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By Stephanie Zlnk
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Community theatre of the people, for the people,
by the people. It's alive and well at the Lincoln
Community Playhouse.
Michael Mitchell, artistic director in his first sea
son at the playhouse, said attendance was up con
siderably from past years.
One show, "Annie," broke every attendance record,
including one that was made the first weekend that
"Terra Nova" ran.
"I had some apprehensions about 'Annie,' " Mit
chell said. He said some of the reasons for his appre
hension were the popularity of "Annie" and the
recent movie version of the show. He said despite his
apprehensions, they had no problems the per
formance sold out from the first day it ran and
garnered many good reviews.
"Having worked with children before, I had no
problems working with them (children) in Annie,"
Mitchell said. One hundred sixty-four girls tried out
for nine positions in "Annie." Mitchell said the girls
who made it were very talented, expecially the
actresses who played Annie (Annie Rinke) and
Molly (Ashley Amber Haase) the roles best known to
the public.
Mitchell said he was so amazed at six-year-old
Haase's style and consistency that it was hard to
believe that she was only in kindergarten.
He said of several unusual things that have hap
pened to him, one of the strangest was auditioning
dogs to play Sandy in "Annie." He said it was more
difficult than auditioning people because dogs were
more unpredictable. Mitchell said the strangest
thing about the dog auditions weren't the dogs
themselves but the media, who went crazy over the
event. He said the Lincoln Journal and Star, the
Daily Nebraskan, Channels 6 and 10 were there; the
AP wire service even picked up the story.
Although this season has just ended, Mitchell
already is looking forward to next year. Since Mit
chell came to the playhouse mid-season he didnt
have any say into which plays he was to direct. A
committee made up of a few of the playhouse's
board members chose the plays that they thought
would appeal to the most people, keeping in mind
variety and how difficult a set would be to build.
Mitchell said the plays are spaced so that the people
who build the sets won't be doing two difficult sets in
a row. He also had to research what had been done
in the last twenty years at the Playhouse so that they
don't repeat plays and he also went on, his own
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The Lincoln Community Playhouse, 2500 S. 56th St.
knowledge of what would be successful
Mitchell also took into account the lack of women's
roles this season and the absence of Noel Coward's
Comedy from the playhouse. He said that a good
playhouse season has a cross section of experiences
and a couple cf musicals of some nature, because
the musicals are what sells the season tickets. He
also that a good playhouse season has a cross sec
tion of experiences and a couple of musicals of some
nature, because the musicals are what sells the sea
son tickets. He also keeps in mind what is being done
in other parts of the country and what shows are
being revived, Mitchell said.
"Every time you come to the playhouse it should
be different kind of occasion," Mitchell said. He said
that all of the plays in the 1984-85 season are set in
different time periods and that all of them have a
strong story line.
Not only should next season provide a variety of
experiences, the summer show, "Scapino," will instill
something that hasnt been done at the Playhouse
before. Before "Scapino" there will be a spaghetti
dinner, followed by dessert during intermission.
Mitchell said "Scapino" is a Neopolitan farce based on
Moliere's style of writing.
Another new thing that the Playhouse is trying,
Mitchell said, is a production of "Peter Pan" at
Christmas time. They already have the Foy family to
come do flying for the show. The Foys did the flying
for the original Broadway production and the movie
starring Sandy Duncan.
Next Season will consist of "On Golden Pond,"
"Anne of the Thousand Days," "Monday After the
Miracle," "Hay Fever" and "Cabaret." For ticket
information call the Playhouse at 489-9608.
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