Eric Brekke (Charlie)

Rob Stuart (Rev. David Marshall Lee)

Robert Holt (Sergeant Froggy LeSueur)

Barbara McGrath (Betty Meeks)

Scott McGee (Owen)

Mallory Adams (Catherine Simms)

Stetson  Holliday (Ellard Simms)

If you auditioned and were not cast, we look forward to having you at auditions in the future.

In addition to Forever Plaid closing on the evening of the 10th, our Children’s Theatre opened the award winning production of The Little Mermaid that morning to a sold out house! The cast put in long hours, several late evenings and an early morning to pull of the opening but it opened without a hitch.  We couldn’t be happier!

Finally, our creative team has been working at a marathon pace, and we are opening Annie Get Your Gun tonight! (July 16th).  It has been non stop work day and night to get the theatre back to its normal settings, but the show is looking great, the cast is phenomenal, and you are sure to love the production!

Tickets for Annie Get Your Gun & The Little Mermaid are on sale now!  So call (480) 497-1181 or visit www.haletheatrearizona.com today!

That’s right, for a limited time only we are offering discount seats for Annie Get Your Gun for all patrons age 18 and younger.  It is limited to the first two weekends of performances, so act now before this promotion passes you by! ($10 Tickets only available on phone orders or in-person at the Box Office).

Winner of 2 Tony Award’s for its 1999 Revival, Annie Get Your Gun is based off of  sharpshooter Annie Oakley.  Annie is the best shot around and she manages to support her little brother and sisters by selling the game she hunts.  When she’s discovered by Col. Buffalo Bill, he persuades this novel sharpshooter to join his Wild West Show.  It only takes one glance for her to fall head over heels for dashing shooting ace Frank Butler, who headlines the show.  She soon replaces Butler as the main attraction which, while good for business, is bad for romance.  Butler hightails it off to join a rival show, his bruised male ego leading the way, but is ultimately pitted against Annie in a final shoot-out.  The rousing, sure-fire finale hits the mark every time!

Come join us for this rousing production, staged by Broadway Veteran, and hit director, Tregoney Sheppard.  This rousing cast supports great songs such as “Doin’ What Comes Naturally”, “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better”, and “There’s No Business Like Show Business” that will keep you singing along all night long.  You won’t want to miss this exciting summer musical!  Get your tickets today! (480) 497-1181 or www.haletheatrearizona.com

**Please note, $10 tickets are not available for purchase online**

Recently, Jessica Van Zalen of the Arizona Republic interviewed Forever Plaid Director Michael Bryce.  Below is the article that followed.  We still have great seats available for this final and closing weekend.   Call the Box Office today at (480) 497-1181 or visit www.haletheatrearizona.com to buy now.  You’ll be “Plaid” you did!

(link to the entire article is at the bottom)

Throw on your saddle shoes and catch one of the remaining performances of the do-wopping ’50s musical hit “Forever Plaid” at the Hale Centre Theatre in Gilbert.

The Talented Cast of The Princess & The Pea 2010

Gilbert’s ambitious community theater, the Hale Centre, continues to do remarkably professional productions. Their current musical, “Forever Plaid,” is a remount of a production done several seasons ago that was great. With a new cast and director, the latest version is just as entertaining and polished.

The musical revue focuses on a four-part guy quartet, a 1950s entertainment staple, who patterned themselves after The Four Aces, The Four Lads, and The Four Freshmen. The group rehearsed until 1964 when they got their first gig. On the way, they were killed by a school bus.

Through some weird astro-technical stuff, they get a chance to come back for a day to present the performance they never got to do. Their repertory includes two dozen hit pop standards like “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “Perfidia,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Catch A Falling Star,” “Heart and Soul,” “Lady of Spain,” and “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.” They do lots of clever comic things as they sing the songs beautifully. The group’s members include Sparky, a funny guy; the shy but gifted singer Jinx; Smudge, who hides behind bulky glasses and has unusual moments of stage fear; and Francis, an entertaining singer who tries to lead the group.

