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THE SUN'LL COME OUT...by Barbara Biddison

7/17/2025

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THE SUN'LL COME OUT......by Barbara Biddison
That's Annie, but "tomorrow" is always worth thinking about as Shakespeare did in "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day" all the way to that "the sun'll come out tomorrow" for our young orphan girl.

As I write, the sun is shining here in Wellsboro, which reminded me that I haven't blogged about the orphan in Annie. I saw the show last Friday in Mansfield's Straughn, and it was a wonderful production. That large auditorium was full. I don't know the size of the audiences for the other four performances, but I'm guessing there was a packed house for each one. A large cast like this and a popular show usually combine to fill the audience seats.

The combination of a diverse cast and a familiar show title gets the audience. This cast has a lotta kids, mostly playing orphans, and many familiar faces as well as new adults never before seen on the HG stage. I counted names on the program, I got 53 I think, and that does not include the production crew of 18. Jessie Thompson directed, Taylor Nickerson (First Position Dance Studio) was Choreographer. Naomi Gehman was Dance Captain and Thomas Putnam was Musical Director. And Sylvia Duterte played the title role of Annie! Oh my! And let us not forget the dog. Annie has to have a dog. This stage dog was extraordinary! Oh, what a well-behaved real dog.

For a show like this we have to remember that the Mansfield stage is available only for the last few rehearsals and for the show itself. So, all of this has been rehearsed in Wellsboro and then transported to Mansfield where everyone must get used to a whole new physical surrounding. In my past acting career with HG, I had that experience once for a musical, and I have great respect for those actors and techies who do so in what seems to be such a smooth transition! 
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First, HOW I BECAME A PIRATE and then TRUE COLORS; Hamilton-Gibson Keeps Going On

6/28/2025

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First, How I Became a Pirate and then True Colors; Hamilton-Gibson Keeps Going On... by Barbara Biddison

Put one thing in front of the other, and you start with a band of singing women pirates in the Warehouse Theatre, June 19 through June 22. The program calls it "a swashbuckling adventure for the whole family," and so it is. The all-female cast and crew was directed by Yolie Canales who helped them find their pirate spirit and bring it to life. I saw the show in a Sunday matinee, and there were LOTS of kids in the audience, many of them accompanied by adults. What a treat!! The Hamilton-Gibson Women's Project creates the space, the opportunity, for such gender-bending as not only a whole cast of female pirates but also production roles such as set design and construction and lights and sound. Many challenges for women and girls!!

And a show that is appropriate for a young audience, and a teen audience, and adults of all ages. And the opportunity to create a remarkable set that roles on and off the stage. And the challenge of finding costumes that will carry the idea of women pirates. A lot of thought and creative ideas went into this show with its band of women pirates. The cast also really seemed to be having fun. Yes!! So was the audience!!

A day later, on to TRUE COLORS, June 23 through June 27. The Tioga County Fairgrounds hosted the Theatre Arts Camp for Kids who attended camp for the week and then put on their show on Friday, the last day. The program lists 28 campers in the cast, all directed by Thomas Putnam who was assisted by three interns and two staff. There were songs sung by the campers, and very short plays, and dances of different sorts, all (as the program says) circling around the theme of color. A few of us attended the Friday show, most were parents of course, and the kids were (are always) of all sizes and shapes and degrees of expertise--but most of all they moved freely and were having a good time. Couldn't do it without the help of those interns and staff people.
I don't know how many of the kids know each other already. But as I sit there on the front row, I see them all "helping" each other.

It is easy to watch this camp experience and feel the fun and concentration and hoping to remember what comes next. Though it is not a perfect song-n-dance routine that we witness, it is remarkable what they learn in just a short week. The program says that there is funding to make it possible for all children to be able to attend the camp...And that makes me smile.



