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SECTION ONE—PAGE TWENTY-SIX
THE TIMES-PICAYUNE, NEW ORLEANS, LA., SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 19, 1970
Bay St. Louis9 Theater Group Has Anniversary
Hurricane, NASA Eventslstart a little theater, as I had rest of the coast. Flood waters
Don’t Hinder Unit i previously had some slight ex-lpoured over the stage and there mnaer unit	perience	along those	lines	in „,„	JL
_________	i, ,, ,	-	?.	„	•, was	swimming	depth water in
D nnmiv mIDp IValdosta, Ga. Mary Cannon said..	. T ,
£°TNNY CAIRE	(that	she	had been thinking	of' he	auditorium. Looters	stole
•BAY ST. LOUIS, Mtes. __________j the	same thing	for two jt'urniture from	the lobby.	The
Physical scars to the landscape |years • • ar|d so we were off j silver lining is that members from Hurricane Camille still and running.	jkccomplished most of the reno
show.	There	were 28 charter mem-"
The cutback in the National bers present at the meeting Aeronautics and Space Adminis-!called in the living room of the tration program at Mississippi 'Bells’ North Beach home. Mrs.
Test Facility makes the eco- Be11 was chosen as first presi
nomic future uncertain. Nothing as relatively minor as those events, however, can stop the Bay St. Louis Little Theatre.
Last week the group celebrated its 25th anniversary with a presentation of its 117th production. Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman’s “You Can’t Take It With You.” Opening night was as studded with formal dress as any Broadway opening. The mayor and aldermen declared a special “Little Theatre Week.”
Especially honored on opening night just before curtain time were Mrs. C. D. Blair of Coral Gables, Fla., and John Bell, Baton Rouge, two members of the husband and wife teams who breathed life into the idea 25 years ago. President
dent of the group; Drewry Blair as chairman of production.
The first performance was presented in the Bay High School auditor um four weeks later. Joseph Kern Sr., directed the cast of four . . . John Bell, Emily de Montluzin, Erie Kirkpatrick and Ruth Ferrell. Within a year membership climbed to 248.
The first real home for the group was a vacant wooden btrlding at the edge of Bay High athletic field on Carroll Ave. Mrs. Carolyn Kiefer, the director, relates that the interior was not finished until opening n;gnt. Rehearsals were held in living rooms, with dress rehearsals in the theater lobby around chalk marks for props. Members of the cast included John Scafide, Virginia Seal
John Marochino of the Little r,, .	.	„ , .	,
Theatre was also presented a £ y ^ Dennie Tonkel anc* special award.	Rob![t	Allen
Directing the production During the third season of was Mrs. Caroline Kiefer who *■ firouP; a 0 Awas Purchased directed the first three-act play on Boardman Ave., and two by the group the founding year.|War surplus buildings were The first two plays were one-act brought from G u 1 f p o r t and -	erected	on the site. A “T” is
productions. The first play presented was “The Twelve-Pound Look,” by St. James M. Bair'ie. The first three-act play was “The Male Animal.”
The founding was humble. As Mrs. C. D. (Marie Louise) Blair related it:
“I was sitting on my porch on Julia St. in 1946, looking across the road and into the '~ees, musing on how nice it M be to see a good play, --■fary Cannon Bell drove ♦hat point, I said trat
formed by the two buildings, with the audience in the base of the “T” and the stage and backstage in the second building.
The exterior was painted traditional barn red, with members making a quick two-day' job of ths pa inline The interior is deliberately rustic with playbills mounted on the auditorium walls.
vation and hope to use part of the insurance settlement for enlargement of the auditorium and the lobby, with a patio addition discussed.
The quality of the presentations is near professional. Visitors to the Bay constantly express delight at the acting and stage settings.	!
After an initial period of
awarding “Oscars” to top people, the annual “Louie” award came into being. Twelve out-of-town persons judge each production. The judgements are locked in a vault until just before the annual awards night when they are tabulated. In a very short time the “Louie” award has become a very coveted prize among actors and directors, both being eligible for the award. Awards night is the first week in December each year.
Last year, under the prodding of Terry Malone III. Waveland, Miss., the Children’s Thea-
tre was inaugurated In the group. He directed a cast of high school and college students in a musical version of “Beauty and the Beast.” It played four times to more than 200 youngsters.
Trodding the boards in the current production were Dixie Ogden, Karen Compretta, Pat Schott, Cliff Savori, Gerald Gex, Terry Malone, Bob Wade, Joe Barbo, Dale Russell, Andre Ar-ceneaux, Pete Chapman, Phil Allison, Ezelda Ling, Ed Craig, Lila Greenfield, Jay Rosato, Shannon Tomkins and Vic Moore. The producer was Andre Arceneaux.
The production just before
“You Can’t Take it With Yo» was “Camelot,” an ambitio’ undertaking for any group.
The Bay St. Louis Lit! Theatre is here to stay, and £ entire coast draws much cultl al nourishment from its effor
BO YARD INSTALLED AS SOCIETY’S CHIE Stephen J. Boyard was : stalled recently as president the Holy Name Society of ! Joan of Arc Church.
Other officers are Milton I mon, first vice-president; Alta Sebastian ,second vice-resida Rodney Smith, secretary; A gustin Garibaldi, treasurer, a George Selby, marshal.
Hurricane Camille was just as harsh to the Bay St. Louis,.7 ’’iflking of trving to Little Theatre as it was to thfc
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