For this show, the Hale Centre reconfigures its square stage into a thrust and, unlike most of their musicals, they use a live combo instead of recorded music. The striking set that results is the perfect locale. The revue is expertly staged by Michael Bryce and an outstanding ensemble sings with rich harmonies and soaring vocal expertise. The performers are ably backed by the combo that includes a pianist, bass, and drums. Bryce instills much fun and a relaxed ambience to the proceedings and his cast is one of the most accomplished I’ve seen in a community theater production.

DeVal Johnson’s Sparky takes advantage of his great comic ability as he adds bits of welcome humor while he spurts about the stage in an energetic performance. Devon Johnson has just the right hesitancy as Jinx; while Nathan Turley’s overly conscientious Smudge adds pleasant humor.

Hale Centre is an East Valley theatrical gem that presents fine community theater stagings of musicals and comedies. The delightfully entertaining and tuneful “Forever Plaid” continues through July 10. For tickets, call the Hale Centre Theatre box office at (480) 497-1181 or visit www.haletheatrearizona.com

As summer is quickly approaching, what better way to cool down by taking a journey “under-the-sea”?  Come enjoy a cool morning under the sea with this mystical musical fairytale! Escape the heat, and bring your children in for a day they will never forget. Your little princess will sure enjoy this version based on Han’s Christian Anderson’s tale of Arabelle and her sisters as they strive to escape the Sea Witch and look for their prince charming. Your children will surely enjoy the singing mermaids, the beautiful choreography, bright and colorful costumes, and the under water creatures!

You won’t want to miss this cool summer musical. It’s sure to be a hit with audience members of all ages. It will be a cheery-occasion for all in attendance. So get your head out of the water and book your tickets today! Call the Box Office at (480) 497-1181 or visit www.haletheatrearizona.com

The Hale Centre Theatre management is devoted to presenting the very best in family entertainment, both for its loyal adult and youth patrons. The Hale Theatre presents the return engagement of one of its most popular shows, the musical Forever Plaid. When first presented in 2007, this internationally acclaimed musical was a sell out, turning away eager audiences nightly. The new production plays through July 10.

The Examiner chatted with Hale Producer David Dietlein about all things Hale last week. Dietlein is a man of many talents, in addition to producing, he is his company’s lighting, set and sound designer, a true renaissance man of the theater. David has been involved in all aspects of theater since a child. He is the grandson of respected theater greats Ruth and Nathan Hale (original founders of the Glendale Center Theatre). Dietlein has produced over 150 comedies and musicals. He brought the Hale Theatre to Gilbert in 2003 after working many years in Glendale along side his brother Tim. Dave oversees all aspects of each production and contributes greatly to the finished product.

Q:The Hale Theatre Centre is an exciting part of the Gilbert community. How many Hale Centre Theatres are there currently?

A: The original Hale Theatre is in Glendale California, right outside of Los Angeles. There’s also one in Salt Lake City’s West Valley and one in Orem, which is about fifty miles south of Salt Lake City. The Hale has a summer theater in Grover, Utah.

Gilbert is our newest home. We chose to build here because there wasn’t a permanent year round theater in Gilbert at the time. We have never regretted that decision. Each theater is totally, independently owned and operated. Our only connection is that we are all family.

Q: What do you consider important in planning each new production?

A: Each area has a different personality. My wife, Corrin, and I have talked about this a number of times. What might work in LA may not work in Arizona or Utah. The family talks about different shows, studying what might and might not work in the different locales. We have to look at what people like in the various locations. It’s definitely a learning process. We do find that our audiences in Gilbert respond well to shows that have a lot of action. It’s a little more over the top than I was used to in California. Here they like bigger more vibrant characters. We were talking about doing The Importance of being Earnest next year. Glendale had just done it and when I spoke to my brother, Tim, who runs that theater, told me that the Wilde play has an exhausting amount of clever dialog and not much action in it. I thought that it might not work for our audiences. One thing we have found here is that dramas don’t seem to do as well as the comedies and the musicals, of course, are always enormously popular.