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TO SING AMERICA IN ANOTHER LAND

5/21/2025

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TO SING AMERICA IN ANOTHER LAND by Barbara Biddison

They flew across the ocean to land in Yorkshire, England, these young singers in the HG Treble Choir. And, of course, they were accompanied by some parents and a few other adults as well as the director, Thomas Putnam. They left on a Wednesday and returned the following Wednesday. All the reports from kids as well as adults revealed their joy in singing for these audiences and their personal growth as they sang in another land. It was clearly an experience with memories to last a lifetime. The reports suggest that they sang everywhere they went---churches, and schools, and museums, and castles and parks, and in the streets. The adults came back with happy memories as well. I'm loving hearing and reading about it everywhere!!!! And, yes, reading about it in joyful detail in our local newspaper.

Less than two weeks after their return to the States they were in concert again in Wellsboro, sharing their songs and their talent with the local folk. The Methodist Church generously provided the space for the Treble Choir amid the added delights as well: The Brothers and the HG Choir Too. I could have sat happily on that church bench for hours more. 

By the way, there is something, a learning experience, that Putnam often has the singers do that I appreciate. He has individual choir singers write in their own words and read aloud a sentence or 2 or 3 that gives the title and composer and perhaps subject matter of the song they are about to sung and we are about to hear. A great idea.

This concert included two groups that did not travel to England----groups that I love to see and hear. HG Choir Too, about 9 or 10 of them, sang a few very appropriate-for-that-age pieces with great enthusiasm and attention to director. And The Brothers who achieved their rightful fame in JOSEPH concluded their bit with YOU RAISE ME UP. Oh yes...

It was a rich and full afternoon, and we are so fortunate to have such music with us.



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BIRTHDAY CANDLES IN APRIL

4/2/2025

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IT'S FUNNY AND FAST...AND NOT SCARY

10/28/2024

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IT'S FUNNY AND FAST...and NOT SCARY by Barbara Biddison

I begin this blog with this "not scary" statement because potential audience members were asking me, just before the show opened, if it was just too frightening for them to be able to enjoy it.  The Night of the Living Dead has a title that leads you to believe you'll be
uncomfortably scared for a couple hours as you sit in the Warehouse Theatre.  Not so!  I saw it opening night and found it to be fast-paced and funny as it presented a complex mystery that held my focus throughout.  The sell-out audience loved it  and gave it their complete attention until it ended with a standing ovation! After which we all gathered in the Warehouse Gallery for Opening Night food and conversation

Now about the show and its director Noyes Lawton.  This is his first time to direct a main-stage Hamilton-Gibson show; however, he goes way back  with HG beginning with Injun Joe as an actor in Tom Sawyer17 years ago. He has designed and built sets, and he plays Christmas Present in our annual A Christmas Carol, and he has also performed for Elmira Little Theatre.  He met and married Sarah Lawton when they were in HG's Blithe Spirit, and she serves as assistant director in this show. It's worth of note to observe that we have more than one married couple active in HG.

As Noyes says in the program, "This is more than just a zombie play."  Well, there was an original movie so that's probably part of the great name recognition that gave us a full house opening night. Which makes me think of the Warehouse Theatre seating arrangement..
Chairs are close together, and Box Office asked ushers to request of audience members, as they came in, to sit right next to the person on their right or left.  (People are generally prone to leave a "polite distance" between their seat and the already seated).  Absolutely everyone honored that request.  It was clear, as the last reservation arrived, that we had a full house and it was time for the show to begin!

[NOTE: Performances of Night of the Living Dead LIVE continue this weekend on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 at the Warehouse Theatre. Tickets can be obtained at HGP.BOOKTIX.COM or by calling the HG office at 570.724.2079.]

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ONE COUNTRY : MANY VOICES

10/15/2024

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ONE COUNTRY : MANY VOICES...or MANY VOICES : ONE COUNTRY by Barbara Biddison

The printed program on October 6 would have it both ways.  In any case the TREBLE CHOIR was joined by the younger ones called CHOIR TOO and the older guys who were the brothers in JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT.   All featuring "uniquely American music."  What a wonderfully diverse concert!  I did not want it to be over.  Thomas Putnam has created an extraordinary environment for singing.  For kids singing under the encouraging direction of Laureen Wolgemuth.  And for young adults singing under Thomas's direction. St. Paul's was nearly full with people related to the singers, of course—but I saw a goodly number, like us, who just enjoy hearing all these people sing.

