It happened sometime within the last four decades. Once Missoula Children’s Theatre and MCT Community Theatre began to raise and lower its velvet curtain on classics such as Oliver, The Sound of Music, and South Pacific, delighted audiences became devoted patrons.
Now heading into its 40th year, MCT Incorporated has a lot to celebrate, and its upcoming production season reflects that.
Like many small-town theatre companies, MCT Community Theatre had humble beginnings. In the early days, before the company had a theater of its own, auditions and show rehearsals were conducted in rented space, and performances staged in theaters such as the Wilma or Front Street Theatre.
Even after the nonprofit purchased the Central School Building, and MCT Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors, the space didn’t initially include a performance theater, says MCT publicist Amy Farrington.
“The theater we have now was a construction add-on, and that opened in 1998,” she says.
Since then, in a theater where Peter Pan has soared from its ceiling, and the social commentary of Rodgers and Hammerstein has been as loud as its libretto, Missoula’s performing arts scene has become ever-more sophisticated.
Titles featured in the 2010-2011 season will include The Producers, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, The Mikado, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and an original musical called Broadway Rocks - a finale that celebrates the best of what MCT has accomplished with children.
It’s a varied roster executive director Michael McGill says reflects the theatre’s evolution, and demonstrates faith in the fact that a tightly knit community will follow along.
“Our choice to select a different director for each production this season is a part of that (evolution),” says McGill. “It’s not something we’ve done in years past.”
Professional actors Dan Sharkey and Curt Olds both reside in New York City and make a living in the performing arts - Sharkey as actor, and Olds as actor and opera singer. Each is also slated to direct a musical in the community theatre lineup this season.
Bozeman native Sharkey will kick off the season as director of The Producers, and told McGill recently that he couldn’t have cast the show better if he was in New York.
“That’s an incredible compliment to the talent pool here in Missoula,” McGill says.
Curt Olds was active in Missoula Children’s Theatre programs practically from the moment he could talk. He toured with the company as a child, and came back as an adult to take directorial reins at the company’s performing arts camp. He will direct the two-act comic opera The Mikado in January.
Seen by many as the grandfather of all musical theatre, the 125-year-old Gilbert and Sullivan work also happens to be a well-worn glove in Olds’ own acting repertoire.
“The lead role of Coco is a signature role for me,” he says. Once the MCT production wraps in January, Olds is headed to Eugene, Ore. to reprise the role - the 17th time he will have performed in the musical.
Olds, who helmed production of CATS for MCT in 2006, and appeared in the musical’s original endurance run on Broadway, says “directing is a good fit” for him. He says opportunities to direct in places like Missoula, provide him a means to step outside the scope of acting.
But it works both ways. McGill says guest directors like Sharkey and Olds afford locals exposure to professional training and a different kind of work ethic.
“It’s important for our community theatre to expose local actors to people who have this kind of expertise. New blood can be very exciting for everyone,” says McGill. “But beyond artistic vision and expertise, it’s equally important to look at people skills and how that person will mesh with our community.”
Equally important is the chemistry of lineup.
“We really put a lot of thought into our selections this year,” says McGill. “In fact, we debated over One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest because of its intense subject matter.” MCT historically caters to Missoula through family-friendly content, he says. But in the end, Cuckoo’s Nest got the nod because it appeals to a different theatre-goer than Pirates of Penzance and The Sunshine Boys.
Director David Mills-Low will direct the controversial Ken Kesey play.
“While families are unanimously thrilled to attend a musical production like Grease or CATS, we also strive to offer entertainment that appeals to a broader slice of audience,” McGill says.
Mills-Low agrees that content is edgier than normal, but says that a mythos around the play makes it seem “out there,” but says themes are less explicit and graphic than material found on prime-time television.
“I’m interested in human interaction, and am looking forward to bringing out the humanity of characters,” he says.
Whether it’s a prop that fails, or a line of dialogue omitted under duress, live theater is can be fraught with mishaps. And unlike a movie, there are no second takes.
Trouble-shooting the unexpected - in real-time - is all a part of live theatre, says publicist Amy Farrington. But it’s watching how the actors on stage handle curve balls that never ceases to impress her.
In a performance of Grease last year, Hellgate High actor Shelby Jo Henthorn accidentally kicked her shoe up in the air during a dance number. As it was about to hit her in the head on the way down, she reached up, caught it, slipped it back on, and continued dancing, says Farrington.
“She got a gasp and a clap from the audience, but the whole thing was just really interesting to watch,” she says. “It really speaks to the level of talent and professionalism here.”
By its very nature, Community Theater relies on local talent. From year to year, plenty of faces are familiar on the MCT stage, but McGill says that newcomers invigorate a cast.
“I look really closely at new people and try to get to know them, but am always surprised by folks who walk into the room (for an audition),” he says. “Sometimes I just think, ‘Where did you come from?’”
Typically, when MCT casts a production, a director will group actors together to observe them as individuals, and as part of a group. Each group is then given a song to learn - a portion of which each person will sing - and will then read lines. Because the company produces more musicals per year than straight stage plays, auditions often also include dance.
Once a complete cast is selected, near-nightly rehearsals begin and run for a period of six weeks prior to the opening of a show. When shows open, they run for two weeks.
As an actor and seasoned MCT director, McGill says the time commitment can be staggering - so much so that directors ask for schedule conflicts up front at the audition, then balance it with a best suited role.
“They may be perfect for a particular role, but if it’s a lead, and an actor can’t come nightly, we may offer them something smaller for the good of the show,” McGill says.
Work parties are also commonplace. At one time or another, everyone in the show will gather to paint sets, drive screws, and anything else that needs doing. Pitching in as a group provides ownership, he says, and is the spirit of community theatre.
“People may be interested to know that nearly everything about a show entails volunteer participation,” says McGill. Apart from directors and costumers, who are paid, all other players - from actors to ushers - drive shows.
MCT Community Theater launches its new season in November with The Producers. At season end, Broadway Rocks will represent the company’s best work with kids. according to McGill.
“We are the largest touring children’s theatre in existence, and go to all 50 states and more than 1,200 total places throughout the year,” he says. “Having the finale be all about kids is what celebrates MCT.”
Season tickets are on sale now at the Broadway box office, and general public seats go on sale two to three weeks before the opening of each show. For more information call the MCT Box Office at 406-728-7529 or visit www.mctinc.org, and click on the “In Missoula” tab for MCT Community Theatre.
Reach writer Lori Grannis by phone at 406-360-8788; e-mail her at llgrannis@gmail.com
