2004-2005 (BLT's 55th Season)
October 15-31, 2004 -- EMILY, professional actress/playwright Connie Clark as Poet
Emily Dickinson. The BLT Barn Theater. Ms. Clark first played the American poet in
1981, appearing in The Belle of Amherst at the Tryon Fine Arts Center in Tryon, NC.
In January, 1986, her original one-woman play, Emily, had its world premiere on that
same stage and since then has gone on to performances in 15 U.S. States and in
Norway. Now, Brevard Little Theatre will present Connie Clark's Emily as its
2004-2005 season opener. Photos
December 10-19, 2004 -- THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER,
a rollicking Yuletide comedy by Barbara Robinson. Directed by Sonia Arnold. Music
Director: Dede Hunter. The BLT Barn Theater. This is the hilarious story of the
efforts of a woman and her husband to put on the annual church Christmas pageant,
despite having to cast the horrible Herdman kids -- who are probably the meanest,
nastiest, most inventively awful kids in the whole world. The Seattle Times says it is
"One of the best Christmas stories ever -- and certainly one of the funniest." Photos
February 4-20, 2005 -- THE RUNNER STUMBLES, a drama by Milan Stitt.
Directed by Sy Berg. The BLT Barn Theater. In this powerful drama, critically hailed
in its Broadway presentation, a young nun has died under mysterious circumstances in a
remote parish in Northern Michigan, and her superior, Father Rivard, has been charged
with her murder. The action alternates between trial testimony and scenes from the
past. There is an explosive and surprising climax to this play. The New York Times
said "It's one of the best plays in a long time..." Photos
April 1-17, 2005 -- OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MURDER, a comedy by
Fred Carmichael. Directed by Majorie Megivern. The BLT Barn Theater. This is a
comedy/thriller in which author Peter Knight is working on a murder story in an old
mansion where another author had been murdered a few years before. A weird
electricalstorm causes a cosmic snafu and Peter's characters come to life. He loses
control of them and there are a few murders. Since Peter is the intended victim, he has
to find the killer before the killer gets him. All is solved ingeniously, with romance,
suspense and comic wit. Photos
May 27-June 5, 2005 -- HEARTENING OF THE ARTISTRIES, by Fred King.
Winner of BLT's first annual New-Play Competition. Directed by Bob and June Stacy.
The BLT Barn Theater. A veteran character actor, now in his eighties, returns at the
urging of his theater-student granddaughter to the heartland town where it all began for
him. Both harbor secretive plans, but what each of them encounters proves that life
always has plans of its own. This warm and amusing comedy/drama will receive its
very first production on the Barn Theater stage. It's an opportunity to see an entirely
new play and meet its author. Competition winner in the One-Act Play category:
MOURNING THE MARIGOLDS, by Sheryle Criswell. (About the authors.) (Photos)
July 1-10, 2005 -- ALICE IN WONDERLAND, Book by Charles Turner (adapted
from the Lewis Carroll book.) Music and lyrics by Steve Moore. Directed by Sonia
Arnold. Assistant Director, Sandi Thompson. Music Director: Dede Hunter. The BLT
Barn Theater. This engaging musical version of the well-known classic has toured with
enormous success in California and has grown in popularity. Alice's journey through the
looking glass into a bizarre land where strange, pretzel-like logic is the law is retold in
this ingenious adaptation. All the popular characters are brought to life in full color and
with great flair. The music is melodic, fun and truly captures the essence of this classic
tale. Photos
August 26-Sept 11, 2005 -- THE SPITFIRE GRILL, by James Valcq. Directed by
Gene O'Hare. Music Director: J. R. Rhodes. Producer: Lyn O'Hare. The BLT Barn
Theater (final production in this long-time theatrical facility, which was then gutted and
converted to other uses.) In this delightful musical, a feisty parolee follows her dreams
to a small Wisconsin town where she finds a job working in Hannah's Spitfire Grill.
The grill is for sale but there are no takers in the depressed town, so the young parolee
suggests a raffle which requires a 100-dollar entry fee plus an essay on why you want
the grill. Soon, entries come in by the wheelbarrow full, and things are definitely
cookin' at the Spitfire Grill. USA Today says it has "some of the most infectious and
soaring country-flavored melodies, which will cause the city slickers in the audience to
want to enter the raffle themselves." Photos
Award Winners for 55th Season