Next spring audiences across the ocean will hear them sing, too!  They will be traveling to Yorkshire, England.  To help fund the trip they are selling poinsettias as the Christmas holidays approach,  (I like to present them as gifts.) And coffee and baked potatoes,  and for anyone who doesn't need any flowers or coffee or potatoes, there's always the opportunity to just contribute and write a check.
​

There are openings in both HG choirs grades 2-8!!  I always remember my own high school  choir experiences when the HG choirs sing and travel and enter foreign countries.  I'm sure their memories will last as long as mine have.  I lived in South Texas so our "foreign travel" was into Mexico and not across any ocean, but I suspect that the feeling is much the same.

Speaking of foreign countries, HG just returned from our annual trip to Ontario, where we experienced three shows in the world-famous Stratford Festival. And in December we travel to the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. HG is truly alive at home and abroad! Join us!


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A Sneak-Peek at PUFFS in Full Rehearsal

8/6/2024

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A SNEAK-PEEK AT "PUFFS" IN FULL REHEARSAL by Barbara Biddison

I sat there in the Warehouse Theatre watching this story unfold. It is fascinating and attention-holding.  It will appear for public audiences beginning August 8 and ending August 11 for a total of five shows in the Warehouse Theatre, so we need to plan to attend right away.   As far as I could tell there are probably twelve actors in the cast who take on the character of many, many more individuals. I quickly learned to plug in and just go along for the ride.  That works!!

I was not familiar with this play called PUFFS.  Turns out that was fine. The "beginner wizard' was told to "use the training wand"  and that seemed perfectly logical to me, so I did not spend any time
pondering what a training wand might be like.  I think you just have to enter this magical world, and that turns out to be the way. This is a fast-moving show, and it runs about 110 minutes with no
intermission.

I stayed in the theatre after the show to hear what director Cody Losinger had to say to the cast.  I was impressed! He was clear and specific and friendly as he offered corrections, embellishments or suggestions to individuals.  Cast members responded--almost always already knowing where a correction was in order, or an emphasis was needed.  That relationship was really nice, and I especially liked how actors felt free to respond when they knew that they had "goofed" and already knew what they had to do to fix it.  A "good feel" in that room for a good play.
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IT'S JUST A DREAM NOW...THIS JOSEPH AND HIS COAT

7/20/2024

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It's Just A Dream Now...This Joseph and His Coat   by Barbara Biddison

Four performances featuring this one of twelve brothers and his amazing 
colorful coat.  A stage in Straughn able to adequately display the backdrops created by local artist Tim Crane.  The twelve brothers, and an equal number of women. and a dozen children all dancing and singing as they move confidently across the stage.  All this to create a visual and musical delight, with the help of musicians in the pit.  And costumes, most of them created  (stitched) by local seamstress Peggi Yaccovissi with the help of Elaine O'Neil and others.  This local creation is not just   "puttin' on a show."  It has the feel of professional theatre with the addition of local talent "giving it their
all."

I saw it twice in performance, Opening Friday night and Saturday matinee.  There were good receptive crowds.  And that cast just kept going.  I hear that the final show, Sunday matinee was outstanding. I've been in shows in my younger life and I know what it's like to keep going and feed off the audience.  I hear that the final show was
so good that a person could cry (that's a good kind of cry.)  There is a certain kind of show that will take you there....as actor, as audience. It is impossible to name all the 40-some cast members, but they were all "there" all the time.  Thanks, Thomas.  The director pulls it all together and inspires the cast, and crew, and costume-makers.  And they work really hard to create the dream.

