I Love You.....Caps the Season

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE

"If this show were a blind date, you'd feel relieved, grateful and pleasantly surprised." Newsday, 1996

I love this show. We produced it, one of the first productions in Michigan, in 2001. Obviously, our audience loved it too. It is the most requested musical to bring back that we‘ve ever had. To quote from the CD liner notes: "In a theatrical age of mammoth spectacles and brooding musical dramas, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is a rollicking throwback to a nearly extinct theatrical genre: the musical comedy revue. With book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts, I Love You... reinvigorates the revue by taking a hilarious and tuneful joyride through the dizzying spectrum of modern male-female relationships.

In 1995, I Love You... premiered at New Jersey's American Stage Company, where, in the middle of one early performance, a woman in the audience couldn't help but blurt out, "This is my life!" From that moment on, the creators knew they were on to something. The following season, I Love You...moved to New Haven's Long Wharf Theater, and then on August 1st, 1996, I Love You... opened off-Broadway at The Westside Theater, where it was hailed as "Entirely winning! A show for real people about real people." (Gannett Newspapers).”

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change played for 12 years--5,001 performances-- since it opened in 1996 to become the second longest running show and longest running revue in Off-Broadway history. The musical has been showcased in more than 400 cities world-wide including London, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Sydney, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Toronto, Boston, Chicago, Mexico City, Barcelona, Budapest, Prague, Milan, Johannesburg, Dublin, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Taipei. In addition to its enormous success, the Off-Broadway production has been the site of over 50 marriage proposals.

"It's SEINFELD set to pop music!"Newark Star Ledger, 1996"Hilarious! The most entertaining show on or off Broadway!"Gannett Newspapers, 1996

Hair on Broadway....or at the Tibbits....

I thought it would be interesting for you to read what one of the co-authors wrote about the creation of Hair....

The origins of Hair by the author, James Rado:

"A guy from Washington, D.C. (James Rado) and a kid from Pittsburgh. Pa. (Gerome Ragni) met in New York City when they were cast together in a new off-Broadway endeavor, HANG DOWN YOUR HEAD AND DIE, a musical revue whose theme was Capital Punishment. Following the shortest run in show biz (one night), the two young men continued their friendship and soon set out to write their own show, a musical they entitled HAIR. The two became three when they joined up with a cat from Montreal, Canada (Galt MacDermot) who had settled into the New York area to live and who set their songs to music…

The show opened at the Public Theater and began to stir some excitement, earning largely favorable reviews, with a great one from Clive Barnes (who had some reservations mixed in with his praise), lead critic of the New York Times. Downtown (even without the "nude scene") HAIR proved to be a very warm ticket.

But after a 6-week run, Joseph Papp was done with it…. No show had ever gone from off-Broadway to Broadway before. Still Jerry and I were determined and knew that somehow, some way, we would find someone who would be able to help us move it uptown … Jerry and I had rewritten the text, and, with Galt, had added 13 new songs, expanding the score from 20 to 33 numbers.…We wanted a new director whom we had chosen, Tom O'Horgan…We installed and experimented with the new script of HAIR. Tom used various "sensitivity exercises."… The Tribe was taught how and encouraged to work organically with us on the material. It was a very exciting, smooth-going, yet tumultuous, rehearsal process. We opened at the Biltmore Theatre on April 29, 1968 (6 months after off-Broadway), and Clive Barnes, who had some reservations about the off-Broadway version, raved about our transformative work, which was hugely gratifying. For the most part, the critics hurrahed. HAIR was a hit!

HAIR has played pretty much continuously ever since its opening at Broadway's Biltmore Theatre on West 47th Street. It was translated into many languages and produced around the world, from Japan and Australia to South & Central America, from Europe to Israel."

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Charles adds: With it’s freewheeling story line and barbed comments on sex, drugs, military service, money, religion and other contemporary concerns, it’s vibrant and often memorable rock score, and a sprinkling of nudity, it shattered Broadway conventions and ran 1750 performances, while the London company performed it 1997 times. It’s back on Broadway. And here at the Tibbits for the first time, July23 thorough August 1.

