Concord Players' treasurer Kathy Lague's term on the board ends this year, and the Players are feeling all at sea at the thought of being without her. As treasurer, she has kept the Players' coffers in the black, no doubt with the employment of her now-famous and indispensable spreadsheets! As actor, chanteuse, director, producer, tickets manager, and all-round theatrical Renaissance woman, she is as refined as pure gold. In tribute to her myriad talents and contributions to our work, we've reprinted a profile of her that appeared in In The Wings last year. It's hard to imagine she could have outdone herself since this article appeared, but being Kathy, there are a few more accolades to bestow. During the production of You Can't Take It With You, which she directed, one of the actors was too sick to go on. Unfazed (or at least that's how she made it look!), Kathy donned a costume and stepped into the role reciting every line to perfection. The audience was none the wiser.

 

Kathy has been a keen thinker in crafting Players' strategy, a creative voice on and off the stage, and a volunteer whose work and time continues to propel the Players' success. We have no intention of letting her get away for good, but given how hard she's been working, she deserves a little rest. Bravissima! Kathy -- and thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! We'll be here with the door, and our arms, wide open when you're ready to come back!

 

From In The Wings, February 2018:

Kathy Lague has oft' been overheard saying something like "you can accomplish anything with a spreadsheet." Those with less ordered minds might find this a dubious proposition, but time and time again, she's proved herself right. Kathy is treasurer of the Concord Players and her fastidious attention to the organization's checkbook has kept the Players on budget, on time, and to the penny. It's not surprising; we expect those "numbers types" to use spreadsheets and balance the bottom line.

 

What is surprising is how successfully Kathy employs her approach in her artistic endeavors. When casting her latest directorial project, the Concord Players' production of You Can't Take It with You, she relied on an organized system of spreadsheets, delineating actors and characters into neat rows and columns, making adjustments after each reading. Guess what happened. She cast the show with actors who slipped into their roles as easily as a skater's blade glides across the ice.

 

She doesn't make her living at theatre, but it was her first love. "My father was in a community theatre group," she explains. "I would occasionally tag along to rehearsals and work days. My elementary schools always put on pageants and I enjoyed doing those, so between the two things, I was hooked. I sang in the church choir, did the high school musicals, and got my degree in vocal performance. I realized I would probably not make it professionally, so I got a 'real' job, and turned to community theatre for my artistic outlet."

 

One could argue that she might well have had a go at a professional singing career. Anyone who has heard her sing knows that her vocals are transformative. As Abigail Adams in 1776, her lyrical missives to husband John filled the house with choral strains that were as enchanting as any elixir, and as Heidi in Follies -- well, just look at what director Donnie Baillargeon had to say: "She came out and sang with such a clear, clarion, enunciated sound. It brought me to tears." Wow.

--Linda McConchie