Vision and Experience to Lead Wellesley Players’ Season

Following on last season’s five successful productions, the Wellesley Players have announced their 86th season bringing high-quality community theater to MetroWest audiences. The new three-show format will be led by artistic teams that have won awards throughout the region for their prowess at stage direction, artistic direction, and choreography.

The Players’ artistic director, David Kimmelman, led his team in the playreading and production team searches. Lois Goodman, Angela Richardson, and Jessica Greenfield all contributed to the process, and the results have been excellent:

The Wellesley Players will open their 2011-2012 season with Little Women, the Musical, music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, book by Allan Kneed, and based upon the eponymous Louisa May Alcott novel. This production, which will be the Players’ first at the black box theater at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, will be spearheaded by Celia Couture. Couture’s recent experience with the Players includes the award-winning productions of Steel Magnolias and Fiddler on the Roof. Serving as music director for Little Women is Shawn Gelzleichter, who recently music directed The Footlight Club’s production of RENT. And returning to the Players as choreographer is Kelly Murphy, who was most recently seen on-stage in Annie and in our fall fundraiser Thank You for the Music. Murphy worked with Couture in the Players 2009-2010 season when she choreographed Fiddler on the Roof.

Our second production of the season, which will also be performed at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, is The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, by Charles Busch. Our only straight-play of the season will be directed by well-known area director Joe Stallone, whose most recent credits include Table Manners for the Arlington Friends of the Drama and Trial by Jury for the Sudbury Savoyards. The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife will be Stallone’s Wellesley Players debut.

Wrapping up our season is the family favorite musical Oliver!, music, lyrics, and book by Lionel Bart. Oliver! will be performed at the Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson College in Wellesley, and will be directed by award-winning director and Player Richard Repetta. Repetta has several credits with the Players, including Cabaret, Seussical, La Cage aux Folles, and Sweet Charity. Joining Repetta as music director is familiar face Chris Holownia, who appeared in Fiddler on the Roof as Motel and music directed both Thank You for the Music and Annie for the Players last season.

Additional information and audition notices for these shows will be posted at our website, our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/wellesleyplayers) and on local theater directories.

If you have any interest in volunteering for The Wellesley Players, contact the producers for the show you’re interested in:

Little Women – Diane Rothauser
The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife – David Kimmelman and Wil Breden
Oliver! – Roz Seipel