If you any better pictures of this show, please contact the webmaster.

California Suite - Holiday Inn Nov,1985 California Suite - Holiday Inn Nov,1985 California Suite - Holiday Inn Nov,1985 California Suite - Holiday Inn Nov,1985 California Suite - Holiday Inn Nov,1985

If you have any changes or additions, please contact Don Gardner.

Supporting the arts in Effingham.

Navigation

Home ContactPlease let us know?

You can search for part of a title, the location, or the year performed.

Search by Title

Full Listing

Mar,10One Toe in the Grave - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Mar, 2010 May,09Opal's Husband ~ Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 2009 Feb,09Don't Dress for Dinner - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 2009 Oct,08The Odd Couple - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 2008 Aug,08Homecoming - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Aug, 2008 Feb,08Death by Chocolate - The Rosebud Theatre, began playing Feb, 2008 Oct,07Over The River And Through The Woods- Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 2007 Jun,07Roomies - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Jun, 2007 Feb,07The Swordsman - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 2007 Oct,06On Golden Pond - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 2006 Jun,06Steel Magnolias - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Jun, 2006 Feb,06Over The Tavern - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 2006 Oct,05Suitehearts - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 2005 May,05Lie Cheat And Genuflect - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 2005 Mar,05Lend Me a Tennor - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Mar, 2005 Oct,04Fools - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 2004 May,04See How They Run - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 2004 Feb,04Harvey - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 2004 Oct,03Playing Doctor - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 2003 Aug,03Here's Killing You Kid - St. Aloysius Parish, began playing Aug, 2003 May,03The Fantastics - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 2003 Feb,03Everybody Loves Opal - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 2003 Oct,02Art - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 2002 May,02Love Sex And The IRS - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 2002 Apr,02Here's Killing You Kid - Centenary United Methodist, began playing Apr, 2002 Feb,02The Last Ten Miles of Avery J. Coping - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 2002 Oct,01Everything I Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten Rec C, began playing Oct, 2001 May,01Murder Me Murder Me Not - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 2001 Feb,01Don't Drink the Water - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 2001 Jul,00Oliver Twist - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Jul, 2000 May,00Right Bed, Wrong Husband - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 2000 Feb,00Sylvia - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 2000 Oct,99Take A Number Darling - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 1999 May,99Arsenic And Old Lace - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 1999 Feb,99Moon Over Buffalo - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 1999 Oct,98Greater Tuna - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 1998 May,98The Odd Couple - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 1998 Oct,97Absolutely Murder- Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 1997 May,97The Butler Did It - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 1997 Oct,96Every Little Crook And Nanny - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 1996 Aug,96Li'l Abner - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Aug, 1996 May,96A Golden Fleecing - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 1996 Feb,96A Bad Year For Tomatoes - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 1996 Oct,95The Savage Dilemma - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 1995 Jun,95Gaslight Girl - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Jun, 1995 May,95Rumors - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 1995 Feb,95Jake's Women - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 1995 Sep,94Everybody's Girl - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Sep, 1994 May,94Night Watch - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing May, 1994 Feb,94Luxury Cruise - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 1994 Oct,93The Man Who Came To Dinner - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Oct, 1993 Feb,93The Curious Savage - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Feb, 1993 Oct,92Said The Spider To The Fly - Keller Convention Center, began playing Oct, 1992 Aug,92The Belle Of Brisbe - Hendelmeyer Rec Center, began playing Aug, 1992 Feb,92The Good Doctor - Keller Convention Center, began playing Feb, 1992 Oct,91Natalie Needs a Nightie - Keller Convention Center, began playing Oct, 1991 May,91How Green Was My Brownie - Effingham High School, began playing May, 1991 Oct,90The Foreigner - Keller Convention Center, began playing Oct, 1990 May,90Everybody Loves Opal - Effingham High School, began playing May, 1990 Sep,89The Nerd - Keller Convention Center, began playing Sep, 1989 Jun,89Last Of The Red Hot Lovers- Keller Convention Center, began playing Jun, 1989 Nov,88Never Too Late - Keller Convention Center, began playing Nov, 1988 Mar,88A Thousand Clowns - Holiday Inn, began playing Mar, 1988 Oct,87See How They Run - KC Hall, began playing Oct, 1987 May,87The Mousetrap - Holiday Inn, began playing May, 1987 Mar,87The Ballad of Gopher Gap - Holiday Inn, began playing Mar, 1987 Feb,86No Opera at the Op'ry House Tonight - K of C Hall, began playing Feb, 1986 Nov,85California Suite - Holiday Inn, began playing Nov, 1985 Aug,85Tom Sawyer - Old EHS gym, began playing Aug, 1985 Mar,85Love Rides The Rails - KC Hall, began playing Mar, 1985 Oct,84Ten Little Indians - K of C Hall, began playing Oct, 1984 May,84Bleacher Bums - K of C Hall, began playing May, 1984 Feb,84The Fairest Flower of The South - K of C Hall, began playing Feb, 1984 Dec,83A Christmas Carol - K of C Hall, began playing Dec, 1983 May,83The Impossible Years - K of C Hall, began playing May, 1983 Feb,83The Ratcatchers Daughter - K of C Hall, began playing Feb, 1983 Oct,82You Cant Take It With You - K of C Hall, began playing Oct, 1982 May,82The Shame Of Tombstone - K of C Hall, began playing May, 1982 Feb,82Arsenic and Old Lace - K of C Hall, began playing Feb, 1982 Oct,80Charley's Aunt - Elks Club, began playing Oct, 1980

Some of the pictures are very hard to get a good scan of. If you have any photos, please contact the webmaster through the Contact link. What we have tried to do is capture the feel of the play - not necessarily the ability to identify individual actors.

