Wabeno Area Players Launches 40th Anniversary 2022 Season
FROM CAROL BARTLEIN, PRESIDENT WAP
The Wabeno Area Players proudly announce the launch of their 40th Anniversary 2022 Season. Founded over four decades ago, WAP’s mission has been to provide quality musical and theatrical experiences for surrounding communities and counties. In 2019, the Players expanded from plays and musicals to include a Fine Arts Series that brings in professional and amateur groups who share their art and talents with Northern Wisconsin.
The first show of 2022 will be the return of a much-loved A Cappella group, The Madhatters, straight from UW-Madison. They have performed at Miller Park, Lambeau Field, and the White House. They will make their second visit to the Nancy Volk Auditorium in Wabeno on February 26 at 7:00pm. For tickets, visit www.ShowTix4U.com.
For two weekends in late March and early April, the Wabeno Players will present the hilarious play, “The Outrageous Adventures of Sheldon and Mrs. Levine”. The show is about the love/hate relationship of an overbearing mother and her 40-year-old runaway son. An exchange of letters between the two is filled with angst, aggravation, madness and outrageous humor. It will be a laugh-a-minute show! Tickets are already available online.
May 14 brings the Huisman Honor Recital, in memory of former Wabeno School Administrator, Richard Huisman. WAP, under the guidance of the Wisconsin School Music Association, has opened the competition to compete for scholarships, and perform at the recital, to all instrumentalists and vocalists attending school in Wisconsin. The audience will marvel at the talents of students performing Class A solos and witness the awarding of scholarships to the best young musicians. Tickets are available at the door, and all profits will go to scholarships and hosting the event.
The 2022 season will offer a revival of two of The Players most popular shows. The first revival show will be in July, with eight performances of “Sister Amnesia’s Country Western Nunsense Jamboree.” This show was first performed by Wabeno Players in 2016, at Tim and Connie Friezen’s Essenhaus. This year, the uproariously funny musical, filled with hilarious one-liners and infectious tunes, will be presented on the beautiful Nancy Volk Auditorium stage at Wabeno High School.
On August 13, the Wabeno Area Players will present an original show about Wabeno’s first one-room schoolhouse at the Wabeno Park. “A Night at the Old Schoolhouse”, part of WAP’s Fine Arts Series, will offer a brief and humorous glimpse of rural living and attending and teaching at a one-room schoolhouse in the late 1800’s. The afternoon and evening shows, with an old-time revival atmosphere, will be performed in a big-top tent. A portion of the ticket sales, which will be available at the show, goes toward the Wabeno Museum and Park Fund.
Another wonderful program in the WAP Fine Arts Series will be September 17, as Wabeno welcomes the Apollo Trio. These classically-trained musicians (flute, clarinet, bassoon), perform throughout the Midwest and have played with the Milwaukee Symphony, the Wisconsin Philharmonic, and the Chicago Opera Theater. Their interactive program is entertaining to audiences of all ages.
The Wabeno Players will close the 40th Anniversary 2022 Season with a second revival presentation. In November, the Players will take audiences back to Truvy’s Hair Salon in Louisiana, for their third-time production of the heartwarming play, “Steel Magnolias”. Come enjoy one or more of the six shows filled with the snappy repartee, gossip, and the advice of six women as they voyage through life with the support of powerful and caring friends.
Anyone wishing to receive a season brochure should visit area banks and businesses, where the publication is available. One may also call 715-473-5466 or email us at [email protected], and one will be sent.
In 2016, the Wabeno Area Players became a 501 c3 non-profit organization. From its inception in the early 1980’s, the group has relied on and continues to grow because of generous tax-deductible donations from businesses and individuals. Anyone wishing to assist the Wabeno Area Players in their endeavor to bring the arts to our lives in Northern Wisconsin is encouraged to send a donation to Wabeno Area Players, P.O. Box 325, Wabeno, WI. All support is essential and greatly appreciated.
