Tag Archives: Taylor Herbstritt

‘Rocky Horror’ opens four-day run at WWCA

Zander Martin has a little experience playing Dr. Frank N. Furter, the mad transvestite scientist of “The Rocky Horror Show.”

Martin played the part in CSTOCK’s black-box production in October 2011. He’ll be back in the fishnets and heels this weekend when Western Washington Center for the Arts puts on a four-show run of Richard O’Brien‘s kinky little cult class at the Little Playhouse on Bay Street.

The show, directed by Rebecca Ewen, also features a number of WWCA regulars in the iconic roles. Brad and Janet, the unsuspecting couple who duck into Furter’s mansion to get out of the rain and call a tow truck, will be played by Glenn Milligan (“A Little Night Music” earlier this season) and Erika Miller (“Caught in the Net” a little later this season).

Ewen herself has been involved in two shows at once at WWCA. She also directed the two-person chamber musical “The Last Five Years,” which wound up its run the weekend prior to “Rocky Horror” taking over.

Martin returns to WWCA for the first time since the spring 2014 production of “Bye Bye Birdie.”

Taylor Herbstritt, recently in Paradise Theatre’s “Next to Normal,” plays Riff Raff (the part originated by O’Brien when “Rocky Horror” made its debut on London’s West End in 1973, and also played the part in the 1975 film adaptation, which remains a Halloween midnight-movie staple to this day. Ty Bolin (from WWCA’s “You Can’t Take It With You” last winter) is cast as Rocky.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28, 29 and 31, with a 5 p.m. Sunday show Oct. 30 at the WWCA playhouse, 521 Bay St. in Port Orchard. Tickets are $12.

Information: 360-769-7469, wwca.us

— MM

BPA’s ‘Amadeus’ wins critics’ ‘Best Play’ award

“Amadeus,” Bainbridge Performing Arts‘ ambitious winter-spring 2016 production, has been recognized by the South Sound Critics Association as the “Best Play” of their 2015-16 season.

“Amadeus,” directed by Kate Carruthers and featuring an award-winning Supporting Actor performance by Luke Walker (Mozart) and a nominated Lead Actor effort by Nelsen Spickard (Salieri), was one of two BPA offerings nominated for “Best Play,” along with the 2015 holiday-season production of “Mary Poppins.”

The production, which the Kitsap Sun’s review called “rich and incredibly detailed,” featured an evocative set by Will Langemack, period costumes by Barbara Klingberg and atmospheric lighting by Tess Malone, is technically a non-musical. It does feature a soundtrack of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and other composers of the era, but normally is perforDSC_0592_grandemed with that soundtrack pre-recorded.

That’s where the ambition comes in. BPA employed a chamber orchestra, with fresh orchestration by Jon Brenner, and a choir/ensemble, both live on stage with pianists Josh Anderson (the musical director) and Elizabeth Faye.

BPA’s “Amadeus,” according to the Sun’s review, was “crisp and comprehendable, draped in luxurious visuals and accompanied by exquisite playing and singing throughout.”

(For the record, the Sun and its theater reviewer, Michael C. Moore, are not affiliated with South Sound Critics Association. The Sun annually publishes its own “best of” survey, but culls its nominees from the calendar year — January to December — instead of the fall-to-spring theater season. The Sun will run its “best of” compilation at the end of 2016.)

Shannon Burch, a frequent contributor at Paradise Theatre, won Best Actress honors for her role in the Gig Harbor company’s “Next to Normal.” The chamber musical was another Best Play nomination, and also earned a Supporting Actor nomination for Taylor Herbstritt and a Supporting Actress nod for Ashley Roy.

Spickard was one of three actors with Kitsap ties to earn Best Actor nominations. The others were Pete Benson (for BPA’s recent “Bard at Bloedel” production of “Much Ado About Nothing“) and Jeffrey Bassett (for Paradise’s “Scrooge the Musical“).Joseph Grant, playing Willie Loman in the Lakewood Playhouse’s “Death of a Salesman,” was the Best Actor honoree.

Lisa Mandelkorn, who played the title role in BPA’s “Mary Poppins,” joined Burch among the Best Actress nominees. Jenna McRill, who’s appeared in several shows at Paradise, was a Best Actress nominee for her title-role performane in “Romeo and Juliet” at Tacoma’s New Muses Theatre.

Bremerton’s Diana George was a Supporting Actress nominee for the Lakewood Players’ production of “Noises Off!”

Other best play nominees came from Tacoma Little Theatre (“Second Samuel”), Lakewood Players (“Death of a Salesman”) and Tacoma Musical Playhouse (“Mary Poppins”).

— MM