Totem Pole Playhouse Begins 59th Season 5/30, Ray Ficca Named Artistic Director

When Totem Pole Playhouse opens it's 59th summer season on May 30th, it's a case of the more things change, the more things stay the same. Ray Ficca takes over as The Playhouse's fourth Artistic Director, but he's by no means a new face, having been a company member for the previous five seasons.

Ficca stars in the fist show, Cotton Patch Gospel, and will be onstage with some familiar and some new faces. Joining him will be Sean Fri, a veteran of many Totem Pole productions over the last 19 years, as well as Katrina Yaukey, who literally grew up on The Playhouse stage, appearing in A Christmas Carol and
Incorruptible before finding success on Broadway and international tours.

Clay Arthur also returns to the stage in the Caledonia State Forest, having appeared in Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming. Larry Dahlke is almost a newcomer, having filled in for an ailing musician briefly in Always, Patsy Cline. Bob Payne rounds out the cast, making his full fledged debut at Totem Pole.

Cotton Patch Gospel is a musical re-telling of the Gospel of Matthew, set in modern day rural Georgia, with music by Harry Chapin. Ficca handles the duties of storyteller, playing over 20 roles, while Arthur, Dahlke, Fri, Payne and Yaukey swap around instruments and pick out Chapin's bluegrass score.

Performances begin May 30th and run Tuesdays through Sundays until June 14th. Tickets are on sale now at the "Buy Early & Save" price, and can be purchased from the box office, over the phone at 888-805-7056, or on the internet at www.TotemPolePlayhouse.org

Photo identification (left to right): Katrina Yaukey, Bob Payne, Larry Dahlke, Ray Ficca, Clay Arthur, Sean Fri.

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