Bigfork Summer Playhouse opens 2016 season

The Bigfork Summer Playhouse will open its 57th season with “Church Basement Ladies” this weekend.

“Church Basement Ladies” opens on Friday, May 13, at 8 p.m. Performances continue May 14, 20-21 and 27-28 and June 8, 11, 14, 17, 20 and 25. All performances begin at 8 p.m. at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts in Bigfork.

“We are beyond ready,” said Brach Thomson, associate producer for the Bigfork Summer Playhouse. “Rehearsals are going great, and we’re all very excited to get this season going.”

According to the Playhouse’s website, “Church Basement Ladies” serves up laughs, from the senior matriarch of the kitchen to the bride-to-be learning to arrange things in proper order. The basement kitchen of churches throughout America is often the heart of any church. In “Church Basement Ladies,” audiences meet a pastor, three main kitchen cooks and one daughter who run the kitchen and care for the congregation by preparing and serving food. The women handle a lutefisk dinner, a funeral, an Easter fundraiser and a wedding. The musical comedy is based on recipes, food, and change in the church. Songs include “Closer to Heaven,” “The Cities,” “The Pale Food Polka,” “This Most Certainly is True” and “Dead Spread.”

Tickets for the May performances of “Church Basement Ladies” are $17 for children 10 and younger, $22 for seniors 65 and older and $26 for adults.

Tickets are available online at www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com or at the Playhouse Box Office at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts, open Monday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. through the summer season.

“Church Basement Ladies” is just the beginning for the Bigfork Summer Playhouse season. Other shows this summer will include “42nd Street,” opening June 4 and running through Aug. 21; “Young Frankenstein” opening June 7 and running through Aug. 27; “Shrek — The Musical,” opening June 21 and running through Aug. 26; “Grease,” opening July 5 and running through Aug. 24; and “Hits from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s (volume 4)” opening Sept. 1 and running through Sept. 10.

“It’s so tough to pick a highlight or a favorite, because I like them all for what they are,” Thomson said of this season’s show selections. “‘Young Frankenstein’ is exactly what Mel Brooks fans will expect. ‘42nd Street’ is a classic ... it will showcase some real powerhouse tappers.”

Thomson said the biggest challenge this season will be set design. Since the shows run repertory-style beginning in June, sets and scenery have to be able to be condensed and transformed quickly.

“‘Young Frankenstein,’ for example, involves more than 20 locations,” Thomson said. “So how do you make that work? We have to figure out how to keep it small but visually effective.

“If any staff can handle it, it’s these guys,” he added, referring to the Playhouse’s set, visual and tech designers.

The Bigfork Summer Playhouse, known locally as the “Theatre by the Bay,” is a past recipient of the Montana Governor’s Award for the Arts. The Playhouse also has an Oscar winner among its alumni, after J.K. Simmons won the award last year for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of jazz instructor Fletcher in “Whiplash.” Simmons attended the University of Montana and spent seven seasons performing with the Bigfork Summer Playhouse.

Every summer the Playhouse, headed by Don and Jude Thomson, recruits Broadway-caliber actors and singers from across the United States and brings them to Bigfork for a season of repertory theatre performances.

“We hire a company who can play the lead one night and make the chorus stronger the next,” Thomson said.

All performances take place at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts, 526 Electric Ave., Bigfork. Ticket prices and showtimes vary with each show. Visit www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com for a full schedule and pricing information.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com or call 406-837-4886.