Fun summer job for area actresses
Sounds like a dream summer for six local actresses between the ages of 14 and 18 – they’re heading off to a movie set in Kentucky to make a film called “The Mooring.”
The girls are: Hailee Naccarato, Anna Goodwin and Olivia Meyer, all of Spokane; Katie Simpson of Newman Lake; Lilli Hendrickson of Garfield, Wash.; and Erin McIntosh of Moscow, Idaho.
This all came about because of Hallie Todd, the actress best known as Lizzie’s mom on Disney’s “Lizzie McGuire.” Todd has come to Spokane numerous times to hold acting workshops and classes.
So when Todd and her husband, Glenn Withrow, decided to write and produce a low-budget horror-suspense thriller, they started thinking about who they wanted to cast. They immediately thought of some of the young actresses in their Spokane workshops.
“These girls are really, really talented,” said Todd. “The talent here rivals that in Los Angeles and New York.”
Principal photography begins in July. If all goes as planned, these girls may end up with their SAG (Screen Actors Guild) cards.
Todd and Withrow are aiming for a theatrical release toward the end of the year.
‘Fly’ goes national
Greg Heister’s excellent fly-fishing show, “Seasons on the Fly,” has been picked up by the Versus channel and will be carried nationally.
Heister, a former KHQ anchor, produces the show from Spokane, but it ranges all over the Northwest, Canada and Alaska.
The first episode on Versus should show up on July 3, probably early morning. If you don’t want to get up that early, it will continue to be seen on Fox Sports Northwest, Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. and Wednesdays at noon.
This show won a regional Emmy this year and is guaranteed to make fly-fishers drool.
Civic good news
Here are a couple of positive developments at the Spokane Civic Theatre:
• The Civic just won a $50,000 grant from the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust to upgrade the seats, risers, lights and restrooms of the downstairs Firth Chew Studio Theatre. That’s a sigh of relief you’re hearing from audiences at this intimate “black-box” theater.
To get the full grant, however, the Civic needs to raise a matching $25,000 by December 2010. Donations can be sent to Spokane Civic Theatre, Matching Grant Program, 1020 N. Howard St., Spokane WA 99201.
• The Civic has just secured rights to the stage version of the beloved holiday musical, “White Christmas,” in 2010.
That’s two Christmases away, but that’s the kind of lead time required get the rights for this popular show. And who better to do it than the top community theater in Bing Crosby’s hometown?
‘Complete History’
Here’s something to look forward to on Fourth of July weekend: “The Complete History of America (abridged),” on July 3, 7:30 p.m. in the Lilac Bowl of Riverfront Park and July 4, 4:30 p.m., in the park’s Clocktower Meadow.
And it’s free, naturally.
This is the hilarious spoof that races through American history in a style that combines vaudeville with “Saturday Night Live.” It will be a fully staged production of Ignite! Community Th eatre.
If you’d prefer to see it indoors, it will also run July 9-11 at 8 p.m. and July 12 at 2 p.m. at Interplayers Theatre, 174 S. Howard. Tickets for the indoor shows are $14 for adults, $12 for students and $10 for Interplayers season subscribers, through TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).
Jerry Sciarrio, Tom Meisfjord and Will Gilman will be the ringmasters of this historical three-ring circus.
Meller-drama’s back
The Sixth Street Theater in Wallace is ready to open its annual summer season with two old-fashioned boo-hiss melodramas:
• “D.K. Molar, the Devious Dentist … or, There’s Gold in Them Thar Teeth,” about an evil dentist who goes gold-mining in people’s mouths. It opens July 1 and continues through July 26.
• “Mesmerizing Merry … or, Thanks for the, Uh, Memories,” the story of a villainous hypnotist. It opens Aug. 5 and continues through Aug. 30.
Both shows run Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. They also feature the Kelly’s Alley Revue, with music and comedy skits, after each show.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and students, or $10 on Wild West Wednesdays, available by calling (866) SIXTHST or (208) 752-8871.
Suds and ‘Superman’
Last week’s Maestro Brew party, in the parking lot of the Martin Woldson Theatre at The Fox, was jammed with hundreds of happy imbibers. And the accompanying “Movie Music of John Williams” concert was a resounding success for the Spokane Symphony.
The word “resounding” is especially apt, because the themes to “Star Wars,” “Superman,” “Jaws” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” sounded especially stirring when performed full-blast by the symphony, with the vivid Fox acoustics.