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Dec. 2007 - Children from Master's Touch Christian Preschool ring bells and sing Christmas carols for Ruth Uyesugi at her home Wednesday. The preschoolers visited neighborhood homes to spread Christmas cheer.
(Photo by Tim Thone)
(Photo by Tim Thone)
July 26 & 27, 2008 - Orange County Players said good-bye to the present Paoli High School stage just the way they said hello to it in 1970 with a production of the time-honored Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!".
Conflict between farmers and cowmen on the prairie was played out on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
The decision to resurrect the show that was a walloping success as OCP's premier production was no accident. Imojean Dedrick, co-president of the current OCP Board of Directors, explained, "With the school project taking place, and the building of a new state-of-the-art auditorium at PHS, this became the last year that the current stage was available to Orange County Players for a summer production.
"We started with that show on that stage and we felt strongly that it should be the last show that Orange County Players should perform on that stage, some 38
Conflict between farmers and cowmen on the prairie was played out on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
The decision to resurrect the show that was a walloping success as OCP's premier production was no accident. Imojean Dedrick, co-president of the current OCP Board of Directors, explained, "With the school project taking place, and the building of a new state-of-the-art auditorium at PHS, this became the last year that the current stage was available to Orange County Players for a summer production.
"We started with that show on that stage and we felt strongly that it should be the last show that Orange County Players should perform on that stage, some 38
years later. During that time, 'Oklahoma!' was performed one other time, a 10-year anniversary celebration back in 1979."
The notion of producing a large-scale summer musical was the brainchild of then-Paoli High School teachers Ruth Uyesugi (who is still a member of the OCP Board of Directors) and Dale Hottle, who became the show's director.
They soon learned that an entertainment phenomenon known as "community theater" was aptly named. Orange County's residents responded so enthusiastically to the concept that the week of production was proclaimed "Oklahoma Week" in Orange County, a surrey was located to help promote the play, and local residents were ready to roll up their sleeves and get solidly behind the show, offering whatever talent or expertise they had to bring.
An original "Oklahoma!" program, belonging to 1970 cast member Duane Radcliffe and his wife, Mary Alice, shows about 85 local residents as having been involved; about 50 were actually on stage, with many of them serving in the show's chorus.
Dedrick said, "In those days, OCP was the place to be during the summer. Summer sports were not as prominent. There was no Internet, and it was the perfect place to bring your family."
Members of the cast, in reflecting on the 1970 show, echoed Dedrick's sentiment that the PHS stage offered an alluring summer pastime and many recalled the extent of the community's support.
Teresa Bennett Folk, then of Paoli and now of Bedford, was double-cast with Norma Smelser Hall as the giggly Gertie Cummings, a role played this summer by Mika Eubank.
"It's a very good memory," Folk said.
She added, "Being a freshman in high school, it was a big deal for me and a lot of my friends. It was just a good atmosphere."
Folk said, "I remember people from the community, women sewing the long dresses. … It was a community effort. Everyone would donate items for the stage."
Salem's Chris Bundy, a college freshman in 1970, was cast as capable but dimwitted cowboy Will Parker. In the ensuing years, Bundy has been involved in more than 300 stage productions, but still has memories of driving to Paoli to assume a role he had just played in a Salem High School production.
Bundy recalled, "One of the fun things, I think, was just seeing the excitement of some of the local actors, who you just knew had never been on stage, or they hadn't acted since they were in high school. It was just so much fun to work with them."
Johnny Henderson of Paoli and Jeff Johnson, now of Colorado, were double-cast as "Oklahoma!" peddler man Ali Hakim, who spends most of the show dodging the shotgun brandished by the father of the young and flirtatious Ado Annie. Johnson was cast opposite of Anne Uyesugi, who played Ado Annie in some performances, and Henderson was cast opposite Johnson's sister, Linda Johnson-Brown, the show's second Ado Annie.
"The Lord used OCP and 'Oklahoma!'" Johnson said, "to introduce us to more than friends - indeed even family. Linda and I have been blessed to call such folks as
The notion of producing a large-scale summer musical was the brainchild of then-Paoli High School teachers Ruth Uyesugi (who is still a member of the OCP Board of Directors) and Dale Hottle, who became the show's director.
They soon learned that an entertainment phenomenon known as "community theater" was aptly named. Orange County's residents responded so enthusiastically to the concept that the week of production was proclaimed "Oklahoma Week" in Orange County, a surrey was located to help promote the play, and local residents were ready to roll up their sleeves and get solidly behind the show, offering whatever talent or expertise they had to bring.
An original "Oklahoma!" program, belonging to 1970 cast member Duane Radcliffe and his wife, Mary Alice, shows about 85 local residents as having been involved; about 50 were actually on stage, with many of them serving in the show's chorus.
Dedrick said, "In those days, OCP was the place to be during the summer. Summer sports were not as prominent. There was no Internet, and it was the perfect place to bring your family."
Members of the cast, in reflecting on the 1970 show, echoed Dedrick's sentiment that the PHS stage offered an alluring summer pastime and many recalled the extent of the community's support.
Teresa Bennett Folk, then of Paoli and now of Bedford, was double-cast with Norma Smelser Hall as the giggly Gertie Cummings, a role played this summer by Mika Eubank.
"It's a very good memory," Folk said.
She added, "Being a freshman in high school, it was a big deal for me and a lot of my friends. It was just a good atmosphere."
Folk said, "I remember people from the community, women sewing the long dresses. … It was a community effort. Everyone would donate items for the stage."
Salem's Chris Bundy, a college freshman in 1970, was cast as capable but dimwitted cowboy Will Parker. In the ensuing years, Bundy has been involved in more than 300 stage productions, but still has memories of driving to Paoli to assume a role he had just played in a Salem High School production.
Bundy recalled, "One of the fun things, I think, was just seeing the excitement of some of the local actors, who you just knew had never been on stage, or they hadn't acted since they were in high school. It was just so much fun to work with them."
Johnny Henderson of Paoli and Jeff Johnson, now of Colorado, were double-cast as "Oklahoma!" peddler man Ali Hakim, who spends most of the show dodging the shotgun brandished by the father of the young and flirtatious Ado Annie. Johnson was cast opposite of Anne Uyesugi, who played Ado Annie in some performances, and Henderson was cast opposite Johnson's sister, Linda Johnson-Brown, the show's second Ado Annie.
"The Lord used OCP and 'Oklahoma!'" Johnson said, "to introduce us to more than friends - indeed even family. Linda and I have been blessed to call such folks as
(Continued in next column)
(Orange County Players - Continued from previous column)
