 For Sweet Charity we have returned home to our space at the Weston Town Hall!
For over 50 years, WFS has enjoyed a unique style of seating. Our cabaret tables allow audience members to experience theater unlike anywhere else in the area. With 6 seats to a table, they are the perfect way for your entire group to experience the show together. Or, get sat with people you don’t know and meet new theater goers! Our cabaret seating also allows each guest more space to themselves. The padded seats and extra space to move around allow for a much more comfortable experience! And what might be the best part of our cabaret seating, is the food! At WFS, you are encouraged to really do dinner and a show! We welcome you to bring snacks, drinks, dinner, dessert, and anything in between. Enjoy a true night (or afternoon) out! Don’t miss your chance to see Sweet Charity Opening May 11th! Visit www.westonfriendly.org for tickets.
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We sat down with our Artistic Director, Dan Sullivan, who is directing, choreographing, and costuming our production of "Sweet Charity" to find out more about the show!  How long have you been involved with WFS? My first production with WFS was in 1999. I played the other boy in town in “The Music Man”. It was my first show ever. However, I had been coming to Friendly rehearsal ever since I can remember while my mom directed shows. After “Music Man”, I was in many other shows including “Annie”(2006), “Brigadoon”, and “Singing in the Rain”. In 2013 I made my directing debut with “Gypsy” and have been directing for Friendly ever since, including “State Fair”, “Annie”(2018), and the Moss Hart Award Winning “White Christmas”.
What made you choose to do “Sweet Charity”? In choosing this years season it was all loosely based on the idea of “What is success”? And despite the way the story plays out I do think Charity has success at the end. And without giving too much of a spoiler, while Charity’s ending has success, it greatly questions what that means. As a fan of “Sweet Charity”, what’s your favorite musical number? Definitely “Baby, Dream Your Dream” As the choreographer, what’s your favorite musical number? It’s a tie - I love getting to know the style of Fosse intimately through “Rich Man’s Frug”. But I also love working on “Brass Band’, cause that’s definitely more in my wheelhouse. How are you inspired by Bob Fosse as a director and as a choreographer? In general, as a choreographer, everything I do is a combo of Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins. In terms of style those are the two that inspire me the most. But Fosse specifically because of his attention to stupid detail. It’s amazing how having an actor adjust the height of their hand can change the entire picture onstage, and that’s what Fosse did to a T. As a director, it was his attention to every individual on stage that inspires me. Fosse really drilled that there is not a moment you are onstage that you are not seen. Somebody is always watching you, and because of that you always have to be present. That’s what I try to incorporate into all of my work. Fosse encouraged each actor to find their story in the background scene even if it was not part of the plot the show was presenting. And sometimes to even take that further: figure out how and why your background story fits into the plot the show is presenting. What are three words you would use to describe this production? Fun. Laughs. Good times.  With the change in venue, things might be a little confusing about our upcoming performance. We are here to answer the most frequently asked questions to help you have the best experience possible at "...Spelling Bee"!
Is the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee being put on by Weston Friendly? Yes! We're the same Weston Friendly - just our location has changed to Weston's United Methodist Church stage for "...Spelling Bee" What's the venue like at Weston's United Methodist Church? Wow! It's a great place to host our "...Spelling Bee!" This auditorium space is similar to our Weston Town Hall venue but a bit cozier and without a balcony. Will you have a live orchestra? Yes! As always, we will have a live Orchestra. What will your seating be like? Most seating will be our signature cabaret style - small tables surrounded by chairs. All seating is general admission. But we are also offering speller seats! What are "speller" seats? The "F-U-N-N-E-S-T" seats in the house are our speller seats! Speller seats will be front row seats facing the stage. If you choose a speller seat, you may be lucky enough to be called on stage as a guest speller! How much are tickets? Online purchases of general admission tickets are $26 & speller tickets are &30. Can I bring my children to the show? The show does contain mature themes which may not be appropriate for younger viewers.We encourage you to check out some of the many online resources to ensure this musical is appropriate for your child. Give us a brief overview of your involvement in theater:
I began doing stage crew and stage managing in middle school and continued throughout high school. In high school I was also a part of Weston Drama workshop during the summer. I took a break from theater during college. But I’m back now! What past shows have you been involved in at WFS: I have been on the stage management team for Fiddler on the Roof, Pajama Game, and Annie; and was onstage for Jerry’s Girls. What is your favorite song from ...Spelling Bee? Which Character do you relate to the most? My favorite song is “The I Love You Song” and I probably relate to Marcy the most. What was your first Broadway show? If you could work on any show what would it be: My first broadway show was Sound of Music. And I know it’s not available yet but definitely Waitress. What made you want to be apart of WFS’ production of ...Spelling Bee: I remembered how fun it was, having stage managed it in high school! Rehearsals have begun for ...Spelling Bee and we wanted to learn more about our wonderful assistant stage manager, and her life in theater! Tell us a little about your history in theater:
I’ve loved shows since I was little but never really performed on stage. I auditioned for the high school play my freshman year and didn’t get in so I joined run crew. From there I learned to love working on shows backstage, went on to briefly study stage management to then transfer schools, but continued stage managing all through college, with brief stints in open cast musical ensembles. After a 3 year hiatus my mom brought me back to stage manage her show at Theatre III. Realizing I missed theater, on a whim I decided to audition for WFS and they miraculously let me on stage! Now it’s my home away from home! What past WFS shows have you been involved with: My first WFS show was Miracle on 34th Street, and since then I have been onstage in Pajama Game, Jerry’s Girls, and Annie. What was your first Broadway show you saw? If you could work on any show, what would it be? My first Broadway show was Lion King. If I could work on any show it would definitely be Lion King. What made you want to be apart of ...Spelling Bee? What song is your favorite from the show, and which character do you relate to the most? WFS is my new family! I didn’t want to miss a show!! My favorite song is probably “Pandemonium” or “My Friend the Dictionary”. And I definitely relate to Olive Ostrovsky the most. We are well underway with our rehearsals for The Pajama Game and are eternally grateful to this lady for keeping us all racing in the right direction. We wanted to learn more about our wonderful stage manager and she took some time to give us a glimpse into her life in the theater!
