Last week marked the end of Guys & Dolls and what a magnificent run it was.  The cast was absolutely superb and such a delight to work with.  We will miss their smiling faces and upbeat personalities around our theatre and we thought you would enjoy this photo taken after closing night.

(Photo by David Dietlein)

Thankfully there isn’t much time until our next show, Born Yesterday begins.  The Hale Creative team has been working feverishly to finish the set, get costumes and props in all the right places, set the lights and prepare the sound system.  Director Allan Dietlein returns with an all-star cast made up of Don Crosby (Most recently seen in Camelot) as Harry Brock, Alaina Beauloye (Most recently seen in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) as Billie Dawn and Eric Thompson (from Beau Jest) as Paul Verrall as well as many other talented actors and actresses.  This will be one comedy you won’t want to miss. Call the Box Office today to book your tickets.

(Photo by Wade Moran)

1. The Story

Prince Valiant is having difficulty finding a partner, as he must marry a princess.  When a young woman seeks shelter in the castle and claims to be a princess, his mother decides to test the guest by placing a pea in the bed the young woman is offered for the night.  In the morning, the guest, Princess Olivia, tells her hosts that she had a sleepless night, kept awake by something hard in the bed.  The prince rejoices.  Only a real princess would have the sensitivity to feel a pea through such a quantity of bedding.

2. Creativity

Apart from Princess Olivia, Prince Valiant & Tabitha the Cat, who brings humor to the play, meet Stella Strong (smartly clad in a white Olympia gown with gold trim), Dianna Ding-a-ling (Silly with an awful singing voice), Minerva the Marvelous (the brainy princess in cap and gown), and Bealah theBeautiful (carries her cosmetics in a gold bag).

3. Relevance

There’s a universal lesson to be learned here.  Prince Valiant isn’t dazzled by the good looks or impressed by the brains of the princesses.  He seeks a princess with whom he can share something in common for a long-lasting marriage.

4. Introduction to Children’s Theatre

Hale Theatre offers children’s theatre in the spring & summer.  The productions, characterized by action, drama, emotion, colorful costuming and appealing story lines, are a good way to introduce a child to live theatre. Plus, it’s a positive alternative to watching cartoons on TV!

5. Celebrate or Have a Picnic

The show starts at 11 am on Saturdays.  The water park across the street has tables and grassy places for a picnic or birthday party after the show.  If you’re celebrating a birthday, the theater will keep your cake refrigerated until the party.  Birthday children are introduced on stage and given a small gift.  In addition, the audience sings the birthday song.

(Text courtesy of Srianthi Perera of the Arizona Republic)

With spring break among us, kids are begging and pleading for something fun to do.  What better way to spend time with your kids than bringing them to enjoy our wonderful childrens show, The Princess & The Pea.  Your little princess will surely enjoy this lively production!

(All photographs from show courtesy of Wade Moran)

Did you notice the payphone in Guys and Dolls?  If you touched it on the way out of the theatre you would have been surprised to realize it was made of wood.  Our master carpenter, Brad Alger created that, and along with Wade Oborn, who is our welder extraordinaire…and wears many other hats around the theater, is responsible for all the beautiful sets you see in each production.  Brad has been with us now for 2 ½ years and we would be hard pressed to give you the good looking sets you see without him.  He is the father of six children, maybe that’s why he is so creative, and we feel lucky to have him.

Wade Oborn is fairly new to us and is surprised to find himself involved in theater.  He loves it and says he wished he’d known long ago what fun it is.  He is involved in many aspects of the theater from welding, being the prop master, back stage manager, and house manager to name just a few of his responsibilities.   Besides that, he, and Brad too, are just plain really nice guys.

( Brad on the left & Wade working on the Princess’ Bed for Princess & The Pea)

We thought you would enjoy some performance photo’s from a recent performance of Guys & Dolls. The cast looks amazing and this is definitely a show that you will not want to miss!  Tickets are going fast so get yours online today or call the box office at (480) 497-1181.

All photographs by Wade Moran.

(Click thumbnail to see it enlarged)