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 [email protected] 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 [email protected].
 
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 [email protected] 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
 
 

The Walpole Footlighters are pleased to announce auditions for our May musical, Adrift in Macao, directed by Jonah LeDoux. One of the key roles is Tempura. The whole play, and this role in particular, are loving satire of the film noir genre. As such, Tempura is a parody of the Asian characters often played by white actors in the Hollywood of the ‘40s and ‘50s - revealing in the end that he is the Mr. McGuffin who everyone has been looking for and is, he claims, actually Irish. Range: Bari-Tenor C2-G4.

Audition Dates:
Sunday December 16 4:30 - 6:00
Monday December 17 7:00 - 8:30

Sign up for an audition slot here: http://bit.ly/WFLMacao

​Auditions will consist of readings from the script as well as a short dance routine. Please prepare 16 bars of a song in the style of the show. 

Production dates:     
May 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18 at 8:00 PM
May 5, 19 at 2:00 PM

The Footlighters are committed to putting the right actor in this role. If you are not able to make the scheduled audition times, please contact director Jonah LeDoux ([email protected]). For this role only we will try to schedule auditions outside the listed times. Please use the subject line WFL: TEMPURA
 

The Walpole Footlighters are pleased to announce the cast for our February production, The Mystery of Miz Arnette by Alan Bailey and Ronnie Claire Edwards.

Floy Kate Landers: Leslie Marsh
Reuben Landers: Paul Marsh
Sheriff Trotter: Mark Adams
Oleta: Ninette Cummings
Miz Arnette: Barbara Schapiro

​Thank you to all who audtioned!

The Walpole Footlighters are pleased to announce open auditions for The Mystery of Miz Arnette by Alan Bailey and Ronnie Claire Edwards, directed by Marianne Phinney. Auditions will be held on Sunday, October 21 and Monday, October 22 at 7:00 pm at the Footlighters Playhouse at 2 Scout Road, East Walpole, Massachusetts. Callbacks, if needed, will be held on Tuesday, October 23 at 7:00 pm. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. NOTE: The role of Miz Arnette has been cast.

Performances are February 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16 at 8:00 pm and February 10 and 17 at 2:00 pm. All those cast must become members of the Walpole Footlighters. Actors must be available for the period between January 20 and January 31 for technical rehearsals. Actors are expected to participate in work days and set strike on February 17.

Sign Up to Audition: Please fill out and submit our online audition form on TheaterForms and make an appointment for your audition. Have your calendar handy and be prepared to enter rehearsal conflicts. You will be asked to upload a headshot (a JPEG file) and a theatrical résumé (a PDF file) if you have one. If you don’t have either of these files you can still submit the form and bring printed copies with you to the audition.

Summary:
The Mystery of Miz Arnette is set in Hardesty, Oklahoma's devastating Dust Bowl. The time is 1934, when Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd along with their gangs roamed the territory. Out of the desolate nowhere arrives Miz Arnette to rent the room that had been advertised and leased four months ago. With the family farm at stake and desperate for the additional income, young Floy Kate strikes a deal and takes in the intriguing stranger who would forever change her life. 

Characters:
Ages are for appearance; the ability to play and look the age is more important than actual age.
Floy Kate Landers: Age 14, daughter of Reuben Landers. Floy Kate is working on an essay for a contest, hoping the money will help her father stave off financial ruin.
Reuben Landers: Mid-forties, weathered, a farmer with nothing left to farm. Floy Kate's father, he picks up money serving foreclosure notices on his neighbors.
Sheriff Trotter: 40-50, local sheriff of Hardesty, OK. He is sweet on Oleta and provides Reuben with a little money to serve foreclosure notices.
Oleta: Forties, a "blowsy blonde," Oleta rents a room from the Landers and works at the local beer joint. She flirts with the Sheriff but she also has a mean streak.
Miz Arnette: (Already cast) A mysterious visitor to Hardesty, she has come about the room the Landers advertised four months ago. She wears worn but elegant clothing and travels with a tamarin monkey named Little Lucifer. Her origin is obscure but she becomes a mentor to Floy Kate and her ambitions to be a writer.

