BY VANESSA SALVIA
Production Value
Pleasant Hill Community Theatre
inspires kids and parents.
+HDOWK\FRZV
PHDQV
KHDOWK\SHRSOH
T ARARIN
T H A I
C U I S I N E
Mother’s homemade recipes • Fresh & healthy
No MSG, No dairy
Vegetarian Selections
DINE IN OR CARRY OUT
I
t’s not surprising that theater-goers in
Eugene don’t immediately think of
Pleasant Hill Community Theatre when
considering local productions. But many
Pleasant Hill residents don’t think of it either,
and that’s something PHCT board president
Michael Stearns would
like to change.
“When people come
here and the bleachers are
in there and it’s packed,
it’s a unique experience,”
Stearns said. “There’s
something really funky
about this building and it
has a unique character to
it. Your first reaction is
kind of taken aback but
then you see the quality of
the shows and the people
involved.”
Most of those people involved, aside from
the theater’s all-volunteer management and
administrative board, are kids. The theater,
which first opened in 1991 as Spotlight
Theatre, is housed in an old shop building. It
became a non-profit in 2000 and four years
later experienced a change in leadership,
gaining a new identity as Pleasant Hill
Community Theatre. The Pleasant Hill
school district nixed its theater program due
to budget cuts, so now HCT is a vibrant place
for elementary through high school age kids
to experience live theater.
Like many parents, Stearns got involved
because two of his three children wanted to
act. “Although we plan on doing more adult
performances and different types of activities
here, there’s no question the focus of this the-
ater is on kids and it will always be that way,”
said Stearns, who produced the theater’s last
performance, A Tall Turkey Tale. “That was
completely unplanned. It started with a few
kids coming the first week,” he said. “Word
got out that we were having a little bit of fun
and soon we had a group of 12 kids that were
raring to go. Out of that collaboration be-
tween myself and these 12 kids we got a
script together and we made a play.”
The theater operates on a shoestring
budget and there’s always room for more
people who want to help out or participate.
The board plans to open the doors to more
lessons, plays, musicals and concerts in the
future, in addition to the dance and voice les-
sons the theater already offers.
The theater’s current performance is
Leader of the Pack, a mu-
sical about the life of
Ellie Greenwich, who
wrote numerous popular
songs during the ’50s and
’60s, including “And
Then He Kissed Me,”
“Baby I Love You,” “Be
My Baby,” “Da Doo Ron
Ron,” and “Do Wah
Diddy Diddy.” The show
features
24
of
Greenwich’s songs and
follows the arc of her life,
including her marriage to
Jeff Barry, another prolific songwriter.
Visiting Director Peg Major, who fre-
quently works at the Cottage Theatre in
Cottage Grove, will direct the cast of 12 high
school students, and calls it a real crowd-
pleaser. She’s amazed at the level of talent
and heart she sees in the kids she works with
in Pleasant Hill. “These kids out here proba-
bly know more about theater than I did when
I was in high school. And I was a theater
geek,” she said.
The theater received a boost when rela-
tives of Ken Kesey donated money in his
memory. The money funded much-needed
renovations and imbued the theater with
Kesey’s inspiring appreciation for the arts.
Now, Stearns and the other board members
are hoping to raise awareness of the theater
in the Pleasant Hill community and beyond.
Perhaps Kate Smith, Ken Kesey’s grand-
daughter and frequent actor at PHCT,
summed it up best. “The more people that
hear about the theater, hopefully more people
will come. It can only get better!”
ew
Pleasant Hill Theatre is located at 35575 Zephyr Way.
The show runs April 21-23 and 28-30. $8/$6 sen./kids
under 12 free. For tickets and more info, log on to
www.phct.org. Tickets available at Espresso 58 in
Pleasant Hill or at 988-1195.
M u ch A d o A bo ut N ot h in g
Opens Friday, April 14 at
LCC’s Blue Door Theatre
WEEKDAY LUNCH SPECIALS
MORE THAN 20 SELECTIONS
OF BEER AND WINE
1 20 0 O AK S T . • E UG E NE , O R • ( 5 4 1 ) 34 3 - 12 30
Mon. - Fri.: 11-3 PM lunch, 4:30-10 PM dinner • Sat. - Sun.: 12-10 PM
N O W D EL I V ER IN G ! D E LI VE RY H OU R S :
Tue. - Fri.: 11-3 PM lunch, 5-9 PM dinner • Sat. - Sun.: 12-9 PM
N o t av a il ab l e o n M o nd a y.
34
APRIL 13, 2006
Director Judith “Sparky” Roberts brings one of Shakespeare’s best-known
comedies to life in the LCC production of Much Ado About Nothing. The play,
which heavily influenced styles, themes and character development in later
comedies and even films, uses some of Shakespeare’s favorite comedic ploys
in this tale of love, jealousy and plots gone awry. An Italian landowner hosts
two noblemen and their friend and gets more than he bargained for as the
friend falls for his daughter while the brothers plot to ruin the courtship. In a
hysterical subplot, the landowner’s niece engages another character in a
witty war of words, while secretly falling in love with him.
Much Ado About Nothing runs April 14, 15, 22, 23, 28-30 and May 4-6. For info
or tickets call 463-5761.