A town relearns how to have fun in 'Beulah-by-the-Sea'
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Perusing a will before they marry, Belle, played by Antoinette Villani, and Harv, played by Rich Bartley, look serious as they read off the duties the townspeople must assume for Beulah-by-the-Sea to keep a large inheritance.
BERNE — Can a goody-goody town become a somewhat bad-y bad-y town — or at least normally misbehaving?
That’s the question posed by the Hilltowns Players’ revival of a musical comedy penned by one of their own, and that was first staged by the 35-year-old community theater group in 2005.
“Beulah-by-the-Sea” sprung forth whole from the imagination of Penny Shaw, one of five plays — including “Just Chillin’” and “Take It from the Top” — that she has written since the group was established in 1982. Shaw, a recently retired preschool teacher, wrote both the book and music of “Beulah-by-the-Sea,” and is directing the revival of this rollicking exploration of life in a western town — with no sea in sight, by the way — burdened with the peculiar legacy of the town's rich man.
“I wanted to write a play that was fun from beginning to end,” Shaw said as rehearsals got underway for the three performances scheduled for this weekend in the auditorium of the Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School.
The play’s premise promises plenty. A rich man gunned down by a gunfighter has time before exiting to distribute his wealth to the townspeople, in periodic payments, as long as the town remains gun-free, crime-free, and sin-free.
Enter — to the play and town — Jake, a womanizing gambler; Kate a “rough and tumble sort of gal”; and a passel of bumbling robbers.
Poker pals: In a town where gambling and alcohol is prohibited, this crew has a friendly game: from left, Buck, played by Penny Shaw, the play’s creator and director; Zack, played by John Lussier; Jake, played by Zach Loucks; and Harv, played by Rich Bartley. The play is on stage at Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School this weekend.
Several cast members who were in the original production 11 years ago appear again in the revival, including Shaw’s husband, Rich Bartley, as the minister. Shaw herself appears as a saloon girl in the opening scene and later as Buck, the cowboy. The cast of 20 includes young adults, older adults, and teenagers.
Antoinette Villani appears as Belle; Zachary Loucks as Jake; Morgan Galvin as Kate, and as the robbers: Cherie Lussier, Jared Lussier, Michelle Ferriano, and Savanah Collins.
The Hilltown Ramblers are the production’s band.
To find out which side — enforced perfection or subversive normality — wins out in this morality tale that takes itself not at all seriously requires only a ticket: $10 for general admission and $7 for children, seniors, military members, and veterans. Three performances are scheduled: at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call (518) 872-9455.
Odd bedfellows: Kate, played by Morgan Galvin, wrestles with Jake, played by Zach Loucks, when each was unknowingly assigned to the same bed. When they wake up and discover one another, they tussle in one of the rollicking scenes in the Hilltowns Players’ “Beulah-by-the-Sea.”
