Annual Melodrama at Brush Creek Playhouse Opens Friday, July 29

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Love In the Cucumber Patch or The Pickled Road to Romance opens at Brush Creek Playhouse on Friday, July 29 for a three-weekend run. This lighthearted melodrama, written by Janet Carter with additional dialogue by Shannon Copeland and Sonya Heard, presents an opportunity for cast and audience alike to boo the villain, cheer the hero, and root for the heroine. Norman Gouveia brings a blend of Brush Creek veterans, experienced actors from other venues, and newcomers to the stage to his cast this year.

In Cucumber Patch, Kimberly Strong plays the lovely and innocent Purity Harthome, who joins her mother, played by Anna Koffler, in seeking to successfully harvest their crop of cucumbers and strawberries.

Unfortunately, F. Farthingay Foulweather, played with a delightfully sinister touch by Tyler Diaz, has a different plan in mind for Purity . . . and for her cucumber patch.

Can Ron Drake’s Hercules Strong save the day?

Will there be love in the cucumber patch?

Or will the road to romance be well and truly pickled?

The Cucumber Patch cast also includes Richard Stimson, Garrett Campbell, Shannon Copeland, Karyl Carlson, and Christine Stimson.

The show runs from July 29 through August 14, with evening shows at 7 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and a 2 pm matinee on Sundays. The playhouse is located at 11535 Silverton Road (the intersection of Silverton and Brush Creek Roads, between Salem and Silverton).

Brush Creek tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for students with ID, children under 12 and seniors 60 and over. Tickets can be purchased at the door beginning 30 minutes before each performance and are also available in advance at Brush Creek’s two ticket outlets: Books-N-Time, in downtown Silverton at 210 N. Water St. Suite B (503-874-4311), and Runaway Arts & Craft Studio, in downtown Salem at 311 NE Commercial (503-881-6270). More information is also available by contacting Michael Wood at 503-508-3682.

“The Cemetery Club” adds a 3rd weekend of performances!

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Based on the outstanding audience response to The Cemetery Club the Brush Creek Players sought permission from Samuel French Company to add a 3rd weekend to the show’s run. And we are very pleased to announce that we will be running The Cemetery Club June 24, June 25 and June 26. The Friday at Saturday performances begin at 7 pm, while the Sunday performance is a 2 pm matinee.

Tickets are available at Runaway Art & Craft Studio (311 Commercial St NE, Salem) and at Books-N-Time (210 N. Water Street, Silverton). You also can purchase them at the door beginning 30 minutes before each performance. Tickets are $10, with $8 discounted tickets available for seniors, students and children.

We are so pleased to offer these additional performances — those who have been lucky enough to see the show so far have loved it! And they would tell you not to miss this “second chance”!

For further information or to inquire about large group discounts, you can call Michael Wood at (503)508-3682.

“The Cemetery Club” opens Friday, June 10

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The next marvelous show in Brush Creek’s 40th Anniversary Season is The Cemetery Club, by Ivan Menchell. Brush Creek’s production of this poignant comedy is produced by arrangement with Samuel French and directed by Candace Pressnall.

Three Jewish widows meet once a month for tea before going to visit their husband’s graves. Ida is sweet tempered and ready to begin a new life, Lucille is a feisty embodiment of the girl who just wants to have fun, and Doris is priggish and judgmental, particularly when Sam the butcher enters the scene and meets the widows while visiting his wife’s grave.

This Broadway play was later made into a film, starring Ellen Burstyn, Dianne Ladd, and Olympia Dukakis.

The production will open Friday, June 10 and run through Sunday, June 19. Performances will be at 7 pm Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 pm Sundays. We also have a special performance at 7 pm on Thursday, June 16.

Tickets are $10 ($8 for seniors, children and students) and can be purchased in advance at Runaway Art & Craft Studio, LLC on 311 NE Commercial Street in downtown Salem or at Books-N-Time at 210 N. Water Street in downtown Silverton. They are also available at the door 30 minutes before each performance. For more information, you can also contact Michael Wood at 503-508-3682.

