Buck Creek Players Announce 2010-2011 Season

Buck Creek Players (BCP), the award-winning all-volunteer community theater on the southeast side of Indianapolis, is proud to announce their 37th season of quality theater, From Page to Stage. Linked to a literary work, each production in the season will bring the characters to life from the written page to The Playhouse stage as BCP presents six entertaining productions for the coming year!

Premiering for the first time in Indiana, the new musical I Love You Because is a modern-day retelling of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice with the gender roles reversed. Described as "a modern day musical love story," this new work boasts a rich and tuneful score by Joshua Salzman with book and lyrics by Ryan Cunningham. This slightly nutty take on modern dating is set in New York, the city of romance where relationships end badly, and where those on the rebound fall for the wrong person. Making his Buck Creek Players directorial debut, Matthew Konrad Tippel will direct as the musical hits the stage for three weekends October 1-17, 2010.

Be a part of Buck Creek Players' fall Buck$ for Art fundraiser to be held at the Buck Creek Winery (11747 Indian Creek Road South) on Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. Start off your evening with free wine-tasting and hors 'de oeuvres, followed by a fun presentation of fine art available for purchase from the Final Touch Art Gallery. Pieces range from small to very large, and can be framed to meet your own individual taste and budget! Have something at home that you would like to have framed? Bring it along! The Final Touch Art Gallery also does custom framing. Each ticket purchased comes with a complimentary glass of wine, and also enters you into a drawing for a host of valuable door prizes! Tickets are available ahead of time and at the door, but only a limited number can be accommodated, so pre-purchase your tickets now for only $25 each!

The holiday season couldn't be better with the return of the stage version of the bestselling novel, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Experience the Herdmans--the worst kids in the whole history of the world! Now they have bullied their way into the church's annual Christmas pageant! Slated to be the "worst pageant ever," the whole town has gathered in anticipation, waiting to see the Herdmans ruin Christmas. Will the pageant be a disaster as everyone is expecting, or will the spirit of the season change the hearts and minds of the Herdman family? Back by popular demand and perfect for the whole family, Dotti Peek makes her directorial comeback for this three weekend run, December 3-19, 2010.

Wouldn't it be great fun to direct William Shakespeare's Hamlet? That was what Margo Daley always thought...until she is hired to do just that by the Peaceful Glen Memorial Players in their theater, a renovated funeral home. They DO have a couple of conditions, however. Margo has to make the play a melodrama, work the sponsors' names into the play and, by the way, it has to take place in the Old West. "And make sure the actors talk real loud because of all the noise the audience makes sucking their fingers," states one of the council members, an occupational hazard brought about by them selling barbecue before the show. Written by Pat Cook, all kinds of eccentric characters come out of the woodwork in this riotous tribute to life on the community theater stage. Fast lines and even faster exits punctuate this farce as Margo and her troupe of misguided actors find out what it's like when they begin Barbecuing Hamlet. Jim Thorp directs the hilarity for a two-weekend run, February 4-13, 2011. This production is Part One of an exciting two-part collaboration with Oaklandon Civic Theatre, as the hilarious sequel, Luau for King Lear, will be performed by the same cast April 29-May 8, 2011. Jim Thorp directs the antics of the Peaceful Glen Memorial Players at that venue as well. For more information on the sequel, please visit the Oaklandon Civic Theatre website at www.oaklandoncivictheatre.org.

Straight from the classic 1955 bestseller by PatRick Dennis comes the popular tale of a wild, witty, and irresistible New York flapper. When Patrick loses his father, it's not off to the orphanage for this young lad. His Auntie Mame welcomes him with open arms and introduces him to a life he never imagined, full of madcap parties, silly high jinks and unbelievable surprises. Experience the extravagant follies and delirious escapades of a grand dame with a heart of gold, as seen through the wide eyes of her young nephew. Andrew Ranck makes his directorial debut at The Playhouse as the classic comedy Auntie Mame hits the Buck Creek Players stage for two weekends, April 1-10, 2011.

An Indianapolis Premiere musical will inhabit the Buck Creek Playhouse June 3-19, 2011 as Frankenstein: A New Musical takes the stage. With earnest ballads and soaring ensemble numbers, this compelling new musical brings the suspense and romance of the classic tale to life in a uniquely faithful, yet thoroughly innovative adaptation of Mary Shelley's original novel. In his quest to discover the secret of life, Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant young scientist, creates a human of his own design that turns out to instead be a horrifying beast. This is no "Hollywood monster," but a flesh-and-blood man who, while terrifying in appearance, grows to become articulate, cunning, and thirsting for revenge upon the creator who abandoned him. D. Scott Robinson returns to direct the world-renowned story of man and creator pitted against one another in epic battle.

Leapin' Lizards! No auditions? Indianapolis audiences have been raving about the BCP Play-A-Part Fundraisers since their inception in 2005 with Grease. Since that time, individuals have also had the opportunity to "win" the role of their dreams in West Side Story and The Sound of Music by being the highest bidder in a silent auction. This season, everyone's favorite orphan and all of her pals will be put up for auction as we present Annie: The BCP Play-A-Part Fundraiser. No auditions are required. All you need is cash in the bank and the availability of approximately four weeks to rehearse and perform your winning part for four performances in a full-scale musical, August 5-7, 2011. Never been in a musical, but always wanted to try it? Are you the wrong "look," "type" or even the wrong sex for a certain part? Be the highest bidder and play that part for as little as $25! Stay tuned to www.buckcreekplayers.com for upcoming information on how you can be a part of taking one of the world's most beloved comic strips from "page to stage!"

Buck Creek Players began in 1973 when the Franklin Township Civic League formed a committee to present performing arts under the name of "Four C's Theatre." On November 13, 1974, the name was changed to Buck Creek Players, Inc., and was formalized under the Indiana Not for Profit Corporation Act of 1971 (501(c)3).

Initially, Buck Creek Players performed in elementary and high schools, and in October of 1978, moved to its first home, a historic church located at 7820 Acton Road. The church was built in 1872 with an addition in 1952. The main space of the building was the sanctuary which was 31 feet wide by 48 feet deep, with the stage using one-half of the space and the seating using the other half. The space enabled BCP to offer performing arts in an intimate setting for a maximum of 90 people. In 2002, the church was sold to United Faith Baptist Church.

In 2001, Buck Creek Players moved into its current home, the Buck Creek Playhouse, at 11150 Southeastern Avenue on the southeast side of Marion County. The current space was originally built as an indoor tennis facility that was later converted into a church. Much of the space was rebuilt to accommodate the productions it would now house. While increasing capacity, the space is still intimate, seating a maximum of 130 people.

For more information, or to be put on the BCP mailing list to receive a 2010-2011 season brochure outlining discounted rates for Flex Pass subscriptions, please visit our website at www.buckcreekplayers.com.