Bigfork Summer Playhouse opens season with "9 to 5"

The Bigfork Summer Playhouse plans to operate at 75% capacity this summer with a reduced company of players as they strive to rebound after last year’s season, which saw a limited audience due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ticket sales for the 2020 season were just 27% of a typical year, Associate Producer Brach Thomson told the Eagle. To help recoup those costs, the playhouse will be featuring a company of seven male and six female actors, down from their typical 20.

“We chose shows specifically with that in mind, knowing that they were smaller-cast shows,” Thomson explained.

This year’s ensemble aso includes a number of returning actors.

“We’ve got some people that you haven’t seen for four or five years that are coming back,” Thomson said.

Both returning and new players will have ample opportunities to practice their craft — with fewer players, actors will be asked to do more. They might play a leading role in one production and take on background roles in other shows.But Thomson said that while cast members will be busy this year, they’ll also get more out of their Bigfork theater experience.

“They’re not playing cards in the green room — they’re doing what they love, they’re performing,” Thompson said. “We’re going to work you harder than most companies, but we hope that when you walk out you’ll tell us that you love us.”

The 62nd season of theater at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse will open June 5. This year’s lineup includes “9 to 5: The Musical,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Jersey Boys,” “Lucky Stiff,” and “The Hits of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s.” The playhouse will also be holding their annual scholarship show and gala, the Benefit Revue, scheduled for July 25.

Kicking off the summer season is “9 to 5” — the classic story of friendship and revenge with music and lyrics by country icon, Dolly Parton. The show centers around three female co-workers who devise a plan to get even with their sexist, hypocritical boss and takeover the company in the process. Parton’s character will be played by Brittany Ambler, who Thomson said “is a versatile young lady — she can do absolutely anything you put in front of her … She’s the kind of actress that spends her time including you as an audience member.”

Premiering next in the lineup is “Jersey Boys,” which opens June 9.

Thomson likens the show to a “live documentary” where performers walk the audience through the ups and downs of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and how the group rose from singing on street corners to international stardom. Thomson said all four actors are strong singers and noted that he’s “very excited about the blend we’re going to get out of the group.”

Not to be missed is the iconic “Bonnie and Clyde” which tells the story of a pair of fugitives longing to escape the ordinary for a life on the run. Actors Matthew Fecko and Katie Swaney star in the leading roles. Swaney is a BSP veteran who played Mother Superior in “Sister Act.”

“She is a short little firey redhead and she has this voice where she opens her mouth and you go, ‘Oh my god — where did that sound come from,?’” Thomson said.

The music in “Bonnie and Clyde” is not classic musical theater style — it’s more “fast and furious,” noted Thomson.

“It’s sad in the end .. but the journey is great — and the music is a hoot,” he said. “It’s bluegrass and old school, southern guitar picking.”

A lesser-known, but no less exceptional production, is “Lucky Stiff,” a show that tells the story of Harry Witherspoon who must take a special trip to Monte Carlo in order to claim an inheritance. But Harry isn’t alone on his travels — his late uncle’s lover Rita joins the adventure along with her brother Vinnie, who has been blamed for the crime. The production is an ecclectic murder mystery with a great deal of humor and a wild cast of characters.

“I know it’s not a name that people know, but once we get people to see it, I have a feeling it’ll be the favorite this summer,” Thomson said.

Rounding out the season is the “Hits of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s” a medley of rock ‘n’roll performances, including classics by Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Billy Joel, The Beatles and many more. “Hits” opens Aug. 26 with the final show set for Sept. 4.

Tickets are available at the box office beginning May 24 at 526 Electric Avenue. Call 837-4886 or visit the playhouse online at www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com. All shows begin at 8 p.m. at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts unless otherwise noted in the show calendar, which is available online.

Tickets are $19 for children 10 and under, $25 for military members, $27 for seniors 65 and older and $32 for general admission.