'Leading Ladies' Strut Their Stuff this July

Leading Ladies is about Leo and Jack, two British actors whose careers are so far on the skids that they're performing "Scenes from Shakespeare" on the Moose Lodge circuit in Pennsylvania's Amish country. They think their luck might change, however, when they hear about Florence, an old lady in a nearby town who is about to die and leave a considerable legacy to her nephews from England. Leo convinces Jack that they should impersonate the heirs--Max and Stevie. Their foolproof plan hits a snag, though, when they arrive on the scene and realize the woman's long-lost relatives are nieces and not nephews….should they give up? Never! They don skirts and become Maxine and Stephanie. The plot only complicates as they fall in love with two beautiful girls…

So what is it about men in skirts? Charley’s Aunt. Some Like It Hot. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The Coldwater Rotary Show….There are certain things that are always funny…men walking in heels for the first time, bad wigs on “women” who are outlandishly tall, the locals enamored of these new glamazons…

I could write about how the tradition goes back to the plays of Ancient Rome---but it’s summertime. This strikes me as the perfect farce for this summer. A play with no hidden messages, just lot and lots of laughs. And boy, do we need that now!

"Ken Ludwig gives the audience something powerful and potent: laughter and a guiltless evening of Theatre-going."--Village News

"Leading Ladies is a highly combustible and continuously hilarious new comedy by Ken Ludwig, Broadway's reigning comic writer."--The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Jack Benny in the film of Charley's Aunt, 1941--Twentieth Century Fox

Top image is Arthur Askey in the British film Charley's Big Hearted Aunt, 1940

Tibbits Professional Summer Theatre 2009

GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES

I was amazed to learn that the Tibbits has never produced this show. It, of course, is based on the Anita Loos novella of the same name. Written in 1925, it has never gone out of print. It has been the basis of a Broadway play, a silent movie, a Broadway musical and finally a big screen Hollywood version of the musical (Well, sort of. More on that later.)

It is all about a comic gold-digger's trip to Paris where she exercises her potent claim "that diamonds are a girl's best friend." There are countless P.G. Wodehouse-type characters who provide her with the aforesaid diamonds. Loos was supposedly inspired to write the book after watching a sexy blonde turn American journalist and essayist H.L Mencken into a lovestruck schoolboy. Mencken, a close friend, actually enjoyed the work and saw to it that it was published. >Originally published as a magazine series, it was published as a book in 1925 and became a runaway best seller earning the praise of no less than author Edith Wharton who dubbed it "The great American novel."


The novella was adapted into a three act play called (surprise) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Loos and her husband, John Emerson. It opened in September of 1926 and ran for 199 performances--a very respectable run for a show in the 1920's. It featured Frank Morgan (immortalized years later as the Wizard of Oz) as Henry Spofford.



Loos spearheaded the musical adaptation in the 1940's with Broadway playwright, Joseph Fields. It was the second musical for the great composer, Jule Styne. Lyrics were handled by Leo Robin, who wrote with great comic flair. Carol Channing starred. It roared into the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 8, 1949 and stayed there for almost two years, racking up 740 performances.


Hollywood, of course, took notice. Twentieth Century-Fox bought it for Marilyn Monroe. (Don't you always think of Carol Channing and Marlyn Monroe in the same breath? (I believe I did. Once. When I had a fever of 104......) They took the surefire property--and threw out all but two songs. Updated to the 1950's, retaining only the basic story, it is still a fun film if only to see Jack Cole's musical numbers.

Lorelei Lee still had one more incarnation on Broadway. In the 1970's, instead of doing a revival, they rewrote the book, so Carol Channing could still be in it---telling the story in flash back and now called Lorelei. A couple of interesting songs were written by Styne with Betty Comden and Adolph Green, but it proved a very troubled undertaking. It has a small footnote in Broadway history for being one of the few shows to have two cast albums....one recorded before the break in tour...and then another after it, since it had changed so much...

I think it's a great old fashioned musical, a true musical COMEDY--and what a great way to start off the summer season. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes opens June 25 and plays through July 3.

Hair and Tibbits Summer Theatre

I think for the first time in the history of Summer Theatre, we will be doing a show in Coldwater at the same time that a revival of the same show is the hottest ticket in New York City. Hair is back on Broadway.

Usually the agents who license the shows to us are very protective of the rights. They want to have no other productions. If the show is on tour, they will not allow other professional theatres the rights to do the show until the tour closes. They want no competition. This is why we are still not allowed to do Chicago.

Well, for what ever reason, Tams-Witmark is letting us do Hair concurrently. You can "Let the Sunshine In" right here in Coldwater. Oh, and I'm told by the box office, that it has quite a nice pre-sale...

Tibbits Summer Theatre Gearing Up

I’m a bad person. (Well, that’s a little strong…)

I’m a bad writer. (Well, I like to think not…)

I’m a bad blogger. (Well, perhaps that’s the right term. And the right tone…)

I have not gotten into the habit of being able to record events that might be of interest to those reading this blog who are looking for potentially fun facts about how Tibbits Summer Theatre is put together.

