News!

We are pleased to announce open auditions for our upcoming production of Thornton Wilder’s offbeat comedy, The Skin of Our Teeth. All roles are open in this American classic, which will be staged by BOP in collaboration with Cochise College. There are great roles for teens, young adults, and mature performers. Lucinda Sage-Midgorden will direct. Rehearsals for The Skin of Our Teeth will be held selected evenings and weekends August 30-November 28. Performances will be November 30-December 9.

More info on Thornton Wilder's site: http://www.thorntonwilder.com/full-length-plays/the-skin-of-our-teeth.html.

More news!

We've finally decided on our final show of the 2012-2013 season. We couldn't find a pianist with an open schedule, though we did find a lovely person to work with the singers. Ah well, maybe we'll Honk! next year.

We end our tenth season with Bisbee's Obscure Alice. How's that for fantastical? It will be BOP's adventures in Wonderland with lots of help from the great characters and words of Lewis Carroll. This show will have roles for actors 9 on up. Mark your calendars for rehearsals in late February and for the show opening in mid-April.

Sign of relief.

Odd Couple, Female Version, Auditions

Bisbee’s Obscure Productions Auditions for Female “Odd Couple”

Bisbee’s Obscure Productions will have an open call July 21 and 22 for actors for their upcoming production of The Odd Couple, Female Version by Neil Simon. There are still a lot of people today that can’t help but grin when they hear the words “Odd Couple.” Neil Simon’s hilarious play was turned into a hilarious movie and an equally funny TV series about the antics of two mismatched roommates. The female version has the same story line and the same lead characters, now called Florence Unger and Olive Madison. The poker game becomes Trivial Pursuit with girlfriends Mickie, Sylvie, Vera and Renee. The attractive Pigeon sisters are now the handsome Costazuela brothers, Manolo and Jesus.

Denise DeVinney will direct. BOP audiences will remember Denise from I Hate Hamlet and Urinetown, the Musical. She has experience in almost all aspects of community theater including directing, acting and stage-managing. Denise’s directing resumé includes The Odd Couple, Godspell, The Foreigner, Lend Me A Tenor and Anything Goes in Wyoming and Minnesota.

Auditions will be held in the O.J. Squffy Theater at Central School Project, 43 Howell Ave. in Old Bisbee on Saturday and Sunday, July 21 & 22, beginning at 2:00 pm each day.

Actors are asked to come prepared to deliver a one- to three-minute memorized comic monologue, not original work. They will also read from the script. Rehearsals will be selected evenings and weekends until performance. Dress rehearsal and performance dates are scheduled for September 22 – October 7, 2012. A copy of the script is available for reading at the Copper Queen Library. Actors may contact BOP at (520) 432-2901 or theaterbisbee@gmail.com for more information.

Bisbee’s Obscure Productions Seeks Music Director

BOP's upcoming season will definitely be one of collaboration, and so we are looking for collaborators. If you aren't the ideal candidate, please tell all your friends.

Bisbee’s Obscure Productions is looking for a skilled team player to serve as music director and piano accompanist for their upcoming multigenerational production of HONK! in the spring of 2013. HONK! is a funny and just-challenging-enough family musical based on the story of the Ugly Duckling. HONK! won the 2000 Olivier Award (the British equivalent of the Tony® Award) for Best New Musical, competing against both The Lion King and Mama Mia.
The songs run a gamut of genres, for lots of fun and variety. The selected person will have the rare talent to coax the best out of amateur singers, possibly ages 9 on up. The rehearsal schedule is flexible, though BOP would prefer music rehearsals to be on Monday, Tuesday and/or Wednesday evenings with added music rehearsals on weekends later in the run. An honorarium will be provided.

Auditions will be held on Saturday and Sunday, February 2 & 3, 2013, beginning at 1:00 pm each day. Rehearsals and performances will be at the O.J. Squffy Theater at Central School Project, 43 Howell Ave. in Old Bisbee. Performances will be weekends, April 18 through May 5, 2013, evenings and matinees.

Interested musicians should contact Rae or Gilles at Bisbee’s Obscure Productions (520) 432-2901 or theaterbisbee@gmail.com for more information and an interview.

Wow! It's been a while

Last you heard from us, we were getting ready for I Hate Hamlet. The Paul Rudnick laugh-a-thon was nicely successful. We have spent the intervening weeks cleaning up and preparing for a new season which we will be announcing formally really soon.

Thank you to all the people who have helped us make BOP the best little community theater in Bisbee -- and, we'd say, Cochise County. And we do have good competition.

Hang in there. 2012-13 will be announced soon.

Great Fun Coming Soon!

We've been working hard on our next show, I Hate Hamlet, by Paul Rudnick. We have a great set by Pablo Pencil, a wonderful cast, carefully chosen from Bisbee's great pool of talent. We're down to the last few rehearsals, and we're still laughing. Rudnick has written a crazy comedy about a TV actor transported to NYC, his amazingly naive girlfriend, the ghost of John Barrymore, an actor's agent and a real estate agent (vying for "scum of the earth"), and a Hollywood producer.