California Suite

Diners at the restaurant at the Holiday Inn in Effingham have been aware of numerous people scurrying in and out of the nearby conference rooms for the last month or so. Their one common identifying factor: an orange-colored book clasped in their hands.

The loud noises, and often giggling, coming from the conference rooms is just an indication that Fine Arts, County of Effingham, is in the midst of another rehearsal.

This fall's production is "California Suite," a two-act, adult comedy-drama by Neil Simon, scheduled to be presented Friday, Nov. 1, and Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Holiday Inn in a dinner theater setting.

The production features a cast of residents from the area, and is being directed by Bob Cox of St. Elmo, a veteran of many FACE endeavors.

The play is divided into four playlets, each centering around visitors to California who, over the course of a year, stay in the same posh hotel suite. The first visitor is a divorcee from New York, making the trip to reclaim her daughter who ran away from home. The daughter prefers to remain with her father in California, who himself fled from the "rat race" of the East Coast.

The next two visitors are a couple from Philadelphia, arriving on separate planes, who are to attend a bar mitzvah. The husband must straighten out a marital crisis when his wife finds a prostitute in their suite.

The second act opens with a British actress and her husband getting ready to attend the Academy Awards. The actress is extremely nervous about the event, and keeps taking her frustrations out on her husband. Incidents that occur at the actual ceremony provide fodder for the couple's return to the suite later that night.

The final playlet involves two Chicago couples sharing a vacation. The strain of spending so much time together finally begins to take its toll, and while the wives don't always get along, they end up acting as peacemakers for their husbands who are losing their tempers over an accident on the tennis court.

Although the play is billed in part as a comedy, it has its serious moments. According to Judy Willenborg, secretary of FACE, this production "is not a comedy for the sake of laughs." She emphasized that the play is an adult comedy-drama, with serious overtones in each of the playlets. Some of the language used by playwright Simon in "California Suite" is strong, and therefore may not be suitable for children.

Cox said that FACE had performed some Simon productions back in the 70s, but hadn't done any for some time, mainly because Simon's plays usually require small casts and FACE tries to include as many people as possible. Recent FACE productions have been of older vintage, and "California Suite" is more contemporary. But, as Cox remarked, "It's a funny play, and it hadn't been done in the area for awhile."

There are 11 members in the cast. As originally executed in professional theater, several actors played more than one role in "California Suite." The local production follows the lead of the movie version, where each actor has only one character to portray.

Besides being something a little different than prior FACE presentations such as "Arsenic and Old Lace," "Bleacher Bums" and "Ten Little Indians," this particular production is giving actors new to the group the opportunity to perform and is also allowing veteran FACE cast members a chance to expand and try roles different from ones they have played before.

The cast has been rehearsing on a rotating basis since about the middle of September. With the play broken into four separate parts, only two, three or four of the actors need be present at any one time.

Many of the performers haven't seen the others rehearse their parts of the play, and may not do so until the night before the first performance when they have dress rehearsal.

"I'm real pleased with everybody," Cox said of the rehearsals early this week. "It's to the point where most (of the actors) don't need their (script) books."

Rehearsing piecemeal, so to speak, does have its drawbacks. Cox said that since all the cast members don't practice together in one group, they have no feeling that this is a joint effort. Everybody is doing his own little thing," he said. But, he added, "we get more done in a shorter time." Individual rehearsals can be tailored to the cast members' schedules, and they are not bothered by distractions of other members going in and out during practice times.

Cast members are Nancy Jo Batman, Michael Sehy, Mike Hindman, Carrie Sanderson, Laurie Arnold, Dick Russell, Kathy Kelly, Jim Sherrick, Cindy Borsch, Joe Larson and Karla Johnson.

Other FACE members not actively involved in rehearsals are also busy taking care of details, such as advertising, advance publicity and program preparation.

Still others have been working with the staff of the Holiday Inn. "They worked beautifully with us on the menu," Willenborg said. Red Kingery, the establishment's general manager, and Marcella Hastings, innkeeper, have been helping to keep track of rehearsal schedules for rooms and prepare the menu.The Holiday Inn will provide the meal, which for both the Friday and Saturday performances will be ribeye steak, baked potato, salad and dessert.

Unlike previous productions for which performance-only tickets could be obtained, this year playgoers must buy the package: dinner, set for 6:30 p.m. on both nights, followed by the curtain at 8 p.m., for $12. Reservations must be made in advance by calling Willenborg at 342-6262; or Borsch after 4 p.m. at 347-5603.

The decision to offer only dinner theater tickets this year was reached in part because of the location. Willenborg said that the Holiday Inn is "more intimate and more conducive to dinner theater" than was the case with past locations.