Post Playhouse opening with 'Pump Boys' and Bald Mountain Rounders

The weekend’s special performance, a concert by The Bald Mountain Rounders, will be Saturday at 8 p.m. Clint Wright, the playhouse’s managing director, said the show is scheduled to go on as planned, despite the unexpected death earlier this month of the bluegrass group’s bass player, John Shafer.

Before that show, however, the playhouse will open at 8 p.m. Friday with the first of its four productions. Traditionally, the playhouse has opened with only special musical performances Memorial Day Weekend.

“This year, because Memorial Day Weekend is so late, and because we added a fourth show to the schedule, we wanted to open with a production right away,” Wright said.

The first play, “Pump Boys and Dinettes,” is the first show on the schedule. Billed as a big hit both on and off Broadway, “Pump Boys and Dinettes” is described as a “musical from Grand Ole Opry country” that features tunes by guitar, piano, bass, and even kitchen utensils. The plot centers around gentlemen gas station workers and a pair of ladies who are employed at the nearby diner on Highway 57.

Friday’s showing will be followed up with 2 p.m. matinee performances Sunday and Monday.

“Pump Boys and Dinettes” kicks off a schedule with heavy doses of country music, classical family entertainment and comedy.

After June 11, when the second production, “The Wizard of Oz,” opens, the shows will be performed on a repertory basis. “Nunsense” opens Friday, June 25, and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” will begin Friday, July 9.

The fourth production, “Spelling Bee,” was added with last year’s audience members in mind, Wright said. He said the playhouse received many requests to offer something new.

“We still have our three classic shows that have proven themselves and stood the test of time, and we also have ‘Spelling Bee,’ which is a newer musical that has audience participation and all sorts of fun stuff in it to finish out the season and end on a really fun note,” he said.

Two faculty members from eastern U.S. universities will direct the playhouse cast, which features performers from points across the nation. They are Tom Ossowski, a faculty member at Florida State University, and Rob Gretta, a faculty member at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Ticket reservations may be made by calling 308-665-1976. The complete schedule and other information may be found at the playhouse’s Web site, www.postplayhouse.com.

The Playhouse is sponsored by Chadron State College, the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. In addition, “Pump Boys and Dinettes” received a sizable contribution from H&R Block.