TOM SAWYER ( played by Kimberly Hanson) and Becky Thatcher (Sarah Ridgwell) talk by the famous white-washed fence in FACT’s production of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” in July 2005.

It seems as though the Fayette Area Community Theatre (FACT) has been around forever, but it really hasn’t. The brainchild of Janet Hussey and Rebecca Browning, it presented its first performance, “You Can’t Take It With You,” in 1984. This gem of a play was the perfect choice for FACT’s initial performance. And according to all reports, it was greeted enthusiastically by the community.

So, while it may seem longer, the organization is only pushing 25 years of existence.

Purpose

Sometime, shortly after that performance, the Theatre decided to make its presence formally known. With the invaluable assistance of Bill Lay, articles of incorporation were drawn up. The original Board of Directors included Rebecca Browning, Glenn Gregory, Janet Hussey, Pansy Kean, C. E. Miller Jr., Pegi Phillips-Sapp, and Dr. Richard Taylor. The purposes of the organization were:

• To provide artistic and creative outlets for individuals in the Fayette area.

• To carry on the business of a community theatrical group organized for educational and community improvement purposes.

By-laws providing for a Board of Directors, meetings, and the conduct of business were also formulated at this time.

The first years: 1985 to 2002

With this paperwork in hand, FACT became an integral part of the local scene. The original production of “You Can’t Take It With You” was soon followed in 1985 by an Agatha Christy mystery, “Murder on the Nile,” again directed by Janet Hussey. These two early shows were presented in the Assembly Hall beneath Linn Memorial Church.

The third presentation was a Janet Hussey extravaganza presented on the Courthouse lawn. It was the “Music Man” complete with a live team of horses and Wells Fargo wagon courtesy of the Johnmeyers. This was the first production that I witnessed, since Martha and I had just come back to Fayette in 1986.

The year 1987 saw a presentation of the classic comedy, “Harvey” about a six-foot rabbit that was a buddy of the dipsomaniacal main character. Directed this time by Beccy Browning, this was the first FACT production to take place in the old Grand Theatre.

This was followed in 1988 by another musical, “Lil Abner,” with Janet Hussey again directing and again in the Grand Theatre.

This was followed by “Plaza Suite” in 1989 with Janet again directing, and the non-musical version of “Meet Me In Saint Louis” in 1990 under Janet’s direction.

The year 1991 brought us “Annie,” starring for the first time Kelley Rohlfing (Marchbanks) and directed by Janet. This was the last production to be held in the Grand.

In late February of 1992, FACT presented its only dinner theatre, “Nunsense.” The locale was the Christian Church basement. Rebecca Browning directed her last show. She was soon to leave Fayette for other and perhaps greener pastures, but her presence was certainly missed by FACT.

Janet Hussey again took up the reins in the summer of 1992 with a production of “Bye, Bye Birdie.” This musical was presented in the Assembly Hall, which became our permanent home. This was also the first play that I took part in. Janet called me up and roped me into being the announcer for Birdie’s big broadcast. I guess that was all it took to get me hooked. I’ve been a part of FACT to this day.

“Don’t Tell Mother,” a comedy mystery was FACT’s contribution for February 1993. Janet was again at the helm for this light and well-received comedy.

Going from the ridiculous to the sublime, the summer of 1993 saw Janet’s big production of “Anything Goes.” This was probably the dancingest (if there is such a word) musical that FACT has ever done. Janet had us all tap dancing like we knew what we were doing. The show had a cast of 36 and read like a Who’s Who of Fayette. Featuring Gene Miller, Sheri Williams, Glen Gregory and Reuben Hunker, it did full justice to the wonderful Cole Porter score.

February 1994 saw FACT do another ambitious play, “Steel Magnolias.” This time with Randy Bailey at the director’s position, the cast of Lou Thompson, Rachel Brown, Jerri Carter, Lisa Laun, Carol Moczygemba and Janet Hussey did themselves proud. Janet, in particular, really enjoyed being a member of the cast for a change.

That perennial crowd pleaser, “The Sound of Music,” was FACT's choice for summer 1994. With Janet again directing and Mary Lynn Battles in the starring role, this show racked in the largest audiences in FACT’s history.

