Tibbits Summer Theatre countdown is on...

3 days  before the tech crew arrives and starts work in the Tibbits shops

6 days before the first actors arrive for "Pinocchio" rehearsals

9 days before the next group of  actors arrive and begin rehearsals for "On Broadway 1956"

14 days until the opening of Popcorn Theatre with "Pinocchio"

20 days until "On Broadway 1956 opens"

Don't let too many days pass before you get your tickets. The summer will be gone before you know it and you don't want to catch yourself at the end of the summer saying "I had wanted to see that!" 

Stay tuned on this blog for the summer for more posts, interviews, and inside stories on the company and the productions. 

Charles Burr Interview

Last week Encore Michigan ran a nice interview with Charles Burr.

A FEW MINUTES WITH: Charles Burr, artistic director of Tibbits Summer Theatre
By Donald V. Calamia

For many Michiganders, the summer is not complete without a visit to Coldwater and Tibbits Summer Theatre. Begun in 1964, the company performs in the Tibbits Opera House, which opened in 1882 and is one of the few remaining facilities of its kind in the United States. Long-time artistic director Charles Burr talked recently to EncoreMichigan.com about his popular theater and the new musical revue he co-created that will open the 2010 summer season June 24.


Tibbits Summer Theatre is about to open its 47th season, and you've been associated with the company for 28 of those years in one capacity or another. What first brought you to Tibbits?


In the summer of 1981 I was performing in Fiddler on the Roof just up the street from Tibbits at the old True Grist Dinner Theatre in Homer. It was a 10-week run and I really needed to be seeing other shows. Well, my long time partner and collaborator, Bobb James, was performing at the Tibbits that summer. I fell in love with the theater. I auditioned for the next season and wound up playing Moonface Martin in Anything Goes.


Not to forget my stunning portrayal of Henry Higgin's butler...I came back as an actor for each season after that. I was directing at least one show a year by 1985 and was named artistic director by 1991.

Follow link to rest of the interview: MORE

How to Build a Hundred Acre Wood

Here is Popcorn Theatre Designer Christopher Otwell's white model for The House at Pooh Corner. The play, adapted by Bobb James, travels to many places in the Hundred Acre Wood. This is the model Chris brought to the first production meeting to show the director, Trinity Bird, how the set might work. This is a composite of all the pieces used in the show. They don't play on stage at the same time. Those who saw the show will notice that this rough idea for Eeyore's house changed.

The map, taken from the fly leaf of the book, is the connecting link for all the locales. Here is the muslin stretched and ready to paint.

Here the color is just beginning to be added.

The completed map still at the scene shop. Chris estimates that the map alone took about 15 hours to paint.

The completed map in place, with one of the the small bush pieces. The House at Pooh Corner plays thorough the 28th of June.