Upcoming Board Meetings - Usually the 2nd Tues. of every month at 7 pm at the Elm St Church Fellowship Hall, Southbridge. All are invited to attend.

Gateway Players Theatre membership includes everyone interested in helping the organization grow and continue to be a vital part of the community. The monthly board meetings are open to all.

The organization's continued growth needs the ideas, suggestions and help of everyone interested in Gateway. Please plan to come.

    

Gateway will have a float in the Southbridge Holiday Visions Parade on November 30th. We are looking for people who may want to participate with us. This will be our kick-off for our 50th Anniversary and we will be having people on the float dress up in costumes from past shows. Capacity for riding on the float is 12-15 people. If you would like to join us, please send a private message on Facebook.

Do you have memories of your time at Gateway that you would like to share? As an actor, stage crew, parent, audience member- any thoughts are welcome. A memorable role, show, moment- we are seeking your memories to include in a collection of thoughts to commemorate our 50th Anniversary in 2025. Some people joined as youth- or parent helpers- and never left. Some came for one particular role- and had a great time. Please share- your memories are important to us. Memories can be sent to Barbara Day at [email protected]

    

Starting with our next production "Christmas Shorts", we will be offering Show Attendance Discount Cards. Attend 5 shows and you will receive 50% off for an individual ticket at the next show you attend.

    

"Off She Goes" May 3, 4, 5, 10 & 11
After saying goodbye to her husband of 60 years, Nellie moves into an assisted living community - assuming she�ll just mark time until her own time comes. But fate has other plans for her when she meets her new roommate, Selina - a fellow British war bride with whom she shares a surprising connection. As Nellie flashes back to the pivotal moments of her life - the two women form a friendship and come to realize that while they may never have gone home again, maybe home has come back to them. Written by Ed Humphries. Directed by Ed Humphries. Adult Cast.

"Spreading it Around" September 6,7, 13, 15 and 15
Angela Drayton, a wealthy widow living in an up-scale retirement community, is tired of handing out money to her unappreciative children. So she starts the "S.I.N. (Spending It Now) Foundation" to give to those truly in need. This terrifies her greedy son, driving him to devise a plan to have her committed. Written by Londos J. D'Arrigo. Directed by Lynn Boucher. Produced by Kathi Grenier. Adult Cast. This program is supported by a grant from the Southbridge Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

"Alice @ Wonderland" December 5, 6, 7 & 8
What would happen if a 21st century Alice collided with Lewis Carroll's legendary Wonderland? This modern retelling of the classic children�s story has all of the characters you know and love, including the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts. The story is laid out in traditional style, except that Alice is distinctly contemporary, complete with cell phone in hand. Full of references to text messaging and social media, the play imagines a present-day Alice encountering the Wonderland so many of us treasure. Written by Jonathan Yukich. Directed by Lou-Ellen Corkum. Adult and Youth Cast. This program is supported by a grant from the Southbridge Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

    

"Plaza Suite" February 21. 22. 28 and March 1 and 2
Hilarity abounds in this portrait of three couples successively occupying a suite at The Plaza. A suburban couple take the suite while their house is being painted and it turns out to be the one in which they honeymooned 23 (or was it 24?) years before and was yesterday the anniversary, or is it today? This wry tale of marriage in tatters is followed by the exploits of a Hollywood producer who, after three marriages, is looking for fresh fields. He calls a childhood sweetheart, now a suburban housewife, for a little sexual diversion. Over the years she has idolized him from afar and is now more than the match he bargained for. The last couple is a mother and father fighting about the best way to get their daughter out of the bathroom and down to the ballroom where guests await her or as Mother yells, "I want you to come out of that bathroom and get married!" Written by Neil Simon. Directed by Mike Dupuis. Adult Cast.

"On Golden Pond" May 2, 3, 4, 9 and 10.
This is the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-eighth year. He is a retired professor, nearing eighty, with heart palpitations and a failing memory�but still as tart-tongued, observant, and eager for life as ever. Ethel, ten years younger, and the perfect foil for Norman, delights in all the small things that have enriched and continue to enrich their long life together. They are visited by their divorced, middle-aged daughter and her dentist fianc�, who then go off to Europe, leaving his teenage son behind for the summer. The boy quickly becomes the "grandchild" the elderly couple have longed for, and as Norman revels in taking his ward fishing and thrusting good books at him, he also learns some lessons about modern teenage awareness�and slang�in return. Written by Ernest Thompson. Directed by Patrick Bracken. Adult Cast with one Teen role.

"Fiddler on the Roof" August 1, 2 and 3.
Set in the little village of Anatevka, the story centers on Tevye, a poor milkman, and his five daughters. With the help of a colorful and tight-knit Jewish community, Tevye tries to protect his daughters and instill them with traditional values in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia. Rich in historical and ethnic detail, Fiddler on the Roof's universal theme of tradition cuts across barriers of race, class, nationality and religion, leaving audiences crying tears of laughter, joy and sadness. Written by Joseph Stein. Music by Jerry Bock. Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Directed by Patricia Haddock. Adult and Teen cast.

"The Clumsy Custard Horror Show" October 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12.
The audience will get into the act (as they do in The Rocky Horror Picture Show) in this hilarious comedy. King Dumb is ready for his daughter to select a husband and all the Knights of the Realm are anxious to claim her hand. But the sweet Princess Prince has fallen for a gentle yet courageous lad she assumes to be a pauper. Not so! Little does she know that this scruffy stranger is Swashbuck Valpariso, bearer of the magic sword and Master of Fast Feet. With audience participation throughout, the play will leave you breathless with anticipation, reckless with abandon and proud to be a Zobian. Written by William Gleason. Directed by Mikey Dearn. Adult and Youth cast.

"A Candle in the Window". December 5, 6 and 7.
A small group of weary travelers discover the power of the season while trapped in a lonely train station on Christmas Eve. As a blizzard rages outside, the troubled people are forced to turn to each other for companionship. Trying to make them more comfortable is the old stationmaster, Charlie. When the clock strikes midnight, there is a knock on the station door and seven youngsters appear. They've seen the station lights from the nearby church where, in secret, they've been practicing the story of the nativity which they plan to present at regular service. They offer to perform their play for the travelers and afterward, speak to the travelers individually, giving advice which is seemingly wise beyond their years. The next morning, as a new, younger stationmaster lights a Christmas candle, we realize the mysterious stop in the travelers' journey was more than accidental and has given them a renewed spirit and resolve. Written by L. Don Swartz. Directed by Eric Hart. Adult and Youth cast.