Q: Like many of the Valley’s theater companies, the Hale has a vibrant children’s theater. Can you tell us about it?

A:We are really excited about our children’s program. While our shows are very interactive with our young audiences, they are equally as entertaining for the adults. The shows have a lot of humor. We try to mix modern with traditional. Some of the characters can be pretty wacky and a whole lot of fun but they are always bright and colorful.

We’re very thrilled about our next show, The Little Mermaid. This is an original work written especially for the Hale. In fact, one of its writers, Karey Kirkpatrick, is someone I knew in LA when he was going to film school. He came to us with the idea of adapting Hans Christian Anderson’s classic fairy tale for the Hale and the resulting show is just great. The Little Mermaid was a collaboration of love by Jonathon Hale and Sarah Sandberg, with the music by Karey Kirkpatrick and Byron Simpson. In fact, Karey was also involved as a writer or director for Madagascar, James and the Giant Peach, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Imagine That starring Eddie Murphy as well as Over the Hedge. The Little Mermaid will play from July 10 through November 27.

The Little Mermaid will play from July 10 through November 27 following our current production of The Princess and the Pea.

Q: This is not the first time the Hale has presented Forever Plaid. What convinced you to bring it back now and can you describe the new production?

A: We simply couldn’t get everybody in last time. It was a complete sell out. The new production has the same director, Mickey Bryce, who created all the magic the first time out. We have an new choreographer for the revival, Amanda Paige, who performed on Broadway for a number of years and is freshly relocated to the Valley. We have a great new group of actors, DeVal Johnson as Sparky, Devon Johnson as Jinx (no relation to DeVal), Stephen Erek as Francis and Nathan Turley as Smudge. Mickey Bryce is also the music director and our live band includes Lincoln Wright (piano), Stephen Tessier (bass) and Walt Partlow (drums).

This production will be a total change for the Hale. When the audience walks into the theater, they are in store for a delightful surprise. We are converting the auditorium into a proscenium thrust stage. We have draped off the north section, removing about fifty seats, replacing them with a stage. It’s very cool.

Forever Plaid is one of those shows that you can see over and over again and never get tired of it. Somehow the music of that era is like ice cream. It is such a treat. You can’t have enough of it. That’s a tribute to why the show is so popular and done so much all over the world. We are very excited to bring it back.

Next up for the Hale Centre Theatre Main Stage is the classic Irving Berlin musical Annie Get Your Gun. Annie Get Your Gun, follows Forever Plaid, opening July 16 and running through August 28.

All photos and artwork used by permission of Hale Centre Theatre.

For more information about performance schedule and ticket availability for Forever Plaid, Annie Get Your Gun, The Little Mermaid and/or The Princess and the Pea, please contact Hale Centre Theatre directly either ON LINE or the box office at (480)-497-1181.

Hale Centre Theatre 50 West Page Ave Gilbert 85233

That’s right.  Your eyes are not playing a trick on you.  We have Season Ticket packages available starting at only $85 per person for the remainder of the year.  You can get in to see the remaining shows of our 2010 Season (Born Yesterday, Forever Plaid, Annie Get Your Gun, The Foreigner, and The Happiest Millionaire) for only $85 (Friday & Saturday Evenings are $95)! Our office staff is standing by, excited to help you sign up for your season tickets.  Plus, if you sign up for this years tickets, you qualify for Priority Bookings for next years season. You will be among the first to receive information about our 2011 Season as soon as it is announced.

This deal won’t last long, so contact the Box Office today reserve your tickets to great entertainment all year! Representatives are standing by so call (480) 497-1181. We’re happy to help you in securing a years worth of excitement, entertainment and plain old fun.