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Well you can see him each weekday morning on Sunrise or each weekday afternoon during Live at Noon on WHIZ-TV. He is honored to serve on the board of directors of the Southeast Ohio Symphony Orchestra and the Zanesville Memorial Concert Band.
Prior to being in Annie Get Your Gun, Phil has preformed on stage at Zanesville Community Theatre in Murder on the Nile, Chicago, more recently in Quilters; where he also played guitar and banjo. He was also in The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Renner Theatre.
Phil is very excited to be playing the great Chief Sitting Bull in Annie Get Your Gun. He has enjoyed all of the rehearsals, the set building and of course all of the shenanigans with his fellow cast mates.
Thank you for supporting the local arts, as there is no business like show business and enjoy the show!
Lew Woodward (Pawnee Bill) – I think this is the first time in my adult stage career that I actually get to play an actual historical character. (OK maybe when I played Dracula in high school was the first time – ) Major Gordon William Lillie is Pawnee Bill. He was a Pawnee interpreter and was made an honorary White Pawnee Chief by the band. ( Not “The Band” which was Bob Dylan’s back up group for years – ah but I digress. ), and really joined his show with Buffalo Bill Cody’s for a short while. I am thrilled to be a part of the rootenist, tootenist, or the shoulder shootenist ever to be on the 8 O’Clock stage leaving town production of Annie Get Your Gun.
With the Zanesville Community Theater I have been Dr. Frederick Fronkensteen’s dead great, great, great, great grandfather ( a part for which the makeup department said I was good to go without their assistance ). I’ve played the very proper butler Gudgeon in The Hollow. I also played an Egyptian cruise ship steward, which was really Gudgeon with an accent and a Fez. And now, I get to play a loud mouthed, egotistical, one upping, fiscally irresponsible, alcohol swilling, show business typhoon ( there are those of you who may think meant “tycoon”, but no, I meant typhoon – all blow and no show ). Once again…. not much of a stretch for me, but it is in my comfort zone. So as they say ” Let’s go on with the show….” and I hope you enjoy it!
Grayson Gantzer (Young Cowboy) is excited to be in his first show at ZCT. He has enjoyed being in several Angel Tree Productions, Mulan Jr, Alice in Wonderland Jr., and most recently Oklahoma at ZHS. He likes doing a show like this, with his whole family!
Lisa Olinger (Mrs. Schuyler Adams, townsperson) – I love Ohio history and am super excited about this production of Annie Get Your Gun. This is my first time on stage with ZCT. I’m new to theatre. Most recently, I performed on stage in a reader’s theatre production of deaf living history from The Library of Congress registries. The production was in American Sign Language, not voice. This is my second time with ZCT. Previously, I was as a back stage Mom for A Little Princess, which was loads of fun! I’m really looking forward to being a part of ZCT again in Annie Get Your Gun.
Production Staff
Angel Palmer (Director) – This theater is my second home and I love that it allows families the chance to share the stage and grow and create art together. I have been able to be on-stage, back stage, and in the director’s seat in many different shows. I truly love all of the different aspects of this craft. In my daily life, I have the amazing opportunity to work with some of the best students in the world at West Muskingum High School where I teach Spanish. I also love to sing with the Praise Team at North Terrace Church of Christ, with the Coshocton Community Choir and the Muskingum University Choral Society.
Director’s Notes:
I don’t know how to express how much my grandmother meant to me, or how much Annie Oakley’s influence has helped shape me, or how proud I am of a cast that has worked through incredible odds to bring this story to life in only a few paragraphs, but here goes.
I was introduced to Annie Oakley in April, 1991. My grandmother took me and my sister to see the show in Columbus, and I was immediately fascinated by a young girl who was able to shoot a gun while wearing a dress. When I found out she and I shared a birthday and that she was from Ohio…well, that did it! I was hooked and started looking into who she was and how she lived.