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JOSEPH COMES TO STRAUGHN

6/24/2024

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JOSEPH AND HIS AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT COMES TO MANSFIELD

Last night I was privileged to sit in on the last Wellsboro rehearsal before the Hamilton-Gibson show moved to Straughn in Mansfield.  A couple more rehearsals there, and then it opens for a 3-day/4-show run, July 5,6,7  As we gathered in the Deane Center large second floor
community room, I looked around at all the guys (the "brothers") and the women and the children, and I felt their easy familiarity with each other.  Gary was at the piano, and Thomas was in his familiar low-ket director mode, and Maddie Palm was waiting to guide the cast,
all of them "dancers," through their already-practiced routines.  I know what it feels like at that point, when you're "almost there."  So I found myself a chair off to the side and sat there with my yellow pad and newly sharpened pencil.  A few stopped to ask if I was "recording all their mistakes." and I, of course assured them that I certainly was not there for that reason.

So this rehearsal was just supposed to be working on some singing and some dancing..  And that's what they did.  First the "loo loo loo" and "yah yah yah" and then that familiar bit about "selling sea shells down  by the sea shore"  to get the voice and the lips going.  And then Thomas announced that "this is the last time you'll have that book in your hand" and so away with the scripts!  And then "Let's dance...." a half hour after everyone gathered.  Soon all the
"brothers" sang , and that was the first time I heard all the male voices in unison, and it was grand.  Then Maddie Palm, dance instructor began to call out the "step...touch...step touch" pattern for all to follow.  And a call-out from a male cast member, "Let's do it again," ,and the children...oh the children '''so real, so good, so fun."  For the two-and-a-half hours I was there, I kept being swept into the action.  All dance/movement--I kept feeling part of it all.The dance
instructor knows everyone's name and calls out instructions to specific individuals as the rehearsal progresses.  I was amazed at her ability to zero in on every touch, every step.  I was pulled in by the cast as they paid great attention and had a joyously good time all at
once.

As the rehearsal wound down, all listened to Thomas clarify a few things and have complete confirmation about which guy was wearing which color shirt.  The details.  The fun.  The dance.  The song.  I really look forward to seeing this on the Straughn Auditorium stage.

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ARTS FOR ALL THE AGES

6/24/2024

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ARTS FOR ALL THE AGES by Barbara Biddison

Hamilton-Gibson has always been all-inclusive. This June 2024 has been a true example of
that. In the Warehouse Theatre I saw a dress rehearsal of Once Upon a Crime in mid-June, and
less than two weeks later I saw in Whitneyville the Theater Arts Camp show for Kids.. In
one the cast was made up of the very young, and the over-50s, and all ages in between---- and
in the other it was "all kids"!! But that's not all there is to putting on a play. Everybody knows
there's got to be a director, and for these two that would be Himmelberger for the Warehouse
event and Putnam for Whitneyville kids in "Perchance to Dream." And we do need more than a
director to pull it all together.

In "Dream" we saw the work of interns for music and dance, staff of ages from teens to the older
folk, presenters during camp "dream" focus, and so many more who held the whole thing
together. And for the regular "fairy-tale courtroom play" there were the "official" crew
members to handle lights, and sound, and costumes, and backstage and publicity, and posters.
Different needs for different kinds of shows and different venues as well as for different kinds of
performers.

In both, Once Upon a Crime and “Perchance to Dream”, there are vocal and body-movement
skills to be learned and become familiar with. There's a lot more dance-type movement in the
kids camp show, and there's a lot more "character-posturing" movement for Once Upon a
Crime.
​
I love it when the program tells you (Once Upon a Crime) that thanks go to a real judge for the
loan of a real gavel.... and (“Perchance to Dream”). that one of the presenters brought
information on "Dreamcatchers."
I offer this blog as just some evidence of the kind of variety that Hamilton-Gibson has provided
for over 30 years now. It truly is community theater,
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Hamilton-Gibson Productions
Providing opportunities for people of all ages to enrich and empower their lives through community performing arts.
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