Just Announced: All Shook Up Elvis Sing-Off

Post a video on our Facebook page of you singing your favorite Elvis song to win two tickets and a backstage pass to All Shook Up!

Submit your video by Wednesday, February 17, 2010. Upload your video by selecting the “Video” tab on our Facebook page (facebook.com/omahaplayhouse.)

Three finalists will be selected by Playhouse staff and the Grand Prize Winner will be selected by fan voting February 22-28. Grand Prize Winner will be announced Tuesday, March 2.

An Insider's View: Winding Down at the OCP

This week is my last scheduled week at the OCP. I don't want to leave everyone, but I have so much with school to focus on. It's going to be hard to leave!

My internship experience here has been everything that I hoped for. Everyone has been so kind and welcoming. Those that I have worked with have valued my opinions and gave me hands on experience. I have learned a lot about graphic design, marketing and sales. I have also learned a lot about networking and how divisions within a company work together.

I would like to thank Betsye Paragas and Amanda Hoklin for taking time out of their schedules to teach me things and help me to enhance my skills. I would also like to give a special thanks to Karli Newman, who was always ready to answer my questions and give me responsibilities. I feel really lucky to have such an amazing person as my main contact at the OCP.

In the future, I plan to volunteer at the OCP in the box office or maybe work on side projects for them. I don't want this to be my last experience here. I have connected with everyone so well and I want to ensure that I remain a part of the OCP as long as possible!

Thanks again to everyone who has been a part of my experience!
Jackie Skarda, Intern

Cheaper By The Dozen - Omaha Ties

As the Playhouse Play reading Committee was choosing the plays to put on the 2009/2010 season, none of the members were aware of the fact that there was a very direct Omaha connection to one of the plays that they chose to include in the upcoming season. When the new season was announced, the Playhouse staff was contacted by a gentleman who told them that there were four generations of members of the Gilbreth family living in Omaha. The Gilbreth family was the original family about whom Cheaper By The Dozen was written.

Cheaper By The Dozen is a 1948 book by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey that tells the story of time and motion study and efficiency experts Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth and their twelve children. The book focuses on the many years the family resided in Montclair, New Jersey. The book was later dramatized by Christopher Sergel for the stage.

The title comes from one of Frank Sr.'s favorite jokes: it often happened that when he and his family were out driving and stopped at a red light, a pedestrian would ask, "Hey, Mister! How come you got so many kids?" Gilbreth would pretend to ponder the question carefully and then, just as the light turned green he would say, "Well, they come cheaper by the dozen you know" and drive off.

Irene Gilbreth, who was married to Dan Gilbreth, does live in Omaha as well as her daughter, her grandson and her great-granddaughter. Dan Gilbreth was one of the dozen children in the original Cheaper By The Dozen family.

The Playhouse is very excited that all four generations of the Gilbreth family will be represented in the opening night audience of Cheaper By The Dozen at the Omaha Community Playhouse on Friday, January 22, 2010.

Cheaper By The Dozen, directed by Guest Director Judy Hart, will be performed on the Playhouse Mainstage from January 22 through February 14, 2010. A definite "Don't miss!" family production for everyone.

Cheaper By The Dozen- by cast member Zach Trail

After I had a wonderful experience acting in a role in A CHRISTMAS CAROL for three years (2004-2006), I was eager to audition for another role at the Playhouse. I don't know what took me three years, but when CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN came up online, I jumped at the chance to participate in another Playhouse production.

It was a very spur-of-the-moment decision. I decided to audition only two or three days before the actual audition, and I didn't have time to utilize the script check-out that was made available by the Playhouse. I was nervous when the audition came, but after two call-backs, I thought I must have been doing something right. I was overjoyed when I found out that I got the part of Frank, the eldest son and narrator.

Rehearsals, from the very first script reading, have been fun through and through. I never grow tired of being down in the Dance Hall, even though we sometimes have to drill scenes again and again. I think that the main reason I enjoy myself so much is the talented group of people I get to work with. Judy Hart the director, and RaShelle Bradley, the stage manager, have been tireless in bringing in a necessary level of organization and expertise that has made this production come to life.

I remember one particularly long rehearsal, when, after more than two hours of drilling the same several scenes again and again, the cast was tired. Judy, enthusiastic as ever, stopped us and said, "This time we do the scene, I want you to do it a new, different way, instead of just reading it off the cells of your brain." During the next run of the scene, Ron Chvala, who plays Dad, said his line about silk stockings being "the last of the seven veils" with perfect inflection and timing. Everyone in the room broke down in laughter. "That's the type of family this should be," Judy told us all. "You all are a happy family. You laugh. You have fun." Since that rehearsal, every session has been bursting with joyous creativity.

The cast in this show is truly wonderful. Every person in the group brings a gifted performance to the show, no matter how big or small. Being a part of the family relationship that has developed over the course of rehearsals is a great privilege, and it's made being a part of this production very special for me. I'm completely convinced that Judy couldn't have made any better choices as far as casting goes. CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN is a unique production, and this cast of people (that I'm lucky enough to be a part of) has succeeded in making it as good a show as it can be.

I'm sure the joy that comes about during rehearsal will find its way onstage during the run. When you see CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, you're not seeing just any old show, you're seeing the product of tireless work from a family of people who have had a blast fitting all the pieces together. Working on CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN is an experience I will always look back on with fond memories.

Zach Trail
Frank Gilbreth, Jr.

What's a Producing Partner?