Come see Alex O'Meara, Peter Gardner, Christa  Smith, Britt Hanson and more. You know these actors are good, but they are great in these roles. Get tickets now, so you won't be disappointed.

The info:

I Hate Hamlet will have seven performances only on the “Squffy” Theater stage at Central School Project, 43 Howell Ave. in Old Bisbee. Evening performances are scheduled for 7:30 pm on April 13, 14, 20, 27 and 28 with two matinees at 3:00 pm on April 22 and 29. There is no performance on April 21. Theater lovers are encouraged to get their tickets early to avoid missing this fabulous show. Advanced tickets are $10 at Atalanta’s Music & Books, the Bisbee Food Coop and by mail from BOP at Box 277, Bisbee, AZ 85603. For credit card sales (add $1) and more information, call 520-432-2901, or e-mail theaterbisbee@gmail.com. I Hate Hamlet contains mature themes and language, but much less than most TV shows, so please use your discretion.  

 

The Green Tomatoz Headline Bisbee Women’s Revue 2012

The Green Tomatoz are a reminder of fun times on Brewery Gulch when Theater in the Gulch gave us laughs based on the daily goings on around our town. The original Green Tomatoz, Chris Bovée, Judy Perry, and Nancy Weaver, helped form Theater in the Gulch and served as the venue’s house band. If you didn’t get to Bisbee in time to catch these women, you won’t want to miss a chance to see them now.

Bisbee’s Obscure Productions will bring The Green Tomatoz back to the Bisbee stage in this year’s Bisbee Women’s Revue. Judy and Nancy, and possibly a “fresh” tomato, will be featured in this year’s show, which celebrates International Women’s Day, March 8. BOP commemorates the date with a variety show featuring an all-woman cast and crew, though they do invite men to come out and cheer the performers on. The show is different every year and a good time is guaranteed for all.

Veteran Bisbee and BOP performers join the Tomatoz. Carol Park will lead the women of the Occasional Chorus. Sharon Strachan will spoof Stephen Sondheim’s, I’m Not Getting Married Today, with help from her company. BHS drama teacher, Elizabeth Henley, is on for Broadway tunes “to be named later.” Yvonne Grimm will perform with the “Banjolele Ladies,” Debbie Thompson and Debbie Lydon in three-part harmony. Debby Gardner will join Yvonne for Conversation in Heaven. Angelika Johnson and Abigail Stage will dance, and Liz Lockwood provides new comedic commentary. “Obscure” Rae Jones, emcee, will give her own Bisbee Women’s Timeline.

Be the most important part of community theater, yourselves, the audience! The Revue will be presented in three shows at Central School Project’s Squffy Theater, 43 Howell Avenue in Old Bisbee. There will be two evening performances at 7:30 p.m. on March 9 and 10, with a 3:00 pm matinee on March 11. Admission is just $5.00 at the door for this fun community event. For more information regarding the show contact Rae Jones at 520-432-2901, or theaterbisbee@gmail.com.

Great Show, Great Cast, Great Crew

And then there were none... by Agatha Christie is in the middle of a great run. Am I over-using the word? This is a fun show with both suspense and humor, and the cast makes the most of the opportunity. We've had one sellout, and another one coming for this Sunday. Please get your tickets soon, so you don't miss being part of this.

In the play, ten very different people have been lured to an island retreat off the coast of Devon, invited by an enigmatic Mr. or Mrs. Owen. A disembodied voice accuses each of an unpunished murder. Then, one by one the guests themselves are murdered, following the rhyme of “Ten little soldier boys went out to dine. One choked his little self, and then there were nine.” Who is the killer? Is it Emily Brent, the very religious spinster, played by Patricia Sherick-Gronlund? Is it Vera Claythorne, hired as Mrs. Owen’s secretary (Bisbee High School Drama teacher Elizabeth Henley)? Or is it Sir Lawrence Wargrave, played by Charles Feil? Who will survive until the suspenseful final scene?

Performances of And then there were none… will be February 3 & 4 at 7:30 pm with a 3:00 pm matinee on February 5. Tickets are going fast, so get yours now. All performances will be held in the O.G. Squffy Theater at Central School Project, 43 Howell in Old Bisbee. Bisbee’s Obscure Productions is grateful for the support of the Bisbee 1000 and Central School Project.

Tickets are $10 in advance at Atalanta’s Music and Books and the Bisbee Food Coop, or by mail from BOP. Tickets at the door will be $12 for adults and $6 for students with ID. For more information or credit card sales, call BOP at (520) 432-2901, email theaterbisbee@gmail.com or mail to PO Box 277, Bisbee AZ 85603.