Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

We have landed in the blessed lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a few quiet moments before the lush bronze of autumn turns into the colored lights, tinsel, and thoughtful chaos that symbolizes the Christmas season. The dishes are done, leftovers disposed of, holiday trees and autumn centerpieces share space in the same room. It is a quiet time with a schizophrenic sense of urgency dwelling right below the surface.
Those same feelings can be applied to season 10, a very special anniversary season, for the Tyrone Community Players. The feeling of accomplishment was very high at the successful culmination of the previous season, the previous nine seasons really. Yet how do you make an anniversary season of such magnitude special?
How do you say thank you to a small community who consistently supports your efforts? A town who, even in the midst of tumultuous economic trials, continued to show their affection for the job done by this novice-no-more theater company.
Those were the questions that committee upon committee discussed and re-discussed while attempting to find a season that would appropriately express the depth of gratitude that TCP had/has for Tyrone. It had to be special, something memorable, loved, entertaining, comfortable, uncomfortable, known, unknown. It had to be all things to all people, and it had to be done as well as TCP had ever done anything in the past.
Calling upon one of the great strengths of this company, TCP had a party. Gathering together to think, talk, dream, concoct, suppose, TCP’s creative process fostered an explosion of inventive fireworks worthy of a New Year’s Eve celebration.
A piece of classic literature that had been painstakingly and accurately recreated to be performed on the stage. America’s most prolific musical team’s homage to World War II, and the men and women who sacrificed for the honor of humanity. Participation theater of the funniest, most unexpected type.
Three shows with diverse theatrical requirements: Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, and Murder at Rutherford House.
A theatrical feast for our community.
TCP chose a traditional script of A Christmas Carol to open this season. Every effort was made to be true to the “spirit” of this holiday adventure, even down to the aroma of Christmas pudding wafting on the air inside the theater proper.
The set was ingenious, a raised platform spanning the width of the stage with a large central staircase creating the outside vistas of upper-class London.
Beneath these platforms, painted to resemble the curves under a bridge, were facades that folded open onto the stage floor to create the underground worlds of poverty stricken London. Rooms hinged in from the wings, rafters dropped from the fly space, Ebineezer’s bed slipped on and off the stage without any visible assistance, as if really powered by a spirit.
Brian Anderson waded into this production with one of his finest performances to date. His interpretation of Ebineezer Scrooge was right-on accurate to the intent that Dickens must have had at his creation. The deep raspiness of Brian’s voice was a perfect partner to the story, the mystique, and the ultimate joy.
The supporting cast was exquisite, each weaving their part of the story with accuracy and finesse.
The costume plot for this show was huge and quite specialized, but designed and constructed beautifully by Duana Gummo. Every character was totally clothed, from the bottom out, in garments accurate for the character. Petticoats, pantaloons, breeches, jackets, skirts, shawls, dresses, aprons, hats, bonnets, gloves, fans, purses.
South Pacific has always been one of the most popular, beloved shows to set foot on the American stage. This production was no exception. Directed by Steven Helsel, the island of Bali Hi became a place so real that each member of the audience felt the warmth generated by the tropical sun. As simple in its staging as A Christmas Carol had been extravagant, the beauty of the music and complexity of the story’s message were enthralling. Max Dick, as Emil Dubec, masterfully led a wonderful cast through the maze of subliminal messages about bigotry, love and acceptance woven through the palms and volcanoes that made up South Pacific. Darcy Wilson was bright and energetic as Nellie, singing and dancing with a purity that was the perfect antithesis of Carolyn Patton’s collage of emotion, Bloody Mary. Gib Lucas performed to perfection, his scene involving coconut bra dancing still one of the most frequently talked about memories when any group of TCPers gather together.
It was a warm, wonderful, human experience plopped down in the cold grayness of a Pennsylvania winter. A cruise to the tropics for 600 audience members.
The finale for this special season was something to behold, indeed. Murder at Rutherford House was the first participation dinner theater produced by TCP. Each member of the audience became a player in a tale of murder, deceit and intrigue, all performed with a very large tongue-in-cheek.
Kathi Kuhstos led TCP through the maze of unknown details required to allow each and every audience member to keep track of suspects, victims, incidental characters, and ultimately solve the crime and win a prize. Actions of the play had to be coordinated with serving different courses of the meal, characters had to deliver dialogue at very specific times and in special locations, and someone had to make sure all the pencils were sharpened, clues placed, ballots collected.
It was quite a complicated endeavor, and one that Kathi handled quite capably. In fact, she knew the play so well that she could have, and did, substitute for any character on any given night.
When the run of Murder at Rutherford House was completed in Tyrone, TCP took the show on the road. It had been booked in a restaurant in Houtzdale, PA and between the two shows that had been planned, the lead male character, Rick McNelis, became ill and could not perform.
Trooper that she was, Kathi donned Rick’s oversized costume, lemon yellow, knee length on her, suit jacket and all, carried a script and performed in his stead. After the initial start this petite woman in man’s clothing with an obviously painted on beard created, to her credit the audience just accepted her and continued with the game. It was the first time in 10 seasons that a performer was unable to go onstage, and Kathi went above and beyond her duties as director when she cross-dressed in Houtzdale that year!
Now I am back in my quiet lull, the laughter and pleasant thoughts stimulated by this writing gathered and returned to their place under my undecorated tree, in the chaos of my everyday life, surrounded by pumpkins and pine in this special space between. Happy 10th Anniversary TCP. May you have at least 10 more!

By Rick