Melodrama Auditions June 5 and June 6!

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Open Auditions June 5 at 5 pm and June 6 at 6 pm.

Brush Creek is conducting open auditions for our summer melodrama, “Love in the Cucumber Patch.”

We seek a villain, a dupe, a hero, a “mystery” man, a mother, a heroine, a “special” friend to the villain, and a mom to the dupe. 

Our villain, F Farthingay Foulweather, is trying to take over the land of Purity Hawthorne & her mother. Hercules Strong, our hero, is trying his best to stop FFF. Will he succeed, will he fall to Scarlet Harlet’s charms? Will Jonah, the mystery man, reveal himself? 

Oh my, oh my…….all will be resolved beginning July 29 start date…………….. and running through August 14, with performances Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

No audition preparation is required. This is a great for beginners and experienced actors, including teens through “mature” adults. The Brush Creek melodrama is great summer fun!

Brush Creek’s next wonderful comedy! “The Cemetery Club” will now be opening June 10

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Date Change: Due to a cast illness, we have delayed opening our next wonderful Brush Creek comedy until Friday, June 10.

The next marvelous show in Brush Creek’s 40th Anniversary Season is The Cemetery Club, by Ivan Menchell. Brush Creek’s production of this poignant comedy is produced by arrangement with Samuel French and directed by Candace Pressnall.

Three Jewish widows meet once a month for tea before going to visit their husband’s graves. Ida is sweet tempered and ready to begin a new life, Lucille is a feisty embodiment of the girl who just wants to have fun, and Doris is priggish and judgmental, particularly when Sam the butcher enters the scene and meets the widows while visiting his wife’s grave.

This Broadway play was later made into a film, starring Ellen Burstyn, Dianne Ladd, and Olympia Dukakis.

The production will open Friday, June 10 and run through Sunday, June 19. Performances will be at 7 pm Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 pm Sundays. In addition, we will have a performance at 7 pm Thursday, June 16.

Tickets will go on sale soon at Runaway’s two ticket-selling partners (Books-N-Time on Water Street in downtown Silverton and Runaway Art & Craft Studio at Commercial & Chemeketa in downtown Salem). General admission is $10, with discounted $8 tickets available to seniors (60 and over), children (12 and under) and students (with valid student identification).

 

 

Next up for 2016: “Accidentally Yours,” by Pauline Williams Snapp

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Brush Creek continues 2016 season with 1940s comic farce, Accidentally Yours, by Pauline Williams Snapp

To continue its 40th anniversary season, Brush Creek brings “a farcical, light-hearted and good-natured” comedy to stage. Accidentally Yours, by Pauline Williams Snapp, was first produced in 1949.

“We’ve set our production in a time and place that may never have really existed outside the confines of the class television sitcom,” said Director Michael Wood. “But at the same time every one of us knows these characters – as absurd as they can be at times, they are also very real, and they are timeless.”

The play centers on the household of Spencer and Gladys Mosby. Spencer is a small-town history professor who has had a bit of literary success, convincing Gladys that he is the next great American author. As the author describes the Mosbys, “the two are a lovable, child-like couple who believe in the unbelievable. Gladys believes that anything can happen; Spencer is resigned to the conviction that it usually does.” Their niece Vivienne sets her sights on a successful young author who visits the town, and his introduction to the household provides the spark that sets the hilarity . . . and confusion . . . in motion.

The performances run from Friday, April 8 through Sunday, April 24, with performances at 7 pm Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 pm Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets — $10 for adults and $8 for children, seniors and students with ID – will be available at Brush Creek’s two ticket locations: Books-N-Time on Water Street in downtown Silverton and Runaway Art & Craft Studio on Commercial Street in downtown Salem. They also can be purchased at the door 30 minutes before each performance. More information is also available by calling Michael Wood at 503-508-3682.

The playhouse is located at 11535 Silverton Road, the intersection of Silverton and Brush Creek Roads, between Silverton and Salem. In spite of the Silverton Road address, the theater’s parking lot is entered from Brush Creek Road.