I will go back and catch you up on some of the things I've been doing to get ready for summer, but let me say that casting is complete, the design teams are in place and I just have a few orchestra members to hire! We start in 30 days! YIKES!!!

Charles Burr--AD

The American flag flew today on top of the Tibbits…on top of its newly installed cupola. What a glorious sight! And a sight which hasn’t been seen in more than 70 years.

I first saw the flag from several blocks away as I left city hall. I confess, I spent part of the morning driving around town to see from what distance I was still able to see the dome and the flag. (I could see it from south-bound I-69.)

The cupola, the dome which sat on the original opera house, was removed from the building in the mid 1930s along with much of the other architectural detail as the already 50-year-old theatre was renovated into a movie house. Many volunteers have been raising funds and working on the restoration of Tibbits to bring it back to its original grandeur. A great deal has been done but nothing is as visible as the accomplishment of this past week.

On Friday the cupola was raised to the top of the building. What a glorious day and an awesome sight. People gathered in the parking lot, on the rooftops, along Chicago Street and at many of the businesses in the city to witness the occasion. It’s hard to explain the exhilaration I felt witnessing the 23,000 pound structure being lifted and set into place. And then the flagpole with its gold eagle on top, raised to the crown of the structure.

This is truly a restoration milestone.

There are photos and a video of the construction and installation on the home page… www.Tibbits.org. Please let me know if you watched on Friday, what you think of Tibbits’ new look, or from what locations you have been able to see the dome or the flag.

By the way, the ‘S’ stands for Smith…Barton Smith Tibbits, the man who built the building. The ‘B’ and the ‘T’ will be restored when we raise the rest of the funds—only $450,000 to go. More information on that is also on the web site on the restoration page http://www.tibbits.org/restoration.htm.

Christine Delaney

Executive Director

Tibbits is looking for artists to create and donate the images for its summer shows. The art contributed by regional artist the last two years has given Tibbits a fun look for its summer theatre brochures and other materials. It has also given many artists a unique outlet for their work and printed materials to build their portfolios.

If you’re interested there's detailed information on the website http://www.tibbits.org/. The art is not due until January, but we’d like to at least know if you intend to submit. Call 517-278-6029 or drop us an email at Tibbitsoperahouse@Tibbits.org.

$500,000 grant for Tibbits Opera House Facade

It has been really hard to curtail our excitement around here lately…Tibbits recently learned the City of Coldwater received the Scenic Byways Grants from the Federal Highway Association for half a million dollars for the restoration of the Tibbits Opera House!

This announcement is a tremendous boost to our restoration effort. The 126-year-old opera house is a notable landmark and asset along the US-12 Heritage Trail. We are grateful for the support of the City of Coldwater, the Heritage Trail committee, the Michigan Department of Transportation, our legislators, and Bob Welke in making this happen. For more information on the grant, go to http://www.tibbits.org/NSBPMDOTgrantPR12-01-08.htm

Tibbits is already gearing up for Summer Theatre and Charles Burr will be back soon with information on the shows and updates as he prepares for the new season. We really have so much more happening at the theatre besides Summer Theatre. We’ll start keeping you up to date on the other events as they happen. …Christine Delaney, Executive Director

End of season...

I got a letter from Ruth Scheidler that I thought I'd share as we wrap things up for the 2008 Tibbits Summer Theatre season. She wrote:

"Bop She Bops" was FANTASTIC in every way. You deserved the enthusiastic standing ovation you got Saturday night. My only regret is that I couldn't come earlier in the run, and see it TWICE.

Charles, Tiffany, Brynn, Katie, Eric, Uncle Dave (can't remember your name - sorry - I DO remember your red pants and great drum solo), Cheryl, techies and all the others who contributed so much to this production, THANK YOU. You never missed a beat, from period costumes to a mind blowing list of songs, presented by joyfully talented people. We LOVED this show. ~ Ruth Scheidler

Final Giveaway of the Summer!

This is Charles. I would like to extend a final thank you for all our readers. Once again we are going to offer a two for one ticket price for the closing night performance of The Bop She Bops on August 16 at 8:00pm. To get this special deal, call the box office at 517-278-6029 and ask them to apply the code BSBBlog#2. Once again, since I have decided to do this at the last moment, you must talk to a box office representative. The discount will not be available online.



Take this opportunity to see the show that has the entire audience humming, laughing and clapping along. Or come see the show again!

Bop She Bops Update!!!!

Hello Everyone!!!! Tiffany Wiesend here. We are all getting really excited for performances of The Bop She Bops. Today we rehearsed with our drummer John, or as we call him "Uncle Dave" which was fantastic. He truly is an incredibly skilled musician. The drums have really added a lot to our performance and we can't wait to open on Thursday. Do check out the video below... I think you will enjoy it. Well, I better bop on out of here, I have a lot of bop-she-practicing to do :) I love bop-she-puns...