Tell us a little about your history in the theater both on stage and behind the scenes. I have been involved with performing in some way since I was four, when I started dance lessons. I continued with the same studio for 15 years and went on to teach for 5 years. In high school my best friend's family was very active in theatre and that is where my passion started. I have involved in Eastern Mass theatre since graduating from college. I have been onstage, producing, or stage managing. I have also served on the Board of Directors of EMACT and various other theatre companies, including Weston Friendly about 20 years ago! What have been your favorite and most memorable projects to work on and why? Such a hard question.... I was in a production of Titanic in Needham and I stage managed a production of Bus Stop at Vokes. Both of these productions told touching stories, the directorial teams worked well together and created a team atmosphere. They were favorites because everyone involved had a positive experience and we created quality productions. Acting, singing, or dancing... if you had to pick one which would you pick and why? That's easy! Definitely dancing....you can express so much while dancing.  Chris Hart (son of Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart), Bevie Lord, and Beth Hart at the NETC Convention in October 2017. We are thrilled to announce that Bevie Lord, a WFS veteran who has been involved in more than 20 Weston Friendly Society shows, was recently awarded the Marie Philips Memorial Award for Service to NETC at the New England Theater Conference. Bevie has been involved in New England theater as a director, an actor, producer, costumer, and make up artist and with The Weston Friendly Society as a performer, producer, make-up artist, prop person, and costumer. She majored in theater in college and studied acting at the Ecole De Rene Simone, in Paris, during her junior year abroad. Her later career as a high school french teacher also naturally included directing musicals.
Bevie has been involved with NETC since 2001 and has:
Congrats to Bevie we are so lucky to have you at Weston Friendly Society! You can come see her this spring in The Pajama Game! “The Friendly Society is a self-supporting, non-profit performing arts organization which promotes community service and fellowship through support of local charitable causes.” As our mission states, The Weston Friendly Society has been supporting local charitable causes through the performing arts since 1885. This season, in conjunction with The Pajama Game, we will support The Pajama Program. The Pajama Program, provides pajamas and books to children in the foster care system. Their goal is to create a good night time ritual and a good nights sleep for every child. At Weston Friendly we love our community and we hope that you can help us out in this effort!  How Can you Help? We will be collecting new pajamas, new books, and cash donations at all of our performances of The Pajama Game this spring. Please consider bringing a donation when you come and enjoy our show!
Our latest production is fast approaching. We are looking for volunteers, and we'd love to have you! There are a myriad of opportunities available, so read on for an easy breakdown of some of the ways that you can get involved.
Are you comfortable with a computer and want to help with tickets? Our Ticket Coordinator Assistant works alongside our ticket coodinator on the ticket Stage program (laptop provided) to confirm/distribute prepaid orders. Do you enjoy greeting people as they come to the theater? Our Ticket Assistant Floater handles new ticket sales and communicates between the ticket desk and the Stage Manager/Director. Do you know Weston Friendly REALLY WELL? If you are an adult with familiarity and knowledge of Weston Friendly and Town Hall you could be an Ambassador. You would help direct patrons to restrooms, elevator, answer questions about the production or about Weston Friendly, assist at Ticket table, or helps Ushers. Do you love to help people find their seats? If so, then Ushering is for you! You would assist patrons to seats and explain balcony seating. Are you a natural salesperson? Then please join our Concession Sales and help us sell drinks, packaged chips and candy. Are you enthusiastic and love to sell Raffle Tickets? As a Raffle Salesperson we challenge you to sell more than your counterpart! You will sell raffle tickets to patrons, and an outgoing personality and willingness to ask is a must! Do you love sweets and want to be a favorite of the cast? Then we need you as a Candy Gram Salesperson, you will sell candy canes with messages for cast members to patrons, and deliver them to the actors! Are you interested in volunteering at our first ever Sensory Friendly performance? Weston Friendly is in need of extra volunteers for our first ever Sensory Friendly, a "relaxed" production, on Sunday, December 3rd, at 11am. You do not need to have specific experience working with children or adults with different abilities or neurodiverse profiles, but any experience will be helpful. We are looking for additional ushers, friendly faces, and volunteers to support our audience members in the "chill out space". If you are interested in any of the above roles or just want more info, please contact us at westonfriendlysociety@gmail.com
What does this mean and how will the show be different? The show will be modified for length, doors will be opened and lights will be up. We willl have piano only, reduced lighting cues, and introduction of lead characters and explanation of some scenes. Fidgets and flexible seating will be provided, as well as a Take a Break Room and a calming activity space. For any inquiries about our sensory-friendly production, please email westonfriendlysociety@gmail.com with the subject "sensory-friendly production." We'd love any suggestions and will try to accommodate any needs that you have. Please spread the word! Are you interested in helping us fundraise for this Sensory Friendly show?
Please join us and support Weston Friendly Society by having a lunch or dinner at Wahlburgers in Hingham on Wednesday, November 8th. Wahlburgers is located at 19 Shipyard Drive in Hingham, MA and is open from 11am to 9:30pm, so grab some family or friends, print out this flyer, and head on over! Proceeds will go to support our Sensory Friendly production on December 3rd at 11am. |
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