By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays Community Theatre will be reopening its doors to the public with performances of the Steve Martin comedy "Picasso at the Lapin Agile."
The show will be July 10, 11 12, 17, 18 and 19. The doors open at 7 p.m. and shows start at 7:30 p.m. for the Friday and Saturday performances and doors open at 2 p.m. with shows starting at 2:30 p.m. for the Sunday matinees.
Tickets are $10. They can be purchased online at https://www.hctks.com/ or at the door.
Chelsie Nelson said the premise of the play is basically the first line of a joke, "Picasso and Einstein walk into a bar."
"They both figure out that they are both artists," Nelson said. "Even though their art forms are completely opposite from each other, they're both artists in one way or another.
"They disagree a lot and then kind of figure out they're kind of the same."
Nelson said the play is hilarious.
"There are a lot of little jokes that if you are not paying attention, you miss them," she said.
The play takes place in a Parisian bar just prior to Einstein and Picasso emerging as notable figures in their respective fields.
Nelson said the play is full of laughs, but is recommended for mature audiences, as there are multiple instances of sexual innuendo and adult topics.
"These characters are really insane," she said. "The characters are larger than life."
HCT was supposed to stage "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" in April, but all performances were put on hold becuase of the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Some of these people have been invested in this since February," Nelson said. "It is frustrating when you are ready to do something and you have to sit in limbo."
During the shutdown, members of the cast continued to run lines via Zoom meetings. The cast started practicing in person again at the beginning of June.
Nelson was originally the assistant director on this production, but was pressed into service to take over leadership after the director moved out of the community.
Although Nelson has been an assistant director on multiple productions, this will be her directorial debut with HCT.
The shutdown also meant a crucial loss of revenue for HCT. The theater had to cancel its big summer show as a result of the pandemic.
"We have bills to pay," Nelson said. "We need people in here to make money to keep the doors open."
She said HCT was fortunate to receive some donations during the shutdown, put HCT is ready to retake the stage.
The theater added a second weekend for the show so it could reduce seating and increase social distancing. The theater will be at about 55 percent of capacity each night. However, the size of the theater will not allow 6 feet between seats, so those who want to wear masks are encouraged to do so.
With limited seating for each show available, Nelson encouraged patrons to buy tickets in advance online.
HCT will also be sanitizing more often. The bar will only be serving prepackaged beverages.
Cast
Freddy — William R. Brown
Gaston — Andy Stanton
Germain — Krysten Linenberger
Einstein — Jerrett Leiker
Suzanne — Kelli Wagner
Sagot — Bryan Snyder-Brown
Picasso — Adam Conkey
Schmendiman — Ben Pfanenstiel
Countess and Female Admirer — Hannah Stecklein
Visitor — Gene Stramel
Director — Chelsie Nelson
"Bringing On Broadway"
Hays Community Theatre held a casting call for its upcoming production, "Bringing On Broadway" Friday and Saturday.
The show will be exciting review, an eclectic mix of song and dance from Broadway shows, said Cheryl Glassman, HCT director.
It will feature solos, duets and some small groups. Glassman said the show lineup will be set after auditions based on the talents of the cast.
"We did one of these 14 or 15 years ago when I first started the community theater and it was a really huge hit," she said.
The show will be Aug. 14 and 15.