An encore performance of “Litchfield is our Home” – directed by Tim Nelson – will be performed at the Litchfield Opera House on Thursday, November 6th at 7 p.m. Admission is $5.
Nelson says the musical was originally done in 2019 to celebrate Litchfield’s 150th anniversary, and it is being reprised to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Litchfield Opera House. He says he assembled many of the cast members from the production which was done 6 years ago – some from Litchfield and some from the Rose Center Theater in California – and there are about 16 characters from Litchfield’s past in the production.
Nelson says some examples include Keith Johnson who will be playing Music Olson who led the town’s band around the turn of the century – 1900 – when the Litchfield Opera House was built, his wife – Mary – who will be playing Norma Berke who did a 10 a.m. radio news show for many years, and himself who will play the town’s founder, railroad man E.D. Litchfield.
Mary says she grew up in Detroit and met Tim after they had both moved to California and were auditioning for the same show, but she’s gotten to know Litchfield after visiting here over the years, and now she and Tim live in both Litchfield and California.
Tickets for “Litchfield is our Home” can be reserved ahead of time by calling 714-793-1150. Just leave your name and the number of tickets you would like, and then pay for them at the door on November 6th. The show is about an hour long.
The Litchfield High School Drama Dept. presents “Tarzan” on Thursday, October 30th at 7 p.m., Saturday, November 1st at 3 and 7 p.m., and on Sunday, November 2nd at 2 p.m. in the Bernie Aaker Auditorium. Sara Dollerschell is directing the musical.
Dollerschell says it’s based on the 1999 Disney movie with music by Phil Collins. She says there will not be a Friday night production – October 31st – as it’s Halloween with lots of other events to compete with and there may be a football game that night.
Dollerschell says Tarzan is about a family that gets shipwrecked, ending up in Africa and when the parents are killed, their baby boy is raised by gorillas. She says the ape-man is later discovered by Professor Porter and his daughter, Jane, and the actor (Degan) will do some vine-swinging on the Bernie Aaker stage.
Litchfield High School Junior Xander Chvatal is in the role of Professor Porter. He says it’s been a little tough to work the rehearsals into his cross-country schedule, but it has worked.
Senior Quintin Berube is the lead gorilla in “Tarzan.” He says Sara has been a great director to work with as the students juggle their schedules with other extra-curricular activities – as he’s on the football team with Degan.
Senior Emma Rothstein, who is young Tarzan’s best friend, says the rehearsals have not been a problem for her as she balances work and online college classes.
Emma says this is the 19th show she’s done since the 3rd grade. Quintin says he also started acting in the 3rd grade and has been in several high school and Litchfield Community Theatre productions. Xander says he started performing in the high school musicals his freshman year and he also does one-act plays.
Tickets for “Tarzan” can be purchased through the QR code on the “Tarzan” posters which are up around Litchfield, but you can also get them in advance on the Litchfield School District website or by calling Darcy at the High School office. You can also purchase them at the door.
The Litchfield Area Recreation Center opened to the public early in September and several people have joined the new facility. There are 141 memberships representing a total of 410 people, and of those, 76 have added the 24/7 member access.
The memberships break down as follows – eleven single memberships, 24 couples, 69 families, 6 seniors, 17 senior couples and 14 student memberships. For more information about joining, go to LitchfieldRecreationCenter.com. Director Owen Boerma shared the numbers with the Litchfield City Council this past week.
