The Musical CELEBRATION Will Be Staged For Three Performances At Lakewood Theatre Company April 14-15

Lakewood Theatre Company presents the musical Celebration as part of its Lost Treasures Collection Series for three performances, April 14 & 15, 2023.

The Lost Treasures Collection, a series of rarely performed musical gems, continues its thirteenth season at Lakewood Theatre Company on its Side Door Stage with the musical Celebration, April 14-15, 2023.

This year's theme, in honor of Lakewood's 70th Anniversary Season, is "Celebrating Shows Once Performed at Lakewood Theatre Company."

The shows in the Lost Treasures series are staged in a concert/cabaret style, and are presented script-in-hand with minimal staging. No sets, no props and free from the usual trappings of a fully staged production.

Celebration will have only three performances: Friday, April 14 at 7:00 PM and Saturday, April 15 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Celebration is a musical with book and lyrics by Tom Jones and lyrics by Harvey Schmidt. It was originally produced on the Broadway stage in 1969. At Lakewood Theatre, the production was originally staged in April of 1978.

Lakewood's 2023 production is directed by Dennis Corwin and the musical director is Jeffrey Michael Kauffman. Performances are on Lakewood Theatre's Side Door stage at Lakewood Center for the Arts in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The Lost Treasures series sponsor is Fritz Camp, and the curatorial sponsor is Jack's Overhead Door. The playbill sponsor are Ed & Judy McKenney.

The narrator, Potemkin (Sean Ryan Lamb), invites the audience to imagine a cold winter night in the City. It is New Year's Eve and a young Orphan (Sam Green) wanders into the home of the richest man in the world with the goal of convincing him to save the orphanage. Mr. Rich (Bobby Jackson) declares that if the orphan boy can help him feel emotion once again, the orphanage will be restored. All is going well until Mr. Rich and the Orphan battle for the affection of a beautiful fallen Angel (Leia Young). In this age-old struggle between the powers of humanity and Mammon, love, as always, triumphs over the forces of power and greed. Memorable songs include: "Celebration," "Love Song," and "Somebody."

The cast of Lakewood's production also includes Robert Altieri, Melissa Standley, Joey Klei, and Blythe Woodland as revelers.

Ticket prices are $20 for all seats. Contact the Lakewood Theatre Box Office at (503) 635-3901 or order online at http://www.lakewood-center.org/

Lakewood Theatre Company's Side Door Stage is located in the Community Meeting Room at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State Street in Lake Oswego. Light food, snacks, and beverages are available to purchase before and during the show.

History of the Show: Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones were a successful musical theatre writing duo from the 1960s to the early 2000s.The duo is best-known for the musical The Fantasticks (1960), which ran for 42 years off-Broadway, from 1960 to 2002 for a total of 17,162 performances. They also collaborated on the 1995 feature film adaptation. Other highly noted productions by Jones and Schmidt include 110 in the Shade (1963), I Do! I Do! (1966), Philemon (1973), The Show Goes On (1997), and Roadside (2001). Celebration opened on Broadway on January 22, 1969, at the Ambassador Theatre, and closed on April 26, 1969, after 109 performances and thirteen previews. Directed by Jones and choreographed by Vernon Lusby, the cast featured Ted Thurston as Rich, Susan Watson as Angel and Keith Charles as Potemkin, with Michael Glenn-Smith as Orphan. Ed Wittstein designed the scenic design, costumes, and lighting.

To post a comment, you must register and login.