The Goodbye Girl's Toughest Costumes!

Greetings Tibbit's Fans!
This is Melissa Swanson, costume designer for Room Service and The Bop She Bops. Today I wanted to share with you the toughest challenge we costumers had while constructing for our current show, The Goodbye Girl. This challege was, of course, the Giant Food Costumes! For those of you who have seen our production, I am referring to the dancing rib-eye steak, french fries, and ice cream cone.

Em Rossi, the designer for The Goodbye Girl, developed a strategy to construct these mascots out of ordinary foam mattress pads, headliner foam, a bit of wire, and lots and lots of hot melt glue.
Pictured here is the inside of the ice cream. I built a wire skeleton for the ice cream scoop in order to keep its shape while Katie Lemos was dancing in it.








This process kept us stuck inside these costumes for many hours while gluing each piece together.

After gluing everything together we spent a day in a mist of spray paint behind the opera house.










Lastly, we added the finishing details with some acrylic paints, and lots of glitter.

All three of us built one. Em Rossi made the fries, while Kat Reid (popcorn designer) built the rib-eye, and I tackled the delicious ice cream cone.

So far in the season these costumes were the toughest to build, and yet the most fun. But perhaps not for our diets, considering they caused many ice cream and french fry cravings (not so-much for raw meat).

If you have not seen these costumes in action there are still three more performances; tonight, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm.

The next show will be The Bop She Bops, designed by me. Here is a sneak peak of the costumes for Tibbits last summer performance.

A Behind-The-Scenes look at Goodbye Girl - Making The Lights on Broadway

Hello! My name is Kat Lanphear, and this season I'm serving as the Mainstage Lighting Designer for Tibbits Opera House. I just wanted to give our readers a quick look at the magic behind some of the effects in our shows, particularly The Goodbye Girl.

For those of you who have seen the show, you probably noticed Broadway posters that flew in and out during certain scenes. One of my jobs as lighting designer was not only to make sure that the audience could see the set, but also add a little bit of "lighting magic" to the signs. Working in collaboration with Lex van Blommestien (the scenic designer), we were able to make the Majestic Theatre sign light up, as well as create chasing lights around the 42nd Street sign.

The original concept for how to light the Majestic sign was to drill a series of holes in the middle of the sign to spell out the letters, and then use a lighting instrument directly behind the sign to shine light through the holes. However, this idea had to be scrapped because the look of the sign was being comprimised - it just didn't look as crisp and clean as Lex wanted it to. After a talk about other options, the two of us decided our best bet would be to use rope light to spell out the letters. Not only did using rope light achieve a better look than drilling holes in the sign, but it was also a cheap alternative - we had an abundance of rope light from a production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas a few years ago (if you happened to see that production three years ago, you may remember the rope light-surrounded runway - yes, we recycle!).

After deciding on a solution, the Master Electrician (Ben Paciorkowski) set to work installing the rope light. The picture on the left is the final product. It took about two hours of drilling small holes to feed rope light through, and installing clips to help create and shape the letters. Pretty simple, but a good look for the show.

While Ben worked on that sign, I was working across the scene shop on the 42nd Street sign. Early on in the process, I'd expressed to Director Brian Sage that I'd like to be able to do a chasing light effect on one on the signs. Most people have seen a chasing effect before - think about theatre marquee signs where the lights seem to "chase" each other around in a circle. A chase effect is easy to create, as it's really just a simple trick of the eye; what you really see in a chase effect is one light turning on, then the one next to it, then the one after it, over and over again in a loop of three. While it looks like the lights "chase" around a sign, it's really just every third light being turned on in a sequence.

To do this, I needed to wire 3 sets of 8 lamp bases to the sign - a total of 24 lights. This way, I could turn on one set of lights at a time. I also needed to be able to "hide" the wires so that the sign looked clean. To complete this project took me over three hours. Not only did I need to attach and wire bases to the sign, but I also needed to make sure I didn't get "lost" in my wiring. One wrong end of a wire attached to the wrong base could have cost me a lot of extra time to go back and fix everything. In the picture, you can see band-aids on my fingers; wiring the sign caused a lot of blisters that day! However, in the end all of the lights worked, and I was able to program multiple chase sequences for musical numbers in The Goodbye Girl. Check out the finished product below!



If you haven't had the opportunity yet, make sure to check out our production of The Goodbye Girl before it closes on Saturday, August 2nd! I promise you that it will be a great time, and you will be able to tell all of your friends how they made the lights on Broadway. =)