[NEohioPAL] Rabbit Run Theater Preview

[Bob Abelman]

Summer means it's time to storm the barn

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This feature appeared in the News-Herald 5/31/09

 

For many, a preferred form of summer entertainment can be found within the comfortable confines of a charming 19th-century barn-turned-theater.  They have been counting the days for the seasonal opening of Rabbit Run Theater. 

 

Come June 5, 'tis the season.

 

The barn, located in the pastoral township of Madison in Lake County, was turned into a 190-seat theater in 1946, when the horse stalls were removed, one of the hay lofts was lowered to form a stage, and two icehouses were hauled from the lakeshore to form the box office and actors' lounge.

 

It soon became a popular venue on the "Straw Hat" theater circuit, where journeymen actors-many of them film and TV performers-would come through to do a production or stay in residence for the summer.

 

In 1955, the barn's seating capacity was increased to 300, a ramped floor was added for viewing comfort, and production technology was upgraded.  In the late-1960s the facility closed for over a decade, as Madison faded as a summer resort.  Since then, Rabbit Run has become a destination of choice for theatergoers.

 

According to Brint Learned, executive director of the Rabbit Run Community Arts Association, "the place is enchanting-an open-air theater like no other.  There is nothing like watching a live performance while feeling a cool breeze and hearing it gently rustling through the surrounding countryside."

 

Choosing a series of shows for a summer-only schedule for a place like this is an art form.  

 

"We do not try to be cutting-edge or avant-garde," notes Learned, "but we focus on quality and the realization that our patrons are looking for a relaxed summer evening's entertainment.  We also want them thinking about these shows afterward and holding onto the memory on the drive home.  Even when choosing a comedy, we want there to be an enjoyable but compelling story being told."  

 

This is clearly the case with this season's opener, Neil Simon's comedy Broadway Bound, which runs from Friday to June 20.

 

This is the third of Simon's trilogy of autobiographical plays.  In Brighton Beach Memoirs, we are introduced to a 15-year-old aspiring writer named Eugene Morris Jerome, who struggles to make sense out of life in 1940s Brooklyn.   In Biloxi Blues, World War II has temporarily disrupted Eugene's plans to become a writer.

 

In Broadway Bound, our hero has returned to his family home in Brighton Beach and is on the verge of becoming a famous comic genius.

 

"Of the three," says Learned, "this one has the most depth.  We are bringing back Ann Hedger (programming coordinator at Fine Arts Association in Willoughby) to direct, who directed Brighton Beach Memoirs a few years ago and has a real feel for Simon's work."

 

Up next, from June 26 to July 11, is Les Miserables: The School Edition.  Performed by Rabbit Run's young adult troupe, the musical is based on a novel by French author Victor Hugo.  It  follows the lives of several characters over a twenty-year period, starting in 1815, the year of Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo, and focuses on the struggles of an ex-convict and his spiritual redemption.

 

The Tony Award-winning New York production was the third longest running show in Broadway history.  

 

She Loves Me will be on stage from July 17 to Aug. 2.  It is a warm, endearing musical about two feuding shop clerks who are unknowingly conducting a romantic, anonymous pen pal exchange with each other.  The musical, which had a short Broadway run in the 1960s, is an adaptation of a play by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo.  The play was turned into several movies, including the 1990s film You've Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.   This summer stock production will be directed by Brendan Sandham and stars Brian Altman and Lindsey Sandham, all Rabbit Run regulars.  

 

Comedic fairy tale Educating Rita will run Aug. 14 to 29.  Written by Willy Russell, the play explores the life-changing meeting of a disillusioned, middle-aged English tutor and a young hairdresser thirsting for knowledge.  In the 1980s it became a film starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters.  It is a tour-de force for two actors, filled with humor and pathos.

 

Closing the season, by special request of Rabbit Run patrons, will be a one-man production of the life and times of Mark Twain. 

 

Presenting Mark Twain is an original compilation of the author's works by Learned, who also will portray Twain.  This is a vivid self-portrait, blending humor, drama and irony into two short acts.  It runs for three performances only, Sept. 4 to 6.

 

Come Friday, it's time to get out the sun block and go see some summer stock.

 

Rabbit Run Theater is located on 5648 W. Chapel Road, Madison Township.  For tickets or information, call 440-428-7092 or visit www.rabbitrunonline.tix.com.

 
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