MP Community Theatre gathers cast for 50th anniversary show

From novice actors to minor celebrities, the Mt. Pleasant Community Theatre's 50th show is bringing talent to the stage in their production of 'Guys and Dolls,” which opens Feb. 14, 2019.

The cast gathered for the first time this week at the Heatilator Center in Mt. Pleasant, getting to know each other, listening to the show tunes and reading lines.

'The people who established community theatre 50 years ago did a great job growing the organization,” said Kadie Johannson, Mt. Pleasant Community Theatre vice president. 'We're excited to put on another big musical this year.”

Community theatre did 'Guys and Dolls” in the 1970s, and the community theatre board thought it would be a fun musical to bring back, Johannson said.

Johannson said that Mt. Pleasant Community Theatre brings a quality of life aspect to the community by allowing small-town Iowa to experience life theatre here. The main thing, though, is that it's fun.

'It brings different people in the community together who otherwise probably wouldn't get to know each other,” Johannson said.

This year's director Barb McRoy has performed in community theatres and directed high school plays. Having moved to Mt. Pleasant just three years ago, McRoy is looking forward to being involved in the community and getting to know more people.

'I'm excited about this being a learning show and learning from each other,” McRoy said, adding there's always room for more dancers if someone is interested.

The goal of the show is for everyone who comes to leave happy, smiling and singing a song or two, McRoy said. 'If that happens, I've done my job,” she said.

The most experienced actor and singer from the crew is Bruce Brown, a former Broadway performer who has choreographed and directed musicals all over the world. Brown has a small part in 'Guys and Dolls” as Benny Southstreet.

Brown is in Mt. Pleasant for a year to help the owner of Soul Expressions get her dancers to the next level, he said.

Brown started his career in community theatre in Omaha, Neb. While he has performed and directed in Tokyo, Paris, Rome, Vienna and too many other places to count, musical theatre is his true love, he said.

'I'm dying to perform again,” Brown said. 'There are no small parts, only small actors. Passion is passion. I just happen to have some experience behind me.”

Brown will be organizing additional rehearsals on the weekends for several cast members. He said he will use his professional background to work as he always has and showed up to the first rehearsal with lines already memorized.

Brooke Smith is one of the 'friends at the Hot Box” in this musical. She last performed in community theatre four years ago, but now that her girls are four and eight years old, she brought them along to play in the back of the Heatilator Center as she read lines with the cast.

'My kids have grown up here and I want them to see all the arts in action. Big cities have more opportunities, but it's important we have the same opportunities that big cities have,” Smith said. 'We may not have professional actors, but we have a lot of passion.”

Julia Kinzer, an eighth-grader at Mt. Pleasant Middle School, is too young to be a cast member in this year's community theatre production, but she still is contributing behind the scenes. Kinzer will be helping actors get into costume and makeup.

Although Kinzer was unfamiliar with 'Guys and Dolls” just a couple months ago, she said she has now fallen in love with it.

'I just like this kind of music atmosphere,” Kinzer said. 'Something is always happening and it's a nice crowd to be around. Everyone is so kind.”

Josh Morey, musical director for 'Guys and Dolls,” while daunted by the task at hand, is energized by the challenge. This is Morey's first chance to direct on his own. He just graduated from Iowa Wesleyan University with a degree in music education.

'It's a brand-new experience,” Morey said. 'It's an honor and a lot of pressure.”

Morey said he has many mentors he will bounce ideas off to use as a sounding board. Another part of Morey's task is putting together the orchestra, for which he still needs 15 to 20 musicians.

'Theatre explores the whole of human emotions,” Morey said. '(‘Guys and Dolls') is really fun, lighthearted music. This group, we start off as strangers, but leave more or less as a family. I love the camaraderie with this group.”