The hall has been booked since December, posters are being printed, and tickets will soon be on sale.
Meaford amateur actor and playwright Harley Greenfield is in the home stretch for the staging of the third and final instalment of his “Browngrass Farm” trilogy.
The community theatre production will take place on April 9th and 10th at Meaford Hall, and as Greenfield tells The Independent, making this production happen has truly been a community effort.
“I am presenting these shows under the umbrella of the Meaford Hall and Cultural Foundation, with financial help from some local businesses who will be acknowledged at show time,” said Greenfield, “Any profits from the shows will go to the Big Head River Foodgrains Bank, and the Meaford Outreach.”
Greenfield also offered a hint of what to expect when this play hits the stage.
“This two act play will run approximately 100 minutes in length, with an intermission between acts. It is set in St. Vincent Township In 1950, and centres around a widowed farmer, Henry Browngrass, and his attempt to woo a very special lady, Myrtle, the telephone operator. A special outing for the two starts out enjoyable, but soon runs in to disruptions. The difficulties continue, and the outcome of the evening is continuously in doubt, leading to some good laughs along the way.”
The cast and crew for the production features some familiar local faces. The play was written and is being produced by Greenfield, and the Director is Garry Simon, a semi-retired English teacher.
Cast members include, Greg Brown as Cousin Delbert, Mary Bryant as Aunt Maybelle, Angela Lloyd as AnnieJo, Pam Fettes as Myrtle, James MacIntosh as Claiborn, Len Metheral as Fred, Glenn Sibbett, Kim Hall, and Jim Dolmar as ‘the travelling troubadours’, and Greenfield himself as Henry Browngrass.
Each of the two evening performances will be preceded by some special performances.
The Friday night opening show will kick off with remarks from emcee Phil Cant outlining the evening's schedule. A ladies quartet called the “Rhythmix Quartet” will warm up the audience before the play. They perform a variety of old and new tunes, and have members from surrounding area.
On Saturday the production will have Michael Richardson as emcee. The opening musical act will feature a male gospel quartet from Owen Sound, “Sonlit”, accompanied by a pianist, who appeared last year as the opening act for one of the “Married at Last” performances and were warmly received.
A lot of time and effort goes into making a production like this happen. So what drives Greenfield to dedicate that precious time and effort to staging a play such as this?
It is all about community.
“Both nights will offer over two hours of genuine local amateur entertainment, the kind the Meaford Hall needs to provide. I hope everyone will come and join in the fun,” says Greenfield.
Ticket will go on sale soon at the Meaford Hall Box Office.
