In case you were wondering where your May newsletter was, we decided to combine it with the June one since there was very little news for May; not enough for a whole newsletter. Remember, if you don’t send us your news, we may not have a newsletter!

The Spring Frolic will be held on Sunday, June 3, at 7:02 and 1/2 PM. Come enjoy spoofs of this past season’s shows, and dine on luscious strawberry shortcake. At this writing, we could use a few more folks to join in the entertainment; no memorization is required, and there will be no more than three rehearsals. Please call Heddie Kent if you’d like to be part of the fun.

On June 23, we have an opportunity to see the 45 minute cutting of Jacques Brel that won EMACT and the Regional Award, and which will compete in the Nationals in Harrisburg. This is a fund raiser to help with expenses for sending our entry to the Nationals; a limited number of tickets are still available, and we expect to sell out. Please come see this fabulous cast and terrific performance, and lend your support. Tickets are $20, and may be ordered from Corrine Kinsman, 579 Old Bedford Road, Concord, Ma 01742.

We’d like to acknowledge and thank Pamela Sturgis and Steve Moyle, whose very successful sale last year of Our Town note cards raised $1,647, which will go towards sending Jacques Brel on to the Nationals. Steve designed the beautiful artwork for the cards, and Pamela handled sales; they put a tremendous amount of work into this project.

The EMACT Awards Dinner will take place on June 22 at the Montville Plaza in Stoneham, and the cost is $30 per person. 2001 EMACT Achievement Recognition Awards will be given to James Grana for his performance as Walter Franz, Jack Sweet for his performance as Gregory Solomon, and Heddie Kent for Set Dresser/Properties for The Price. Call Leslie Wagner (978-371-8060), who is coordinating tables, if you’d like to be there to cheer for them.

The Concord Players are thrilled to be one of the first community theaters in the United States to present the Olivier Award winning new musical, Honk!, based on Hans Christian Anderson’s tale The Ugly Duckling, which opens our 2001-02 season. This production will be directed by Kirsten Gould, with musical direction by Susan Minor (the dynamic duo who directed our award winning Jacques Brel!). Honk! is a show for all ages, with challenging roles for adults. We will be looking for a cast of about 14 multi-talented, flexible, and playful actors, eight women and six men, most of whom will be cast in multiple roles. There are ample solos, and several production numbers. All auditioners should be strong singers, and dancing skills are a definite plus. Auditions will be held on September 5, 6, and 9, so save those dates! We will also need at least six fifth grade actors with strong singing and movement skills for the smaller but captivating roles of ducklings and coots. Auditions for children will be held in early October. Sally Bull, Claiborne Dawes, and Peggy Elliot are producing; feel free to call any of them with questions.

Two of the shows that we are performing next season won Elliot Norton Awards (Boston’s version of the Tonys) : The North Shore Music Theatre’s Honk! was named Outstanding Musical Production, and Phillip Patrone won Outstanding Actor in a Small Company for his portrayal of Jonesey in Side Man.

If you’d like to go to Harrisburg to root for Jacques Brel, there is a bus going, and limited seating is still available. The bus leaves June 27 at 4:00 PM, and will be returning July 1. The cost is $65 per person. To reserve your spot, please send a check, made out to The Concord Players, to Gisele Ganz, 13A Summer Lane, Framingham, MA 01701. Contact Giselle at <ganzchic@aol.com> with any questions.

Speaking of Gisele, she has just returned from New York where she performed for Def Jam/Island Records with Comedy Theater Productions. She has designed the wigs and makeup for Turtle Lane’s present production of 1776 (where she makes Ben Franklin come to life) and she will be performing regularly throughout the summer on the Mystery Dinner Theater Margaritaville Harbor Cruise. She will again be performing at Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops Gospel Choir on June 24th, and in August she leaves for South Africa for three weeks singing with SANS. This is all in addition to sending Jacques Brel off to Harrisburg; she has been quite the busy little bee !

Jackson Royal is performing in the Wellesley Summer Theater Production of Jane Eyre this June.

We are saddened to learn of the death of Sue Bennett Fielding, and the Players would like to extend condolences to her husband, Waldo. Her funeral was held on May 13. Remembrances in her memory may be made to The Society of Singers, Inc., 8242 W. 3rd St., Suite 250, Los Angeles, CA 90048.

Leslie Wagner will be performing the role of Patricia, the mother of the groom, in the Atlantis Playmakers world premier production of The Bride in Billerica. Performances are Thursday - Saturday at 8:00 PM from August 2 through 25. Call 978-667-0550 or go to <www.atlantisplaymakers.com> for more information.

From Patricia Till : “I will be appearing in A. R. Gurney’s recent (it was done at Lincoln Center last year) play, Ancestral Voices. The show at Nantucket’s Actors Theatre will run Tuesday through Saturday, from July 14 to August 12. It’s a delightful play, more about Gurney’s favorite WASPs in Buffalo, a family story including three generations. My role is the Grandmother, played in New York by Irene Worth...and don’t think I’m not a bit awed by the thought of trying to fill those shoes.”

Frannie Huxley will be directing The Tempest this summer for the Woods Hole Theater Company. She invites any Concord Players members to audition or help in other ways should they, like her, be spending their summer in or near Falmouth. Performances will be August 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, and 25. For more information call Phyllis Hunt (508-548 -9521).

Cathie Regan is stage managing Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale at the Publick Theatre in Brighton this summer. The show runs August 23 through September 16.

That’s all the news for now! Please send your news to Sara Ballard, 34 Aurora Lane, Concord, MA 01742, or e-mail to <sara@sb.org>. The next newsletter deadline is June 20.