L to R: Connor Christopher, Ian Stotts, Saige Wilson, JW Ruth, Natalie Stinchcomb. Seated center: Reanna Sherman Not pictured: Howard Mesick, Chloe Bennett

Months before it was on CHT’s official list of coming attractions, potential cast members started adjusting their schedules and preparing to audition for Ride the Cyclone. This amazing musical has achieved cult-like status on social media and has played to sold-out houses around the world. Local audiences will soon have the opportunity to see what all the buzz is about.

Director Kat Melton has assembled a stellar cast to portray the doomed members of the St. Cassian Chamber Choir, off on a school trip from their high school in Uranium City, Saskatchewan. After a horrific accident on a fair midway, The Amazing Karnak, a fortune-telling automaton, offers the teens a chance to sing for a second chance at life. They outdo each other in truly glorious music that is sometimes sad, sometimes comic, and always memorable.

In the Church Hill Theatre revival, a live orchestra (positioned in the balcony) will be led by music director Michael Casey, a featured member of the Chester River Chorale. Choreography will be provided by the triple threat Greg Minahan, Artistic Director of Shore Shakespeare.

The essential, but non-singing, role of Karnak will be played by Howard Mesick, one of CHT’s most versatile actors. The teen-aged choir members are portrayed by experienced actors with the outstanding singing chops the score demands.

The first contestant, the overachiever Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg, will be played by Saige Wilson of Galena who is making her CHT debut. Natalie Stinchcomb of Barclay, a Green Room Gang alum, plays her side-kick Constance Blackwood, a girl with serious self-esteem and anger issues.

Connor Christopher, of Ridgely, portrays Noel Gruber, who fancies himself a French reincarnation of Marlene Dietrich.  Connor has been active in CHT productions since early childhood. Mischa Bachinski, played by the multi-talented J.W. Ruth of Centerville, is a Ukrainian, adopted by a Canadian family, but who never fully fit in. Mischa projects a gangster persona through rap music. JW is an accomplished actor and director often seen on the stages of CHT and the Garfield.  Although not a contestant, Mischa’s lost love Talia makes a poignant appearance; Chloe Bennett, a Gunston School student from Centreville, takes on this smaller crucial part. She is making her CHT debut, though she appeared on the CHT stage last year in the Gunston School production of Night Chills.

Ian Stotts, of Sudlersville, another Green Room Gang alum and CHT main stage performer, takes on the role of Ricky Potts. While Ricky is mute and has a degenerative condition, his imagination soars to “infinity and beyond.” The last teen, an enigma known as Jane Doe, is played by Reanna Sherman, of Grasonville, who made her debut at CHT as Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady in June. Reanna graduated from Washington College and is the Choral Director at Kent Island High School.

While this is Kat Melton’s directorial debut at Church Hill Theatre, she all but grew up on the CHT stage helping her dad, CHT’s master lighting designer Doug Kaufmann.  She is a graduate of St. Andrews College in Laurinburg, NC with a degree in Communications and Theatre Arts and a minor in Film History.

Ride the Cyclone will open on Friday, November 8 and run through Sunday, November 24, with performances at 7:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 pm on Sundays. More information and tickets on the website: churchhilltheatre.org

How many times have you driven by our theater without ever coming to a show? Maybe you’re new to the area and haven’t even heard of us. Maybe you think we perform only long and serious dramas. Well, Church Hill Theatre offers a wide range of live performances, from stand-up comedy to modern dance, and yes, to well-known Broadway productions.

This month, we will offer something entirely new, as a special invitation to those who have never been inside our gorgeous Art-Deco playhouse.  Old friends are, of course, welcome as well. One of our favorite performers, Kathy Jones, will present the first-ever CHT Coffee House on Friday, July 26, from 7-9 pm. And, because this is a new event, there is no charge for reservations,  just a request that you donate what you can at the show.  All contributions will go toward our various Church Hill Theatre projects.

Kathy has serious singing chops, from years with Sweet Adelines groups, gigs in Key West and lead roles in musicals such as Matilda, the Musical, Fiddler on The Roof, and The Little Shop of Horrors. For the Coffee House, she and her guitar will entertain with Classic Rock from the 60s and 70s as well as folk music, and a few current pop songs.  There might even be some audience participation and a chance for requests.

Our flexible seating will be arranged informally with tables and chairs.  We’ll be selling coffee as well as a variety of other drinks and some special snacks.  While tickets are free, because space is limited, we do ask that you make reservations through our website: churchhilltheatre.org.   Church Hill Theatre is located at 103 Walnut Street in Church Hill, Maryland.  There is ample free parking in a marked lot nearby.  Please call the office at (410) 556-6003 if you need more information.

August, Osage County cast members Front row: Debra McGuire, Gil Rambach and Paul Briggs. Middle row: James Diggs, Christopher Wallace, Addyson Crooks, Tess Jones, Chelsea Clough and Brianna Johnson. Top row: Sharon Herz, Steve Hazzard and Greg Minahan. Not pictured: Kathy Jones.

Church Hill Theatre is delighted to confirm its September production of August, Osage County by Tracy Letts.  One of the best American plays of the 21st century, a 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner, and an Oscar nominated film starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, the CHT revival promises to be a highpoint of the cultural season.

Director Shelagh Grasso will create the claustrophobic intensity of a dysfunctional Oklahoma family with a stellar cast and crew in the September 13-29 production. The play is often funny, but the comedy is dark, and the Weston family’s secrets are deeply held and searingly painful. This is not a play for children or young teens.

The family patriarch, the noted poet Bev Weston (Greg Minahan), is missing and his pill-addicted wife Violet (Kathy Jones) expects her three daughters to suspend their own lives and come to her aid. Violet’s sister Mattie Fay (Debra McGuire) and brother-in-law Charlie Aiken (Gil Rambach) are around but don’t have much to offer in the way of support.

The daughters have problems of their own. Barbera (Tess Jones) and Bill Fordham (Christopher Wallace) are headed toward divorce and worried that the discord has affected their daughter Jean (Addyson Crooks). Karen (Sharon Herz), who bounces from one bad relationship to another, has decided that less-than-perfect Steve (Steve Hazzard) is the man of her dreams. Spinster Ivy (Chelsea Clough), who lives nearby and resents her caretaker role, plans to flee to New York City with her cousin Little Charles Aiken (Paul Briggs).

Before disappearing, Bev had hired a Cheyenne woman to cook, clean and take Violet to medical appointments. Johnna Monevata (Brianna Johnson) watches over the house with quiet care. An old friend of Barbara’s, Sheriff Deon Gilbeau (James Diggs), brings critical information.

August: Osage County opens on Friday, September 9 and runs for three weekends, ending on Sunday, September 29. Tickets will be available on the CHT website: churchhilltheatre.org or through the box office at (410) 556-6003.