Players to celebrate
American folk music
at upcoming dinner theatre
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
PRESQUE ISLE – With songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” “The Banana Boat Song,” “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” “Good Night, Irene” and “This Land is Your Land,” the Presque Isle Community Players’ upcoming dinner theatre is sure to feature something for everyone.
“No mater what your age, some of these classic folk songs were – and probably still are – a part of your life,” said Rod Thompson, musical director. “I think people will be amazed at the memories the songs will bring back to them when they hear them performed live.”
“This Land is Your Land: A Celebration of American Folk Music” will be held Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle Campus Center. A social hour will begin at 6 p.m., dinner will be served at 7 p.m., and the performance will start at 8 p.m.
“Last year the Players performed ‘Guys and Dolls’ which was a musical theatre production done on a stage,” said Thompson. “This is in a dinner theatre format, and for all practical purposes, it’s a musical review.
“The nice thing about this particular genre of music is every one of those songs has a history or a story behind it,” he said. “When we first started with the song list, I had a list of about 80 songs … and a lot of them were right out of grammar school folk books. We did a lot of paring down and now we have 25 songs that we’ll be performing.”
Thompson said one of the reasons some songs didn’t make the cut were “because of the voices we have.”
“Part of it was a mix of the voices we have, and part was just personal preference. When we started narrowing it down a little bit, there were certain songs that the whole group just really liked and wanted to do,” he said, “and vice versa, there were three or four songs that people sang and sang and I could tell by the expressions on their faces that they didn’t care for them, so I cut them.”
The musical review will feature several solos, a few small group songs, and a couple of duets.
“About half the songs are going to be group sing-alongs and we hope the audience will recognize them and stamp their feet, clap their hands and, in some cases, sing along,” Thompson said. “We did a show recently at the Aroostook Centre Mall and one of the songs we did was the ‘The Banana Boat Song.’
“The fellow that sings that started singing ‘Day-o’ and the whole mall answered back ‘Day-o,’” he said. “It was wonderful. I went home after the rehearsal and I was watching a football game. This particular one was in Miami. The sound person in this big stadium played ‘Day-o’ and the whole stadium went, ‘Day-o.’ It was a déjà vu moment.”
While previous Players’ performances were more story-based, Thompson said the musical review features more of an introduction to each song.
“In some cases we’ll say a few words about the original performers or writers, but it’s more about the music this time,” he said. “Normally the Players have done a dinner theatre format and a music review every year. Last year they didn’t do the dinner theatre because they couldn’t find a director and/or couldn’t find a venue at that point in time. The format isn’t new for us; however, this particular genre is.”
The dinner menu will include a green salad, rolls, baked stuffed chicken, pasta primavera, rosemary roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, baby dill carrots, chocolate mousse, apple crisp, coffee, tea or water.
Thompson said tickets are still available for all the shows. Tickets are $24 per person and are available at the Aroostook Centre Mall’s Information Desk and at Goin’ Postal where credit cards are accepted. People can purchase tickets up until 3 p.m. the day of the performance, at which time the food vendor needs to know how much food to prepare. A cash bar will also be available. The admission ticket does not include drinks.
The performers this year include Lin Chalou, guitar; Jim Derosier, set design; Twink Derosier, Mike Eisensmith, guitar; Sandy Gauvin, Frank Grant, guitar; Martha Grant, percussion; Debbie Lamont, guitar; Cissy Libby, Elaine Moody, Melbourne Smith, bass/banjo; Claudia Stevens, Nadine Strelka, Sherry Sullivan and Rod Thompson, guitar/piano/bass.
“The songs all came from the factories, farms and Main Streets of the U.S. and I think people are going to love them,” said Thompson. “This show is going to bring back a lot of happy memories, put a smile on your face, a hop and skip in your step, and maybe even a tear to your eye.”
ROD THOMPSON, left, musical director for the Presque Isle Community Players’ “This Land is Your Land: A Celebration of American Folk Music,” accompanies Elaine Moody during a recent rehearsal. Some of the songs to be featured in the upcoming production include “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Banana Boat Song,” “Puff, the Magic Dragon” and “This Land is Your Land.” Performances will be held Nov. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle Campus Center. Thompson said the show will “bring back a lot of happy memories, put a smile on your face, a hop and skip in your step, and maybe even a tear to your eye.”
THE PRESQUE ISLE COMMUNITY PLAYERS will present “This Land is Your Land: A Celebration of American Folk Music” Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle Campus Center. This year’s production will be a dinner theatre. A social hour will begin at 6 p.m., dinner will be served at 7 p.m., and the performance will start at 8 p.m. Pictured rehearsing for the upcoming show are, from left: Elaine Moody, Melbourne Smith and Claudia Stevens.
