Lucky Stiff' opening at Post Playhouse

The second show of the summer, “Lucky Stiff” will debut at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. June 29 and 30 and will also be presented each evening July 3-6.

Under the direction of Artistic Director Tom Ossowski, a member of the Florida State University Musical Theatre Program, the actors and actresses have devoted many hours to harmonies, solos, blocking, timing and scene shifts, according to Roger Mays, executive director of the playhouse.

Meanwhile, costumer Hannah Huckfeldt, a Chadron State College graduate returning from a 14-month internship in the Olney Theatre's Costume Shop in Maryland, is putting the final touches and fittings on more than 40 costumes for the cast of 10.

At the same time, Set and Lighting Designer Scott Cavin has been overseeing construction of scenery and props and preparing more than 200 lighting cues for the fast-paced musical. Cavin is being assisted by CSC students Brad Buckles and Shelby Wilson.

Besides those who have appeared in “Charlie Brown,” four new faces will be on the playhouse stage for “Lucky Stiff.”

Two CSC student, Lars Monson and Dan Giffee, are "Man #2" and the body of Tony Hendon, respectively. Also joining the cast are Kamie Sullivan from Valdosta State University in Georgia as "Annabel," the manager of the Universal Home for Dogs, and Tara Sissom, a graduate of Elon University in North Carolina who plays the hilarious character "Rita."

Mays said he is certain those attending “Lucky Stiff” will rank it as one of the funniest musicals they've seen in years.

The play is based on the novel, “The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo,” by Michael Butterworth. The script and lyrics were written by Lynn Ahrens and the music is by Stephen Flaherty. It earned the Richard Rodgers Production Award in 1988, the year it opened in New York. Two years later, it received the Helen Hayes Award for Best Musical at the Olney Theater in Maryland, the same place where Huckfeldt worked until she joined the playhouse staff this summer.

Eighteen songs filled with witty lyrics are in the musical, including “Something Funny’s Going On,” “Times Like This,” “Lucky” and “Good to be Alive.”

The Post Playhouse will not have a performance Thursday night when the final dress rehearsal for “Lucky Stiff” takes place.

Reservations may be made by calling 665-1976.

 

Photo information: Chadron State College senior Dan Giffee, shown in the wheelchair during this rehearsal scene, doesn’t have many lines to remember, but is an important character in “Lucky Stiff,” which opens Friday and Saturday nights at the Post Playhouse at Fort Robinson. It’s vital that his nephew, Harry Witherspoon, a nerdy shoe salesman played by Trey Gerald (second from right), gets him to Monte Carlo to inherit a small fortune.