It's a Wonderful Life

SWPH is proud to close 2015 with a successful run of It's A Wonderful Life! Our 50th season continues to impress us all with the professional quality entertainment our players provide in Western Oklahoma. It's a Wonderful Life, the classic Christmas story of George Bailey and his struggles, left us all feeling a little brighter about our own lives. 

Doug Eyster (George Bailey) and Joseph Suderman (Clarence the Angel), delivered a heart-wrenching performance leaving audiences in tears. For the first time in several years, we had sold out crowds for a straight play - or a play that is not a musical. With over 1,000 patrons attending It's a Wonderful Life, Southwest Playhouse may count this as one of the more successful straight plays produced in our theatre. The cast consisted of a combination of veteran players and new actors, but Director Jim Hull blended the different levels of experience seamlessly. 

The set of It's a Wonderful Life was in a league of its own. The lights came up on George Bailey as he stood on a bridge that appeared to be made of real steel I-beams. Christy Russell, the set artist for It's a Wonderful Life, created this bridge out of styrofoam, with the help of Scott Campbell and Dean McSpadden. Lighting designer Dean McSpadden created a brilliant atmosphere with the lights, aiding in creating a realistic world for the audience to step into, and sound operator Emma Brown never missed a cue. Southwest Playhouse is proud to have such professional crews! 

Rehearsals are underway for Into the Woods, our major musical for our 50th anniversary season. This production sports a cast of 22 people, and promises to be as delightful as the previous shows of the season. Tickets will go on sale for season ticket holders on February 8, and to the general public on February 9. The show runs February 12-14 and 18-21. Southwest Playhouse hopes to see you there! 

Wizard of Oz

A month ago, productions were under way for our first show of our 50th season, Wizard of Oz, and none of us truly anticipated the response and attendance for this widely anticipated production. After seven performances, SWPH had over 1,600 patrons attend Wizard of Oz, and almost 100 of them chose to buy season tickets. With an approximately 90 person cast and crew, director Melissa McSpadden had a doozy of a directorial debut. SWPH hasn’t seen sell out shows such as these since 2009’s production of Sound Of Music. The cast sported around 60 children, many of whom were munchkins, while the older kids donned various costumes to be trees, snowflakes, Jitterbugs, and Winkies. 

Laura Burleigh, a Pharmacy student at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, landed Dorothy as her debut role at SWPH. Laura was supported by SWPH veterans, Dean McSpadden as the Scarecrow, Josh McSpadden as the Tinman, and Sean Williams as the Cowardly Lion. Julie Williams played Glinda the Good, while Julie Barnett and her famous cackle won her the role of the Wicked Witch of the West.

New special effects were used to help bring Wizard of Oz to life. A new projector was used to cast a tornado onto the wall, as well as a projection of the Wizard as a terrifying giant floating head! Fog machines aided in the Witch appearing and disappearing, and thanks to David Berrong, a lift was used to help the Wicked Witch melt, a scene which audiences showed their appreciation for every night with applause and whoops of triumph at the Witch’s defeat! 

We are so very excited to see the love of theatre taking hold in our young thespians. Camp Oz, a summer camp held at SWPH in July, was a huge success! We anticipated an attendance of around 20, and found ourselves hosting almost 70 kids of varying ages! We hope to see this love of theatre to continue in the future, and were thrilled to see a wonderful turnout of kids for auditions for It’s a Wonderful Life, as well. Our children are our future. We look forward to seeing another 50 years at SWPH! 

Down Memory Lane

Down Memory Lane at Southwest Playhouse was a complete success! We had at least 160 people in our audience, and we could not have asked for a more responsive, supportive crowd. Southwest Playhouse was full of laughter, and at times we all cried together as we remembered past performances at our beloved community theatre. 

Our cast was complete with 31 people, including Terry and Linda Brooks, who were very involved in the 80s at SWPH; Keith Taggart, a last minute surprise cast member who was involved in the 70s; and of course, Kitty King Fisher, one of our founding members. Terry brought me to tears with his rendition of “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Keith and Kitty reprised a scene from The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Keith told me after dress rehearsal that he never expected to have this opportunity with Kitty again. Looking at her, she had the same depth of character and spark in her eyes that she had in 1977, the year Molly Brown hit our stage. 

Down Memory Lane raised $2,821.00! We also received a grant from the MT and Helen Gholston Charitable Trust to match what we raised up to $2,500.00. So in total, we raised $5,321.00! All of this money will go toward updating our sound system, lighting system, 

and any other technical areas that need to be improved in the theatre. We sold numerous SWPH 50th anniversary t-shirts, two beautiful 50th anniversary cakes, and our audience was so very generous. We at SWPH are humbled by the support shown for this event. Community theatre would not exist without the community. 

Don’t forget that season tickets are still available! They can cut the cost of attending a show in half, and you are also able to reserve your tickets a day earlier than our general audiences! Wizard of Oz opens in September, and I hope to see you there to support the asset to our community that is Southwest Playhouse.