Her story goes well beyond what we will portray on stage. Born Phoebe Moses, she grew up poor in Darke County, Ohio. After her father passed, her mother couldn’t care for all of the children and she spent 2 years living as a servant to a family who took her in as a foster child. Once she escaped her foster home, she made her way back and took care of her family by shooting small game and selling it. As she grew in fame and fortune, she never forgot those who helped get her there. She was a champion for women’s rights, giving women the skills to defend themselves. When she was older, she melted her medals down and sold them to give the money to children’s hospitals. She was a woman who knew what she believed and knew how to achieve her dreams. Her grit and determination have always been an inspiration to me!
As Annie Oakley said, “Aim at a high mark and you will hit it. No, not the first time nor the second time. Maybe not on the third. But keep on aiming and keep on shooting for only practice will make you perfect.”
Her story is timeless and our cast is amazing! It has been an honor to work with them in the telling of this part of her life. I pray you enjoy our show.
Eric Blake (Co-Director, Conductor) – Eric is currently employed as the Director of Operations for Shrivers Oxygen and Home Medical. He has had a love of the theatre for many years and he enjoys directing as well as being on stage. It was instilled in him at an early age the importance of working behind the scenes as well as acting. Eric currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors at Zanesville Community Theatre. Eric’s directing credits include: Chicago, Proof, Spring Awakening, August, Osage County, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, RENT, Doubt, J.B., Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and The Lion In Winter. On stage, Eric has recently appeared in Murder On The Nile, Into the Woods, The Hollow, The Diary of Anne Frank, Sweeney Todd, Death of A Salesman and The Crucible; just to name a few. Eric is excited and honored that you have decided to join this amazing cast, crew and orchestra for Zanesville Community Theatre’s production of Annie Get Your Gun!
Eric wishes to take this opportunity to thank his wife Janice for her 34 years of love and support and for helping him to make the time to be involved with theatre and the many other community activities they are involved with.
Eric hopes that you enjoy the show and thanks you for supporting Zanesville Community Theatre as they continue “striving for excellence against a backdrop of tradition”.
Thomas Tompkins (Music Director) – is an attorney and has served as a magistrate on the Muskingum County Court of Common Pleas for thirty-one years. He is a native of Zanesville and proud graduate of Zanesville High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology at Ohio Northern University and a juris doctorate from The Ohio State University. While the law is Tom’s profession, music is his avocation. When he was five years old he began taking piano lessons from the late Vera Spangler at her home studio on Sixth Street. (Tom has really come to appreciate all those times that his mom made him practice his piano lessons when he really didn’t want to!) While in junior high, Tom became an accompanist for Cassandra McDonald. And in 1976, he became an accompanist for the late Glenville Thomas at Zanesville HS. Following his high school graduation in 1978, he served as an accompanist for Mr. Thomas’ All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir through 1986. Tom was the organist at Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church from 1993 – 1999, and the organist at St. James Episcopal Church from 2005 until May of this year, when he decided to slow down just a bit. Tom continues to serve as an accompanist for Zanesville City Schools and Maysville Local Schools. He has previously directed music for three shows at ZCT (Spring Awakening, Sweeney Todd, and Chicago) and loves nothing more than playing a keyboard in the pit orchestra when someone else is doing the directing. Tom wishes to thank ZCT and the directors of AGYG, Angel Palmer and Eric Blake, for giving him the opportunity to work with this wonderful cast and crew. He hopes all of you enjoy listening to the witty lyrics and beautiful music of the great Irving Berlin in this production of Annie Get Your Gun.
Katie Boyd (Stage Crew, Townsperson, Waiter) – I’m a Senior at West Muskingum High School, and have been a part of theater since I was very young. I recently ventured into working backstage instead of being on-stage, and LOVE it! This is by second time working backstage with ZCT, and I have been the stage manager for my school’s productions for the past three years. When I am not backstage, I can be found anywhere my camera takes me. Photography and film are passions of mine, and I hope to one day make a career out of them.
D and Re Photography dandrephotography@gmail.com
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