With all the recent audition and design activity at the Vero Beach Theatre Guild, one would never guess that a global pandemic took a bite out of its last season, with cancellations and postponements disappointing audiences and participants alike.
Now, though, thanks to vaccines and smart anti-virus practices, the Vero Beach Theatre Guild has announced a 2021/2022 season full of entertainment, just in time to accommodate a broader community eager to return to the theater.
“We’re really excited to be opening up and welcoming more and more people with each show,” says VBTG president Lisa McNamee.
“I feel that we made a diamond out of coal.”
McNamee says that they took advantage of the downtime during the pandemic to create a more open and welcoming theater, “so that the Vero Beach Theatre Guild can become a pure community cultural center.”
During the seven months that the theater was “dark,” it underwent a facelift, with seating meticulously cleaned and spaced further apart, aisles shifted, and the building’s original terrazzo floors restored. The lobby was expanded, air conditioning was improved, and the box office was made more efficient.
The Theatre Guild drew audiences back at a limited capacity last November. And now, a giddy excitement permeates the theater with upcoming shows almost fully cast and directors already meeting with designers to discuss scenery, lighting, costumes and props.
From classic and contemporary comedies and dramas to thrillers and original works, the upcoming season is set to thrill the entire theater-loving community.
The season begins next month with the presentation of the electrifying drama, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” July 14-25.
Adapted by Dale Wasserman (“Man of La Mancha”) from the book by Ken Kesey, the drama revolves around rebellious Randle McMurphy, who gets transferred from a prison farm to a psychiatric ward, where he engages in a battle of wills with the none-too-nice Nurse Ratched.
In a nod to the spooky season of Halloween, the theater will present an original production of “Dracula,” Oct. 6-17. This production is written by its director, Alex Martinez, who is a favorite VBTG actor. The play follows Professor Van Helsing and his team as they go to Transylvania to hunt down the bloodthirsty vampire Count Dracula, who terrorized London.
One of the theater world’s favorite whodunits comes next, with “Sleuth,” Nov. 10-21. This witty cat-and-mouse game takes place in an estate on the English countryside. Betrayal, lust, murder, revenge … the Anthony Schaffer play has it all. “It’s clever, with major twists throwing you completely off from the path you think it’s going to lead,” says the Guild’s artistic president, Jon Putzke. “I wanted to do something with a true mystery element to it. This is one of the best out there.”
Mixing it up with some lighthearted fare is “Calendar Girls,” Jan. 12-23, 2022. While the backstory is serious – a major character’s husband dies of cancer – the rest of the show is filled with mirth as the widow and her mature girlfriends join forces to raise money for the cancer ward. Their solution is to all pose nude for a calendar. The show is not especially naughty, but it is uninhibited and filled with British humor.
With Valentine’s Day in its midst, the theater will present the musical “I Do! I Do!” Feb. 9-27, 2022. The musical, by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt (“The Fantasticks”), is based on Jan de Hartog’s play “The Fourposter.” It begins in the 1890s and follows newlyweds as they go through life raising children, having quarrels, making up. “It’s one big valentine,” Putzke says. “It’s a charming musical and it’s perfect for the Guild audiences.”
A British farce takes center stage with “See How They Run,” March 16-27, 2022. Written by Phillip King, the fast-paced romp takes place in an English vicarage, where the American wife of a young vicar meets up with an old American acting chum. Throw in a snooty matron, a bawdy cockney maid, a Russian spy and a two more clerics, and you have the palette for fun. “I know our audiences do like farces,” Putzke says. “And this is a good one, a classic.”
The season closes with the contemporary comedy “Native Gardens,” May 11-22, 2022. Written by award-winning playwright Karen Zacarias, this new work takes a warmhearted, funny look at taste, class, privilege and entitlement. In it, a retired couple maintains a prize-winning garden within a perfectly manicured lawn. A young Hispanic couple moves in next door and decides to grow native plants. When a fence comes into question, so do property lines. “There are very few plays that make me laugh out loud and this is one of them,” Putzke says. By the way, this is one play that has not been completely cast. The theater still needs to fill the spot for the characters of the Hispanic lawyer and his wife. Auditions for those roles will be announced in January 2022.
Longtime supporters of the Theatre Guild may notice that there are no Apron Series this coming season. That’s because something even better has been created – a flexible performance space called the Studio Theatre, in the former downstairs green room.
Plans are for this new little spot to seat 38 people in a traditional audience configuration and 60 people in the round. The idea there is to have more gutsy dramatic works, which should draw new patrons, especially younger ones. Shows in the Studio Theatre will be announced at a later date.
It can also be used as a place to gather for master classes, lectures and staged readings, coinciding with month-long festivals honoring select playwrights.
“My goal was to have a large variety of choices to broaden audience appeal,” Putzke says. “Between this season and what we will be adding with the new Studio Theatre, we’ll see a goodly amount of new people coming to the Theatre Guild, not only to be audience, but performers as well.”
Curtain for all the main stage shows is 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Single tickets for non-musical shows are $30 for adults, or $15 for students 18 years and younger. Save money by buying the four-show (non-musical) Flex Pass which costs $100 for adults, and $50 for students ages 18 and younger.
Musicals are $35 for adults, and $17.50 for students ages 18 and younger. Handling charges apply.
The Vero Beach Theatre Guild is located at 2020 San Juan Ave. Call 772-562-8300 or visit VeroBeachTheatreGuild.com.
Photos by Kaila Jones