The winter of 1995 brought us “The Foreigner,” one of the funniest shows around, and directed by Novy Foland. Although our winter shows usually show a deficit, this show actually made a profit of over $300. Unusual, but a sign of how popular the show was.

The summer of 1995 saw my debut as a director. I thought, naively, that it might be to do “Bloomer Girl.” Well, it was—sort of.

Set in pre-Civil War, the musical requires elaborate hoop-dresses in Southern style. The ladies of the community who sewed for “Bloomer Girl” (and this includes my wife) were a long time in speaking to me again. There were numerous roles which we weren’t able to completely fill. As a result, we had to drop a couple of the numbers. But it was entertaining anyway.

March 1996 saw Janet Hussey back as director of another Agatha Christy mystery, “Ten Little Indians.”

The 1996 summer musical was another real crowd pleaser, “The Wizard of Oz.” Pam Flaspohler tried her hand at directing on this one. With a cast of over 50, the biggest ever for FACT, this was a grand show. I got to play the wizard, complete with green turban and green face.

The March 1997 show was directed by Carol Moczygemba. It was the female version of Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple.” Featuring Jerri Carter, Pam Flaspohler, Alison Britton, Lou Thompson, Morrene Britton, and Janet Hussey, it gave Janet some stage time again.

Jan Bagby got her feet wet as a director in the 1997 summer production of Rogers and Hammerstein's “Cinderella.” John Wiggans, who had been my musical director on “Bloomer Girl,” appeared this time in a lead role as Prince Charming, along with Kelley Rohlfing who played Cinderella. John would be back several more times as musical director for shows I later directed.

The summer musical of 1998 was unique in that it was written, scored, and directed by Janet Hussey. Based on the book, “Petticoats and Pantaloons,” it was made up of episodes from that story. Since the setting for the book was Oakwood, in east Fayette, Janet took that title for her play. Costumes of the period filled the stage as Janet transformed the book to a play.

I tried my hand at directing again in the summer of 1999. The show was another of my all time favorites, “The Music Man.” Kelley Rohlfing again starred as Marian the Librarian. Playing Professor Harold Hill was Aaron Marchbanks. Strangely enough, today Kelley is Kelley Marchbanks. Could I have been responsible for this marriage? By the way, this isn't the only romance fostered by FACT. Later on Patrick Stroupe and Jessica Spurgeon would meet in “Bye Bye, Birdie” with the same result.

Although by the summer of 2000 my wife would hardly speak to me if I mentioned FACT, I volunteered again for directing “Oklahoma!” Featuring Jamie Page as Curly and Stephanie Woolcott as Laurey, and with a great painting of the Oklahoma landscape by Terri Rohlfing, the show was a great delight, and it seemed to please the audience as well.

Janet Hussey gave me a breather in the summer of 2001 and directed “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.”

Joe Geist took on the job as director for the February 2002 show, “Ancestral Voices.” This play was given in a concert staging at the request of the author. The cast included: Steve Watts, Lou Thompson, Frank Pisano, Marianne Inman, Ken Burres, Bill Kountz, and Janeen Kooi.

Martha relented and gave me a kitchen pass to direct the summer musical of 2002. It was “Annie Get Your Gun.” We tried something a little different this time. We had two leading ladies. On two of the performances, Annie was played by Kelley Rohlfing. On the other two, Sheri Williams was the sharpshooter. It seemed to work out pretty well.

Young folks

FACT has always had a policy of encouraging the little ones to be as much a part of the theater as possible. Bekki Spurgeon in November of 2002, directed the show, “School House Rock Jr.” With 20 youths ranging in age from 7 to 14, she put on a show which entertained a number of classes from school as well as adults.

2003 to present

Encouraged by her directorial start, Bekki again volunteered to do the 2003 summer musical. She chose “Bye, Bye, Birdie.” This was the second time that FACT had re-done a show. (“The Music Man” was also a re-do.) As I mentioned, the show featured Patrick Stroupe and Jessica Spurgeon. I wonder if Bekki could see that matchup coming?
November 2003 was the date for another children's production directed by Bridget Hussey. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” was very popular.

