Pinewood Players celebrated the culmination of another highly successful season of Theater in the Pines with their annual “It’s a Wrap” party on August 31. The 2023 season was replete with community entertainment and service activities which included some milestone moments. It marked the first time in five years that the group had produced three full length plays. These productions marked the Pinewood Playhouse stage debuts of one first time director and seven new actors. Two $2000 scholarships were awarded to two highly deserving students who will enter college this fall. The three week Youth Drama Camp offered performing arts education and summer fun opportunities to a record number of 41 children and sold out all four performances. All in all, a very momentous and memorable season! Pinewood Players says a big thank you to all of our loyal members, patrons and everyone in the community who purchased tickets and attended the performances!
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Notwithstanding all the successes of the 2023 season, Pinewood Players has never been content to rest on their laurels. Nor have they ever been intimidated by a daunting challenge. To emphasize that point in 2024 Pinewood Players will stage the first musical comedy produced in over ten years.
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In June 2024 Pinewood Players will present the hit musical comedy The Andrews Brothers written and created by Roger Bean and licensed by STAGERIGHTS. The premise of the show is that a USO performance from the Andrews Sisters is in jeopardy of cancellation when they fail to appear shortly before curtain. Thankfully, three earnest stagehands are determined to go on with the show! The Andrews Brothers is filled to the brim with 30 songs made famous by The Andrews Sisters and other top artists of the era including the showstoppers “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,” "Three Little Sisters," and “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive." Mistaken identities and madcap adventures are the theme of the day. Imagine a Crosby - Hope type “Road to…” movie with elements of Some Like it Hot. The music of an entire generation highlights this wonderful musical tribute to our heroes of World War II.
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Late June and early July will bring the revival of two Youth Drama Camps. “Kidz Kamp” will run for two weeks and accommodate our 6 to 9 year old campers, while “Tween Camp” for youngsters 10 years and above and will run for 3 weeks, overlapping the Kidz Kamp dates. Our youngest campers will learn and perform Pajama Party, distributed by Hal Leonard /Music K-8. The older “Tweens” ages 10 through 18 will perform Dear Edwina JR from MTI’s Broadway JR Collection. Both camps will culminate with final weekend performances for the entertainment pleasure of parents, grandparents and all drama camp fans. Schedules and much more information about the two camps will be available on Pinewood Players right here on our website in September. Check it out and call Nancy Cummings (623)680-9022/email: ncummings67@me.com or Lu Cross at (928)890-9877/email: lkcross6726@gmail.com if you have questions.
The second full length production will begin in late July and run for two consecutive weekends. Pinewood Players will produce Exit Laughing, a hilarious and slightly naughty comedy by Paul Elliot, licensed by Dramatic Publishing. When the biggest highlight in your life for the past 30 years has been your weekly bridge night out with the "girls," what do you do when one of your foursome inconveniently dies? If you're Connie, Leona and Millie, three southern ladies from Birmingham, you do the most daring thing you've ever done. You "borrow" the ashes from the funeral home for one last card game and the wildest, most exciting night of their lives ensues involving a police raid, a stripper and a whole new way of looking at all the fun you can have when you're truly living.
Later in August Reader’s Theater – Cabaret Nights will return to the Pinewood Country Club. Novice actors and actresses will read funny skits in an intimate “cabaret style” setting with tables of four and a cash bar. Reader’s Theater – Cabaret Nights was an audience pleaser for over 10 consecutive years and Pinewood Players is pleased to return the event to the 2024 calendar. Be prepared for all new, hilarious scripts that will guarantee a night of fun, laughter and libations.
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Exact dates, times and additional information about the 2024 Theater in the Pines productions will be available on the Pinewood Players website in March 2024. In the meantime, we wish all of our members, supporters, patrons and the entire Munds Park Community “Happy Trails” until we meet again next season.
