'Tom Foolery' opens at playhouse tonight

Andy Meyers has become a well-known face with the Bigfork Summer Playhouse over the past several years, but today will be the debut of the full-blown playhouse show he's directed.

Meyers, who has again been acting with the playhouse this summer, will direct "Tom Foolery," the closing show of the season.

Meyers has done some directing work in Bigfork prior to this. He has directed the annual Benefit Revue, including this July's show, and choreographed "Smokey Joe's Cafe" last season. He also directed the Bigfork Playhouse Children's Theatre's production of "Willy Wonka" last fall. However, this is his first time with a full playhouse show.

"It's fun," he said. "It's a lot of adjustment working with my peers, especially at the end of summer."

Meyers has primarily been an actor, but he has directing experience outside of the Village. He said he's usually hired as an actor and then also given some directing roles.

"I enjoy it, but I think as an actor and director I always feel the grass is greener on the other side," Meyers said, noting that when he's on stage he wishes he could get up and adjust scenes and when he's off, he wishes he could be up on it with the rest of the cast.

This show, which follows the end of the playhouse's regular season, is bittersweet because it meant saying goodbye to cast members Meyers worked and lived with all summer.

"There's no room to not be close to people," he said.

But, this final show does give him an opportunity to stay and work with the four remaining cast members, Jonathan Altman, Chris Ferris, Cody Heuer and Annie Janson, in a show that provides a chance to showcase their abilities and talents.

"These four are just great," he said. "They've been fun to work with."

"Tom Foolery" is a musical revue featuring the tunes and lyrics of Tom Lehrer, a musician and social comedian from the 1950s and 1960s.

"I really like it," Meyers said of the show. "The material is just so accessible. There's a lot of opportunity to be creative and do different things."

Meyers compares the feel of "Tom Foolery," to being somewhat like "All Shook Up," another show the playhouse did this summer. "All Shook Up" featured the tunes of Elvis Presley.

Though "Tom Foolery" is a revue as opposed to a plot-driven musical, both of these shows feature well-known songs sometimes sung in unexpected ways, he said.

The lyrics, which are satirical and sometimes political, are often more recognizable than the tunes themselves, Meyers said.

"The cast performs a whirlwind of songs covering a broad range of musical styles and dance," Meyers said. "The musical not only showcases Lehrer's music, but also the very talented cast of playhouse veterans.

For this production, Meyers is joined by music director Alicia Bullock-Muth, a former playhouse actor who is a musical director and vocal coach throughout the Northwest. Meyers was pleased to be able to work with her, as she was once his own vocal coach.

The show runs at 8 p.m. Aug. 26 through 28 and Sept. 2 through 4 at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts.

The cast will also put on two matinee shows, one at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29, and another at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 837-4886 or visit www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com.