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THURSDAY. JULY 12. 2007 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5B
Welcome to Dogwatch
Tater Patch Players’ Li7 Abner opens this week
Andy Fowler as Li'l Abner, Amber Sneed as Daisy Mae,
Marcia Bonner as Mammy Yokum and Wayne Jewell as
Pappy Yokum with Chet Burnes as Earthquake McGoon in
the background.
By Pat Jewell
It all began as a typical day in
Dogpatch USA. Li’l Abner goes
fishin’.
Daisy May wants to talk
about the upcoming Sadie
Hawkins Day.
Li’l Abner’s Mammy and
Pappy can’t agree over what is
best for their boy. Little do they
know that a Cornpone Square
meetin’ is about to change life as
they know it in the sleepy little
hillbilly town.
As Earthquake McGoon tries
to claim himself a bride, Mayor
Dogmeat is gathering the citi
zens of Dogpatch to hear an
important announcement by
Senator Jack S. Phogbound.
It seems that Dogpatch has
been named the most useless
place in the U. S. of A. and will
be turned into a testing site for
the A-Tom bomb!
A desperate search begins to
find something necessary about
Dogpatch.
Could Mammy Yokum have
the one thing that could save the
town and the ever-important
Sadie Hawkins day tradition?
What is Yokum Berry Tonic and
why does it bring scientists and
government men to Dogpatch?
Why are citizens of Dogpatch in
Washington DC?
With characters such as
Available Jones, Marryin’ Sam,
General Bullmoose and
Appassionata Von Climax, the
show comes together with toe
tapping songs and side splitting
comedy.
Tater Patch Players have put
together a stellar cast and spec
tacular crew to present this won
derful musical comedy, based on
the comic strip Li’l Abner,
which ran from 1934 till 1977
and was written by A1 Capp. We
may even have some surprises
up our sleeves, so, don’t miss
out!
All shows will be staged at
the Pickens High School
Auditorium. Show dates are
July 13, 14, 19, 20 & 21 at 8
p.m. and July 15th at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $10 adult and $8
student at the door. Advanced
tickets can be purchased for $8
and $6 at Jasper Drugs, Look No
Further Antiques in Talking
Rock, Starlite Video at Foothills
and Hollywood FX Studio near
Kroger.
For more information, see
www.taterpatchplayers.org.
New book shines light
on Tater Patch Players
By Rose Japikse
Psst! How would you like to
take a trip - without leaving all
the comforts of home?
A fabulous trip down memo
ry lane is available for only
$19.99, through the just-pub
lished book Break A Leg!
It tells the story of Tater
Patch Players - the first 30
years.
Do you know where the first
play was performed?
How was the name Tater
Patch Players chosen?
Why isn’t Mortimer
Brewster writing this review?
How many people do you
know who have participated in
this community theatre? If you
have ever seen a Tater Patch
performance, you count too!
The book is a coffee table
sized volume with 164 pages
chocked full of anecdotes, play
bills, pictures and memories
depicting the role Tater Patch
has played in the community
during these 30 years.
As the idea for a book
evolved, Tater Patch veterans
responded - searching for those
old scrapbooks and files, and
scouring attics. The book dis
plays in pictures and words the
love, joy, and gratitude for com
munity theatre.
Tater Patchers - old and
new-contribute vignettes
throughout the book. Janet
Vardaman, who has been active
in Tater Patch since the begin
ning, gives insight into the
“early days and early plays.”
She talks about the “Tater Patch
experience,” which she says
embraces the audience as well
as the actors.
“Tve seen audiences dazzled
by fantastic costumes, delighted
by the music and presence of
live musicians, amazed by the
creative sets, and awed when
that special magic happened on
stage,” she writes. “Every pro
duction involves a bonding of
cast and crew.”
Jean Curran, who portrayed
the fussy playwright in Play On,
beams with pride that Tater
Patch’s “30 years of successful
theatrical productions encom
passes more than simply staging
Break A kg!
The ftory of Tater Patch Players:
The First 30 •/ears
plays. We believe that commu
nity theater offers untold oppor
tunities that almost nothing else
does. Our theater group has
always been a family endeavor
where sometimes three genera
tions work side by side to create
something exciting and mean
ingful.”
Andy Fowler, who played
Pseudolus in last summer’s hit,
A Funny Thing Happened on the
Way to the Forum, discusses the
stress and palpitations endured
before opening night and then
calmly states, “However, it all
comes together. I’m not quite
sure how, but it does.
“One night the set’s in
pieces, no one can remember
their lines and no one can find
their props. The next night the
set looks fantastic, everyone
knows their lines, and every
prop is outlined in a designated
area on a designated prop table.
It’s just one of those things that
happens when everybody push
es together to cross that finish
line as a team.”
The book documents every
play Tater Patch has produced in
the last 30 years - and provides
a unique glimpse into life on the
other side of the curtain. It is a
delightful immersion into the
life of our community theater -
a tribute to all members past and
present and the community that
supports it.
I highly recommend this
book for a fun peek behind the
scenes. You might just decide to
“break a leg” yourself. Enjoy
the book - and spread the word.
The book will be on sale at
each of the performances of Li’l
Abner, which Tater Patch is pre
senting each of the next two
weekends - July 13, 14, 15
(matinee), 19, 20 and 21, at
Pickens High School auditori
um. Tickets to the play are
available at Jasper Drugs,
Hollywood FX Hair Studio.
Look No Further Antiques and
Starlight Video - and at the
door. The evening shows begin
at 8; the matinee begins at 2.
By the way, the first show
was Li 7 Abner - and it was held
in the auditorium of Tate
Elementary School. The name
Tater Patch Players was chosen
in honor of Tate Mountain
Estates.
And Mortimer Brewster, the
lead character in Arsenic and
Old Lace, was a theater critic
who seldom bothered to attend
the plays he reviewed. It would
never occur to him to write a
book review!
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