Rehearsals will begin immediately and be scheduled for three days a week. Weekday rehearsals will be in the evenings; Sunday rehearsals may be in the afternoon or the evening depending on cast availability.

For more information, contact the director at [email protected].

The Walpole Footlighters kick off their 94th season with Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins by Margaret Engel and Allison Engel. Proceeds will go towards the Walpole Footlighters scholarship fund for Walpole High School. Marianne Phinney portrays the sassy Ivins, directed by Peter Bradley. After each performance, there will be a follow up conversation with Ms. Phinney and Mr. Bradley.

Red Hot Patriot is based on the writings and speeches of Molly Ivins, a nationally syndicated political columnist and humorist. She emphasized the more hilarious aspects of both state and national government as well as of her native state of Texas. Raised in Houston, Ivins attended Smith College and the Columbia University School of Journalism. She worked at the Houston Chronicle and the Minneapolis Tribune before joining the Texas Observer, a political magazine devoted to Texas politics and social issues. In 1976, she moved to the New York Times, where she was ultimately named Chief (and only employee) of the Times’ Rocky Mountain Bureau. She returned to Texas in 1982, writing for the Dallas Times-Herald and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram before becoming an independent journalist in 2001.  Ivins wrote eight best-selling books, including Who Let the Dogs In? Incredible Political Animals I Have Known.

She became one of the world's Leading Authorities on George W. Bush entirely by accident. She had known him since they were in high school, and as Sir Edmund Hillary said of Mount Everest - he was there. Ivins counted as her highest honors that the Minneapolis police force named its mascot pig after her, and that she was once banned from the campus of Texas A&M (http://www.creators.com/author/molly-ivins).

Molly Ivins quotations are legend. About her home state, she said, “Good thing we've still got politics in Texas - finest form of free entertainment ever invented.” Her comment about a Texas legislator, “If his IQ gets any lower, we’ll have to water him twice a day” led to the title of her first book, Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She?

Performances are at the Walpole Footlighters Playhouse at 2 Scout Road in East Walpole on September 7 and 8 at 8:00 pm and September 9 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $20 and all seats are reserved.  Discounts are available for students and for groups of 10 or more. To purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 508-668-8446 or purchase online at www.footlighters.com.

This production is sponsored in part by the Walpole Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. 

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Steve Small at 508-668-8446 or email at [email protected].

The Walpole Footlighters are pleased to announce the cast of Flemming (An American Thriller), directed by Paul Campbell:

​Henry Flemming - Gary Mlinac
Karen Flemming - Diana Doyle
Stan Spencer - Jim Cannizzaro
Suzy Spencer - Ann Marie Weaver
Walter Larsen - Bob Maibor
Lieutenant Davis - Tanner Tillotsen
Vito Mardigian - Mike Long
Miss Havenhurst - Leanne Law

Congratulations to the cast and thank you to all who auditioned!

On June 23rd at 7:00pm, the Walpole Footlighters will present a staged reading of a new play written by one of our members, Paul Marsh, entitled The Waiting Room. It is FREE and open. There will be a feedback session at the end of the performance followed by a light reception in the lobby.
It is Super Bowl Sunday and the attendants in the Goldstein Waiting Room at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston assume they are in for a quiet evening of rooting for the Patriots. But when the Blooms arrive, waiting for George’s emergency surgery to be complete, followed shortly by The Waiting Room’s donor and his pregnant movie star wife, all hope of a relaxing night watching football is lost. Throw in a clueless security guard, an overworked ER doctor, and a drug seeking burglar, and the night turns downright chaotic. Through it all, the characters will learn that there is a time to wait patiently, a time to stop waiting and take action, and that sometimes what you are waiting for has been with you all along.

The cast of The Waiting Room
Chris        Maryanne Truax
Tommy     Sam Vestey
Bill            Paul Healy
Rebecca   Emily Murray
Florence   Barbara Schapiro
Eugene    Ted Zayka
Sadie       Gabrielle Jaques
Quincy     Dan Kirichok
Burglar     Andrew Bradley
Narrator   Kevin Lowney