Joe Geist took command again in April 2004 with his production of “The Lion In Winter.” Featuring Frank Pisano, Carrie Strodman Flaspohler, Josh Kirby, Patrick Stroup, Mauka Shaw and Doug Hansen, it was a critical success and a play that FACT could be proud of.

I took the helm again for “Guys and Dolls,” our 2004 summer musical. Featuring Carrie Flaspohler as Sister Sarah, Melissa Duren as Miss Adelaide, Damien Shafer as Nathan Detroit and Jamie Page as Sky Masterson, this show was a delight to direct and to watch.

It was also the first show done in CMU's Little Theatre instead of the Assembly Hall.

Bridget Hussey brought another children's production to the stage in November 2004 with “Bugsy Malone, Jr.”

Dr. Geist gave us “The House of Blue Leaves” in March 2005. Listed as a farce for mature audiences, the production was great, but the reaction was mixed.

The following summer of 2005, Bridget again offered to direct a production of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” With piano, drums, and Larry Davis on the musical saw, the music fit the period to a tee.

The summer of 2006 saw a first for FACT. I offered to direct again, and chose “How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.” After going through four candidates for leading man, we were forced to cancel the show. This is the first time we were unable to completely cast a show. As a substitute we decided to do a review of songs from previous shows. We entitled it “Showstoppers!” and as it turned out, the audience seemed to love it. Well, at least it was a
whole lot less work!

In 2007, for the first time in many years, there was no summer show. Central Methodist University had earlier announced doing a Gilbert and Sullivan show at approximately the same time period and had asked for community participation. Because of this conflict and because of all the help and support CMU has given FACT in the past, the organization decided to step back for one summer.

This summer Joe Geist will direct the only show that has had four revivals on Broadway: “Gypsy.” This is a great show with wonderful music, and although it tells the story of one of the world’s foremost strippers, I am sure it is done in a way that won’t contaminate the Assembly Hall.

In addition to our plays and musicals, FACT has run two summer camps for the young. Another is planned for this summer. This provides a great avenue for the youth of the community to get their feet wet in the theater. If you have someone who might be interested, keep an eye out for our announcement on the camp later this year.

Expenses

You might not appreciate the expense of putting on the typical musical. Let me give you some idea. First, about 90 percent of all shows which we might be interested in presenting are handled by one of two big houses: Tams-Witmark or Rogers and Hammerstein.

The royalty on a typical music will run about $1,000 for three nights. Then the books and the music will run another $200. We usually budget about another $1,200 for costumes and set. So the average play costs FACT about $2,500 to put on when you throw in all the miscellaneous costs. If we are lucky and have a good run, we may make enough to cover expenses. Non-musicals cost considerably less, but we also have much smaller crowds for these.

How do we break even? With help from our members, our sponsors, and our patrons.

Members, patrons and sponsors

Seniors and students can join FACT for only $5 a year. Individual memberships are $10 and a family can join for $15. Joining FACT does not commit you to a presence on or behind the stage. Patrons who contribute $25 or more receive four tickets. Sponsors contribute $100 and receive not only our thanks for their support, but also eight tickets to the shows.

I want to emphasize that it is not necessary to be a member of FACT to audition and participate in our productions. All are welcome.

‘Thanks’

I would like to point out the wonderful cooperation we have received through the years from Central Methodist University. Without their support it is doubtful we would have survived.

FACT has tried to reciprocate that support by sprucing up the Assembly Hall. The acoustics have been improved by placing carpeting on the walls. A new curtain was purchased for the stage. A stage extension was built. New lighting has been added as well as a ramp to accommodate handicapped access.

FACT also purchased and gave to the Little Theatre a digital video camera for their use. FACT supports the CMU Little Theatre with donations from time to time.

‘Never too old or too young’

FACT has been enriching this community for almost 25 years. It provides a creative outlet that has no substitute. It is gratifying to watch little ones first hit the stage, then grow up in the theater. If you’ve ever participated either as cast or crew, you probably know how much fun it is to put on a show. If not, let me encourage you to give it a try. As you will find out, you are never too old or too young.d

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