Rosebud announces 2013 season

Times Reporter   

 

Another year has begun and with it comes fresh resolutions, good intentions, and the announcement of the 2013 theatre season in the artsy hamlet of Rosebud. 

Season tickets are already on sale, and the actors are busy preparing for the first show of the season, ‘Barefoot in the Park’ which will be on stage from March 22 until May 11. 

“One of the things that inspired the show was that in Rosebud often you’ll see couples that are 65 or 70-years-old walking down the street holding hands, it’s a beautiful picture. ‘Barefoot in the Park’ it’s about a brand new marriage. It’s about…you’ve just come off the honeymoon and you’re nesting for the very first time,” said Artistic Director for Rosebud Theatre Morris Ertman. 

If you saw ‘The Gifts of the Magi’ in 2011 then ‘Barefoot in the Park’ will seem like a new variation of that same tale, only quirkier and crazier. The same two actors, Cassia Schramm and Aaron Krogman will again be playing husband, Paul, and wife, Corie.

The humour from the play comes from the idea of that idyllic point of view that young newlyweds have and it seems to come from the fact that the wife in the story believes she is in the centre of paradise, while in reality they live in a run-down apartment. Paul knows that it is time to get to work and begin to settle into married life. The play is in the season to make people laugh and is a witty and funny recollection of what it means to be newly married. 

“When I think about a lot of folks that come to Rosebud I think about marriages that are 50-years-old or 30-years-old, or 35-years-old and I think what was it like for those people when they first got married,” said Ertman.

“When people talk about marriage they talk about those first days where they didn’t have any money, and they lived in their parents basement but they were these sort of glorious discovery times.”

‘Cotton Patch Gospel’ written by Tom Key and Russell Treyz will follow after the tale of the newlyweds beginning May 31 to August 24. 

“This is a story that has some of the most wonderful bluegrass tunes ever written I think and they’re written by Harry Chapin who wrote ‘Cat’s in the Cradle’ and ‘Taxi’ and it was the last music that he wrote before he died. There are those who say it is actually his best,” said Ertman.

It is the story of Jesus set in the Deep South, and is about what would happen if he showed up during the time when the Ku Klux Klan existed, what would it be like. Ertman said the story telling is folksy and humorous, and but also has songs that will get your hearts melting or your toes tapping.

“Why are we doing it, well we’re doing it because it’s the story of probably the most significant figure in human history, Jesus being that figure,” said Ertman.

“Whatever you might think about that character, that person in history, whatever people might believe about him, the truth is 2,000 years ago he hung out in Palestine and something changed.”

‘Underneath the Lintel: An impressive display of lovely evidences’ by Glen Berger will be on the studio stage July 3 to August 24.

“If I was to say the theme for our whole season, the theme is basically you matter, you as a person matter, your life makes a difference, and I would say that’s the underlying theme for the whole season is your life makes a difference,” said Ertman.

In this story a nerdy, kind of dorky librarian, played by beloved Rosebud veteran Nathan Schmidt, ends up leaving the library because he has found a book that is 123 years overdue. He is determined to present the borrower with the fine. Ertman said this play is where the seeds for the theme of the season grew from. 

There is a moment in the play when the librarian discovers an ancient recording from the early 1900s with a voice on it saying ‘I’m here, I’m here.’

“It’s all about this guy, this 2,000-year-old guy who just wants to be seen, wants his life to be known.” 

“This quirky, quirky librarian, almost a nutty professor type of guy, winds up uncovering this mystery about this guy who just wants the world to know he’s there,” said Ertman. 

‘Our Town’ by Thornton Wilder is the fall show, which will grace the stage from Sept. 13 to Oct. 19. 

“This is a play that I have wanted to put on the stage for 30 years, since early in my life in the theatre. Why? Again it really, really illustrates that theme, that notion that your life within the context of a huge cosmos matters. It’s a celebration of ordinary,” said Ertman.

He said there are parents of some of the Rosebud students who wanted to be big performers who didn’t follow their dreams. They settled into working in a small town and raising their family and Ertman thinks those people are extraordinary.

This play is a celebration of the drama, the everyday drama of life, people being passionate about life, and it’s not about whether they are going to change the world, they are passionate about how they care about one another, or prepare for a wedding. 

“I think its celebrates our humanity, our core humanity in a way that should be celebrated. It’s a celebration of family, a celebration of love, young love, of marriage, of growing up,” said Ertman.

‘Our Town’ reminds him of the film ‘Field of Dreams’ and the moment when they find a doctor in a small town who could have gone out and been a baseball star, but instead stayed to serve his community.  

“The thing that matters most to us is how we relate to our parents, to our community, to our wives, our loved ones, that’s what actually carries eternal significance,” said Ertman. 

The ideas and story told in ‘Our Town’ spins over in a big way to the final show of the season ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ Written by Phillip Grecian, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ will be shown from Nov. 1 to Dec. 22.  

“George Bailey is a guy who wanted to follow big dreams and at the end of the day he’s on a bridge thinking about throwing himself in the water because everything has gone to hell,” said Ertman.

“He doesn’t think he’s mattered and George Bailey finds out that his simple acts of service to his community, and to his family make him a giant.”

Ertman said that is one of the reasons why people love ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ at Christmas time.