Producing Partners are simply show sponsors, generous donors who help defray some of the costs it takes to put on a Playhouse production. Did you know that ticket sales alone do not cover all these costs? In fact only around 60% of Playhouse revenue is earned through tickets sales and rentals/concessions. The remaining 40% comes from donors who are passionate about the arts in Omaha.

The Playhouse would like to recognize and thank our Producing Partners for our Spring productions:

Cheaper By the Dozen
Sponsored by: Continuum Worldwide and Mutual of Omaha Bank
Media Sponsor: Cox

Death of a Salesman
Media Sponsor: Yellow Book

All Shook Up
Sponsored by: Gale & Judy Wickersham, Dave & Candi Kirkwood, Carter & Vernie Jones, Dr. Jack & Kathy Lewis and Lamp, Rynearson & Associates, Inc.
Orchestra Sponsor: The Paul and Oscar Giger Foundation

Mister Roberts
Sponsored by: U.S. Bank

Awesome 80s Prom
Sponsored by: The David Scott Foundation
Media Sponsor: The Reader

Fiddler on the Roof
Sponsored by: TD AMERITRADE, Mark & Terri Laughlin and Dr. Robert & Mrs. Mary Jo Langdon
Orchestra Sponsor: Rich & Fran Juro
Media Sponsor: Cox
Educational Workshop Sponsor: Wells Fargo

Please thank these generous donors if you see them, or patronize their businesses. Their support is pivotal to the success of the Omaha Community Playhouse!

If you would like more information on how you or your business can become a Producing Partner, please contact Alena Furlong, Development Director, at 553-4890 ext. 127 or afurlong@omahaplayhouse.com.

An Insider’s View: Tours and More at the OCP

I have been helping Karli Newman with tours of the Omaha Community Playhouse. Groups have come in from places like South Dakota and Wisconsin. I have had such a great time assisting with the tours and I enjoy seeing the reactions of the tours to interesting tidbits about the OCP. The OCP has had a long life (85 years!) and I think it’s important to know its history.

Everyone here is decorating for the Christmas season! Karli and I decorated for holiday parties and the staff is having an office decoration contest. We are all in the Christmas spirit!

If you have a group that is interested in a holiday party and/or a tour, please contact Karli Newman at (402) 553-4890 x147. Have a Happy Holiday and come see Yesterday and Today and A Christmas Carol!

Jackie Skarda

In Their Own Words - Yesterday and Today

The McGuigan brothers, Billy, Matthew and Ryan, perform the music of the Beatles every Wednesday through Sunday in Yesterday and Today, an Interactive Beatles Experience. Yesterday and Today is an audience request show that challenges the brothers to perform not only Beatles hits, but also lesser known works. The brothers took time out of their busy schedule to sit down and answer some of our questions.

OCP: When and why did you start playing Beatles music?

Billy: Initially it was because I missed my dad. When I was 10, he was stationed in Korea for a year and I missed him terribly. I remember sneaking in to his room and getting out his guitar and Beatles music books. That year I taught myself how to play guitar by playing Beatles music. I haven't stopped since. It then became a tradition that on Friday nights my dad, my brothers and I would sit around the music books with guitars singing Beatles songs.

Ryan: I was probably in the womb, beating my mom's rib cage to "She Loves You" Our father was an immense Beatles fan, so we used to put on "Beatles concerts" in our living room.

OCP: Can you tell us what it is like playing the songs with your brothers?

B: It's natural. As brothers we have this innate ability to know where the others are going. Because we've been singing these songs since we were kids, it's as if it's a second language. We have the ability to give a look to each other and we all know what and where to sing. As our lead guitar player Jay Hanson says, it's in our DNA.

Matthew: It's awesome! We have a connection with these songs. Their music was like our bible growing up. It's almost like another language that we speak with one another.

R: It's like putting on your shoes and socks, it's as natural as can be.

OCP: Why do you think the music of the Beatles continues to be relevant to today’s audiences?

M: It's timeless. Their music is still the as important today as it was 40 years ago. They created music, that speaks to you heart. It's about Peace, Love, & Rock 'n' Roll.

R: They are more than just the music. They are a culture. They preached the word of love, and Love is everlasting. People will still be listening to them 250 years from now.

B: I'm probably the wrong person to ask. I personally don't think that there has ever been a group or artist that has had such an influence on culture as The Beatles.

OCP: Do you have stories from that stand out from the audience song requests?

B: Of course there are the stories that are personal and touching that stand out. Some stories are so personal that it's difficult to get through the song with out getting choked up and emotional. But for me, the one that I will never forget is from the "Birdman". His request, "Please play Blackbird - my reason: I like BIRDS". He comes 3 or 4 times every run and has the same request! He's a cult hero!

M: When we were in South Bend, IN a woman with a terminal illness, requested "Golden Slumbers". She wanted to let her children know that she loved them, and everything was gonna be ok. This story really hit home, since we lost our dad to leukemia. I don't think that I'll ever forget this story.

OCP: What has been your favorite part of the Yesterday and Today experience?

R: Getting to jam with these guys. The band no question.

M: Singing with my brothers and getting to play with some of the best musicians that Omaha has to offer.

B: That moment in the show when I start reading a request card and you sort of feel the audience lean in and realize that this show is different from any show they've ever seen...then we know we've got em!

Tickets for Yesterday and Today are available through the Omaha Community Playhouse Box Office (402) 553-0800 or online at OmahaPlayhouse.org