photoshoots for washing powders. He’s not so unprofessional as to let it show, but we can sense a slight weariness at having to deal with these women. There’s a resigned patience to his actions and each smile he makes we feel is professional. For Liam, this photoshoot is a job. And not the job he wanted. 

We are pleased to announce the cast of Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz, directed by Jennifer Rich.

Brooke Wyeth: Brooke Casanova
Polly Wyeth: Cynthia Bell
Lyman Wyeth: Jim Cannizaro
Silda Grauman: Barbara Schapiro
Trip Wyeth: Mark Prokes

​Show dates are February 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8:00 PM. Sunday matinees begin at 2:00 PM.

The Walpole Footlighters is pleased to announce the cast of the opening production of the 2019-2020 season, 9 to 5 The Musical, with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and Book by Patricia Resnick. 

Violet Newstead – Kathleen Hardigan
Doralee Rhodes – Sarah Hines
Judy Bernly – Rachael Rabinovitz
Franklin Hart Jr. – Dan Kirichok
Roz Keith – Sally McAllister
Joe -  Will Oliver
Dwayne Rhodes -  Eric Lightbody
Josh Newstead -  Joe Burke
Missy Hart/Ensemble -  Meaghan Culkeen
Maria Delgado -  Leah D’Sa
Dick Bernly / Doctor -  Mike Long
Kathy -  Amy Keegan
Margaret – Beth Morrell
Bob Enright/Orderly -  Matthew Divoll
Tinsworthy/Ensemble –  Michael Dornisch
Detective/Ensemble – Joe Bere
Candy Striper/Ensemble – Lindsay Hemingway
Intern/Ensemble – Denise Feeney
Office Worker/Ensemble – Heather Vieira

Thank you to all who auditioned!

9 to 5 The Musical is directed by Colleen Lavery McElhinney with Music Direction by Danielle Clougher and Chorography by Nicole Carey.  The Production Manager is Peter McElhinney; Stage Manager is Linda Berman.

The Walpole Footlighters are pleased to announce auditions for “9 to 5 The Musical” will take place Sunday, June 2 at 5:00 p.m. and Monday, June 3 at 7:00 p.m. Call-backs will take place as needed on Wednesday, June 5 at 7:00 p.m. Auditions will consist of singing, participating in a group dance number and readings from the script. Please prepare to perform 16-32 measures of a song in the style of the show.
 
Performance Dates: October 25, 26 and November 1, 2, 3, and 8, 9, 10. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8:00 p.m. Sunday matinees begin at 2:00 p.m.
 
Colleen Lavery McElhinney is the director, Danielle Clougher is the music director and Nicole Carey is the choreographer. All performances take place at the Footlighters Playhouse at 2 Scout Road, East Walpole, MA. All roles are open. The cast will include approximately 15 actors, who will be asked to join as members. Rehearsals are typically Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday and will begin in late August, based on availability.
 
Please contact Production Manager Peter McElhinney at petermcelhinney@comcast.net to book a specific audition time to expedite the audition process. Walk-ins are welcome, but will audition after scheduled auditions are competed.
 
Please contact Colleen Lavery McElhinney with any questions at colleen.lavery@gmail.com.
 
9 to 5 The Musical with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and book by Patricia Resnick, is based on the 1980 hit movie and takes place in the late 1970s. Pushed to the boiling point, three female coworkers concoct a plan to get even with their boss, Mr. Hart, a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot. In a hilarious turn of Mr. Hart remains “otherwise engaged,” the women give their workplace a dream makeover, taking control of the company that had always kept them down. Hey, a girl can scheme, can’t she?

Cast breakdown is listed on the Footlighters website on our Auditions page.

The Walpole Footlighters are pleased to announce the cast of our next production, Adrift in Macao with book and lyrics by Christopher Durang and music by Peter Melnick. Adrift in Macao is directed by Jonah LeDoux, musical direction by Dan Moore, and choreography by Lisa Kelleher.

Diana Doyle as Lureena
Matt Orell as Mitch
Rachael Rabinovitz as Corinna
Mike Nakashima as Tempura
Kevin Lowney as Rick
Gary Mlinac as Joe the Bartender
Juli Small as Daisy the Cigarette Girl

Thank you to all who auditioned!

The Walpole Footlighters are thrilled to announce our 2019 - 2020 line-up built around the theme of STRONG WOMEN! 
 
We are actively seeking talented directors for these wonderful shows. Please contact Andrew Bradley, Play Reading Committee Chair, at plays@footlighters.com with questions and/or if you are interested in applying to be a director. 
 
All applications are due by January 25th  and director interviews will be scheduled at the beginning of February. Individuals with all levels of experience are encouraged to apply.
 
Applications must include your theater resume, and a statement of which show or shows you are interested in applying for. If selected for an interview you will be expected to bring an artistic and technical vision of the show or shows you are applying for, including specific ideas of how you would address any challenges you envision.
 
Additional details about the shows and performance dates are below.  We are looking forward to a terrific season next year!
 
All shows run for three weekends starting on the listed opening date, including three Fridays, three Saturdays, and two Sunday matinees.
 
9 to 5 the Musical
Music and Lyrics by Dolly Parton
Book by Patricia Resnick
Based on the 20th Century Fox Film
 
Opening October 25, 2019
Pushed to the boiling point, three female coworkers concoct a plan to get even with the sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot they call their boss. In a hilarious turn of events, Violet, Judy and Doralee live out their wildest fantasy – giving their boss the boot! While Hart remains "otherwise engaged," the women give their workplace a dream makeover, taking control of the company that had always kept them down. Hey, a girl can scheme, can't she?
 
Other Desert Cities
by Jon Robin Baitz
 
Opening February 7, 2020
Brooke Wyeth returns home to Palm Springs after a six-year absence to celebrate Christmas with her parents, her brother, and her aunt. Brooke announces that she is about to publish a memoir dredging up a pivotal and tragic event in the family's history—a wound they don't want reopened. In effect, she draws a line in the sand and dares them all to cross it.
 
Calendar Girls
by Tim Firth
 
Opening May 1, 2020
When Annie's husband John dies of leukemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They manage to persuade four fellow WI members to pose nude with them for an "alternative" calendar, with a little help from hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. The news of the women's charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the Yorkshire Dales. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie's friendship is put to the test under the strain of their new-found fame