Highest Bidders Play Roles in OKLAHOMA! for BCP Play-A-Part Fundraiser, Now thru 8/4

The Buck Creek Players will wrap up their 39th season "In the Spotlight" with their fifth biennial Play-A-Part Fundraiser of the hit musical, Oklahoma!, sponsored in part by The Friends of Sue Leavell. Quickly becoming a BCP audience favorite, the Play-A-Part Fundraisers separate themselves from The Playhouse's traditional community Theater Productions in that all roles are "won" through an online silent auction with no required auditions! Veteran musical theater performers join first-timers to give this classic musical a comedic twist much like The Carol Burnett Show. Oklahoma features music by Richard Rodgers, and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Boasting one of Broadway's most memorable scores, including "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'," "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top," "I Cain't Say No," and the title tune, you can bet that this comedic take on the traditional classic musical will definitely bring a smile to your face.

For its very limited four-performance run, curtain times will be at 8:00 p.m. tonight and Saturday, August 2nd and 3rd, with 2:30 p.m. matinees on both Saturday and Sunday, August 3rd and 4th. All performances will be held at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Avenue. General admission is $25 for everyone and tickets can be purchased online with no additional fees at www.buckcreekplayers.com, or reserved by calling our automated voicemail at (317) 862-2270.

This time, it's The Farmer vs. the cowboy, and a classic story of true love in the Oklahoma territory of the early 1900's. Curly has trouble admitting his feelings for Laurey, as does she. Will Parker finds his girlfriend, Ado Annie, just can't say "no" to other men. Despite the interference of a brooding farmhand and a roaming peddler, all ends happily as both couples tie the knot and make a new life together in a brand new state, Oklahoma!

D. Scott Robinson, originator of the BCP Play-A-Part Fundraiser in 2005, returns to direct and choreograph the fifth installment after directing the past four fundraisers of Grease (2005), West Side Story (2007), The Sound of Music(2009), and Annie (2011), as well as many other productions in the Indianapolis area such as Lizzie Borden, Side Show, Sweeney Todd, Grey Gardens, Into the Woods, The Brain from Planet X, and last season's Encore Award-winning Best Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone. Joining Robinson on the production team areLynne B. Robinson (Producer), Scott A. Fleshood (Vocal Director), Aaron B. Bailey (Set Designer & Technical Director), Donna Jacobi (Costume Designer), Jeff Rowand (Lighting & Sound Designer), and Riley Weber (Stage Manager).

After long and highly distinguished careers with other collaborators, Richard Rodgers (composer, 1902-1979) and Oscar Hammerstein II (librettist/lyricist, 1895-1960) joined forces in 1943 to create the most successful partnership in the American musical theatre. Prior to his work with Hammerstein, Rodgers collaborated with lyricist Lorenz Hart on a series of musical comedies that epitomized the wit and sophistication of Broadway in its heyday. Among their greatest successes were PAL JOEY, ON YOUR TOES and BABES IN ARMS. Throughout the same era, Hammerstein brought new life to the operetta, culminating in the masterpiece, SHOW BOAT (music by Jerome Kern). OKLAHOMA!, the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, was also the first of a new genre, the musical play, blending Rodgers' musical comedy style with Hammerstein's innovations in operetta. OKLAHOMA! was followed by CAROUSEL, STATE FAIR, ALLEGRO, SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, ME AND JULIET, PIPE DREAM, CINDERELLA, FLOWER DRUM SONG and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Collectively, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals have earned 35 Tony Awards, 14 Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Grammy Awards, and two Emmy Awards.

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. The 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 directions to The Playhouse, visit the theater's website at www.buckcreekplayers.com.

Pictured: People Will Say We're in Love" -- Joe Lackner and Danielle Coulter portray the classic musical theatre characters of Curly and Laurey.

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