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       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             August 12, 2011  

        

          Contact: Holly Feldman, Manager of Marketing and Audience Development

          (920) 854-6117x104

          [email protected]   

 

 

Tickets on sale now for AFT's Fall Season at Door Community Auditorium

 

Guys On Ice to feature "Packer Friendly" Schedule

 

As performances at the Peninsula State Park Amphitheatre wrap up, American Folklore Theatre is hoping the momentum from a strong end to their Summer Season will translate into a strong opening for their Fall Season at Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek, WI.

 

Tickets are on sale now for what will be AFT's most ambitious fall schedule to date featuring extended runs of Guys on Ice and The Spitfire Grill.

 

The season opens September 1st with the return of the fan favorite Guys On Ice. Written by Fred Alley and James Kaplan, this show is quite arguably the most beloved Wisconsin musical of all time. In addition to record-breaking runs at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Guys On Ice has played at venues coast to coast since its debut at AFT in 1998. The show hasn't been seen in Door County since 2007 and returns this season for a four-week run at DCA, in part, to celebrate the Limitless Legacy of Fred Alley, cofounder of AFT and collaborator on more than 20 of their original musical comedies.

 

Fred Alley wrote the following description of the show for AFT's 1998 program:

"You've seen them. Little wooden shanties sitting on lake ice. Puffs of smoke rising from chimney pipes. On a quiet day, maybe the static of a tinny radio filters through plywood walls, across the frozen tundra, back to shore. In a cold world, on a cold day, on a frozen lake, these little signs of life are all most people know of a secret culture that thrives right here amongst us. Well, wonder no more. Once again, AFT sets its sights close to home as we bring you our somewhat twisted take on the secret world of ice fisherman. Guys on Ice spends a day in the life of Marvin and Lloyd - fishing buddies and home-grown philosophers. With musical numbers like, "The Wishing Hole," "Ode to a Snowmobile Suit," "Fish is the Miracle Food" and "The One That Got Away," Guys on Ice works not only as a serious anthropological study but as a musical comedy as well."

 

AFT favorites Doug Mancheski, Steve Koehler, and Lee Becker will be playing Marvin, Lloyd, and Ernie the Moocher (respectively) for the show's 4-week run at the Door Community Auditorium. 

 

Guys On Ice opens September 1st and features a "Packer Friendly" schedule with shows at 7:30 PM every night except Sundays through September 24th with an additional matinee on Saturdays at 4:30 PM. The start time for the performance on Thursday, September 8th has been moved to 6:00 PM to allow Packer Fans to catch the opening game against the Saints at 7:30 PM that evening. Tickets are $23.00 for adults and $13 for children 12 and under.

 

Also returning to Door County this fall is The Spitfire Grill. This year marks the tenth anniversary since The Spitfire Grill had its Off-Broadway debut. The award-winning show by Fred Alley and James Valcq played to sold-out audiences in New York City and was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle award, one of the most prestigious awards presented to Off-Broadway plays and musicals. It has been one of the most widely produced musicals over the ensuing years with hundreds of productions in the US and around the world, even being translated into Korean and German. James Valcq, the composer and co-book writer, will make his Spitfire directing debut with this production.

 

Based on the award-winning film by Lee David Zlotoff, the musical depicts the journey of a young woman just released from prison who decides to start her life anew in a rural Wisconsin town. In doing so, she inspires a journey within the town itself toward its own tenuous reawakening. The Spitfire Grill has been described as "soulful and transcendent" by New York Magazine, which named it "Best Musical of 2001".

 

In addition to the show's nomination for the Outer Critics Circle Award, The Spitfire Grill was presented with the Richard Rodgers Production Award just two weeks after Fred Alley suffered a fatal heart attack while jogging in Door County.

 

Casting for The Spitfire Grill will be announced soon.

 

The Spitfire Grill opens September 30th and plays at 7:30 PM every night except Tuesdays and Sundays with additional performances at 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 1:30 PM and 7:00 PM on Sundays through October 15th. (Show times subject to change.) Tickets are $27.00 for adults and $15.00 for children 12 & under.

 

Tickets for both fall offerings are on sale now in the AFT box office at the Green Gables shops in north Ephraim, via phone at (920) 854-6117, and online at www.FolkloreTheatre.com

 

American Folklore Theatre is a non-profit professional theatre organization that produces original musical shows in repertory from June through August.  AFT continues its performances into the fall with shows in Door County town halls September through October and over the Christmas holidays.  American Folklore Theatre is a member of Theatre Wisconsin and the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), organizations that promote non-profit theatre groups.

 


Logos and photos available in other formats and sizes upon request: [email protected]    
AFT Logo
GOI Logo 2011 VertSpitfire Grill Logo 2011

GOI Doug Credits
GOI Jeff and Doug

Jeff Herbst and Doug Mancheski Photographer: Unknown

GOI 19 135

Jeff Herbst, Lee Becker, and Doug Mancheski  

Photographer: Unknown