JANUARY, 2000

1960 John Milliken was first OTP president.

1961 "Bell, Book and Candle" Director: Bill Morey.

1964 "Harvey"   Director: Bill Morey.

1965 " The Golden Axe"  Director: Pat Hager.

1970  Future OTP volunteer Veronica Hollman and soap opera "All My Children" began life the same day.

1972 "Deadwood Dick"  Director: Ted Beausoliel, Helen Carroll.

1973 "Spofford"  Director: Bob Lerew.

1980  "Due to Lack of Interest, Tomorrow Has Been Cancelled"   (Children's theater in the Studio)OTP debut of Margaret Anne Slawson.

1980 "The Shadow Box"  Director: Jeanette Mason. OPT debut of Gary Garrison. Peg Stokes, Pete Newell, Diane Hubert, Mark Hubert, Anne Marie Gillis, Bridget Kilpatrick, Rebecca Brabenec among the cast.

1981  "Mrs. Warren's Profession" (Mainstage) Director: Mel Mronchinski. Cast included Tom Schill, Phil Murphy, Joani Lackey (Campbell), Galen Kurth. Susan "Zeus" Zurbuchen, our then business manager (the "Executive Director" title hadn't been invented Yet) made her last appearance.

1981 "Reunion" by David Mamet. Mel Mronchinski starred in and directed special project in the studio with an Interlochen student. There was strong public reaction to a minor's use of the "F" word on our stage.

1982 "Round and Round the Garden"  Director: Steve Morse. Cast and crew of 1981's "Living Together" reunited to offer another of Alan Ayckbourn's "Norman Conquests" trilogy. Lynn O'Connor(mother of MaryScott) again was assistant director to Ron Lundmark, Katie and Loretta Steed, Galen and Susan Kurth, and Matt Roush, who replaced Mike Nunn.

1983 "Comings and Goings" Director: Douglas Rutherford. (studio) Just before the start of one Friday performance, a man in the audience had a heart attack. Mike Nunn did CPR, and an ambulance was called. The show went on only slightly late.

1984 "Life Is a Three-Ring Circus"  in the Studio . Children's theater Directed by Mary Ann Rivers-Freise.

1985  "A Streetcar Named Desire"  Director: Steve Stafford. Anne Marie Oomen was Blanche and Mark Smith was Stanley Kowalski. Nancy Sundstrum and Pat Blashill in the cast.

1985  "The Adventures of Mad Baggins"  in the Studio. Original musical based on "The Hobbit", written and directed by Jerry Westerman, with Denny Bechteheimer mentoring. OTP debut of Chris Smith.

1986 "One Flew Over the Cuckcoo's Nest"  Director: Pauline Tyler. Controversy flared when white John Piatek was cast in native American role of Chief Bromden. Native Americans picketed opening night. OTP debuts of Geoffrey Matter(who later wed Carlene Saints), Kevin Tomaszewski, and Hyler Whitney.  Denni Don Hunting had her second OTP role as Nurse Ratched.

1987 " True West" (studio) cast included Mike Nunn, Geoffrey Matter, Denni Don Hunting.

1988 "Tom Paine" (studio)  Director: Terri Heffron. Cast included Kelly Curtis, Matt Heffron, Eartha Melzer. Newcomer Veronica Hollman had an auto accident on closing night,  was driven to the playhouse by police and went on!

1989 "Nude withViolin" (studio) Director: Matt Heffron. Cast included Steve Clark, who had to trim his hair to fit period.

1990 " Talk Radio" (studio) Director: Kevin Tomaszewski. Last OTP appeareance of Laura Jeffrey.

1991 Two one-acts in the studio. David Mamet's "The Shawl", directed by Bryon Kuhlman, with David Curtis and Jeanne Curtis(no relation) in the cast, and Sharleen Kapp's "The Interview".

1992 "Fire in the Trees"(studio) Director Louan Lechler. Original script by Patrick Newcomb. Robin Berry in the cast.

1992 "Taming of the Shrew" Director: Robert Roush. Shakespeare play presented same season as musical version,"Kiss Me Kate". Hedges MacDonald came up from Chicago to see it, and was struck by a car,winding up with a broken leg.

1993 2 studio one acts - "Pizzazz", directed by Cinder Conlon. Cast included Brad Lerchen, John Kelly, Sam Clark.
            "The Problem"   Directed by Amy Horn, with Matt Heffron and MaryScott O'connor.

1994 "Cinderella: The World's Favorite Fairy Tale". (children's theater)

1994 " God's Country" (studio) by Steven Dietz.  Director: Chad Larrabee.

1996 "Much Ado About Nothing"(mainstage) Director: Robert Roush.

1997 "Arsenic and Old Lace" Director: Steve Morse, Assistant director: Michelle Perez. Rick Korndorfer returned from a long absence.

1998 "Twelfth Night" director: Robert Roush. Cast included Lauren Snowday, David Struble, Robert Van Collie, Catherine Wagner, Alan Williams, Cari Burke(who understudied Snowday), Deb Bolton, Tom Czarny, Matt Crawford, Joshua Reeb, Florian Sieble. Nan Worthington (as shrew's Kate) and Roush doing his Lord Robert charactor opened the show.

1999 "The Philadelphia Story" Jan Dalton's OTP directing debut, performed at Central High School. Scott Bufe's OTP debut, Bill Gavlin's first show since returning to the area after many years in Grand Rapids. Others in cast: Brian Dungjen, Daniell White, Brian Hale, Catherine Wagner, Al Lein, Margaret Anne Slawson, Heide Kelsey.

2000 "Inherit the Wind" (second production) Director: Jeanette Mason. Steve Morse plays Henry Drummond/Clarence Darrow, and Phil Murphy is Matthew Harrison Brady/William Jennings Bryant. The two actors once did a staged reading from the play at a school with the roles reversed. Mike Nunn is E.K. Hornbeck/H.L. Mencken, Scott Bufe' is Davenport, Hedges MacDonald is Mayor Jason Carter, Diane Hubert is Mrs Brady.

    The Play is based on the 1925 Scopes or "Monkey Trial", involving the teaching of evolution. Always a controversial subject, cartoonist Alex Raymond was forced to drop the Lion Men, Hawkmen and Lizard men from his comic strip, "Flash Gordon", a decade later because of alleged complaints that it encouraged people to believe in evolution.
    The play ran for a then record(for a drama) 789 performances. Ed Begley originated Brady and later played Drummond. It also boosted the careers of Tony Randall (as Hornbeck) and Bethel Leslie ( as Rachel Brown). Miss Leslie, who died in November, had been in 10 previous Broadway shows, but her outstanding reviews for "Wind" caught the attention of Hollywood and a prolific movie-tv career followed.
    Stanley Kramer's film version, although not a box office hit, received 4 oscar nominations, including Spencer Tracy as best actor. It was the first inflight movie on a major airline in 1960. Fans of Kramer's earlier film, " The Caine Mutiny" can spot a number of similarities, most notably in the climatic witness stand scenes.