2004 Cutler Bros.
1st Official Musical
"7 Brides for 7 Brothers"
"7 Brides for 7 Brothers" constitutes the 1st official "Cutler Bros. musical." Now, technically this show was produced under the "Deer Lodge Players" at the time, but the majority of the actors were friends and family of the Cutler Family and we quickly splintered off from the Players due to creative differences at the time. Jeri-anne pushed for this production to be staged at the Rialto Theater over 4th of July weekend in 2004. Things were looking dismal when ony 2 men and 6 women showed up to auditions. Obviously she needed a bare minimum of 21 people to make this production work. With drive and determination she did just that and opened the flood gates to the modern day Cutler Bros.' musical!
"7 Brides" only ran 4 times at the Rialto but the response was massive! In fact, the musical was still on the Top 10 chart for Cutler Bros.' ALL TIME ATTENDED SHOWS until just recently when it finally fell off, 20 years later. This show had a rare "Albert Cutler" siting as he played drums in the pit. Kelly, Matt, and Pat all took roles as brothers.
"7 Brides"
"7 Brides" was exceptionally "dance-heavy" for being our first musical. Anaconda dance-legend Amy Justice was lead choreographer and on one particular dress rehearsal it is said that she kept the cast there until midnight rehearsing the same dance number for multiple hours; "The Barnyard dance off." Legendary actor Marc Mahoney said, "I came on to play one part in the show...ONE. The next thing I know I'm in every other scene, dancing, singing, juggling."
"The Dork Meets Paul"
"The Dork Meets Paul" was produced directly on the heels of "7 Brides for 7 Brothers." In fact, much of the 7-Brides set was used for the play and transported to the Gunport Theater inside the walls of the Old Prison Museum which would become the Cutler Brother's home for the next 5 seasons. "The Dork Meets Paul" was Kelly's 4th original play and brought together two characters from "The Dork" (the Dork) and "3-Dollar Bill" (Paul Burlesque) to have a hay day with straight man Marc Mahoney.
Kelly, Patrick, and Mahoney approached the Old Prison Museum with the idea of producing the show on the stage. The three promptly rebuilt the old stage, cleaned up an inch of dust as the place hadn't been used in 4+ years, and acquired some lights from a Warner Bros. ex-lighting exec named Bob Allen who lived in Deer Lodge at the time. The lighting board looked like an atom bomb and was attached to the prison fencing for a lighting manager to control. ...problably not the safest thing at the time.
"The Dork Meets Paul" was in fact the FIRST OFFICIAL Cutler Bros. Production in history that wasn't a "Comedy Night." The attendance has been lost on this show but legend has it the show saw 450+ people starting the whirlwind of Cutler Bros.' home being at the prison through 2008. Side note - Kelly, Patrick, and Mahoney pitched the idea of "Comedy Night" to the Prison board in 2003 for $3 a ticket but the board shut it down because the skits were too "raunchy." So instead we produced the first 3 "Comedy Nights" at the Rialto Theater with hosts Wolfie Winter, Theresa Hunt, and Jules Waber. Mike Japenga hosted the 4th "Comedy Night" right after the 2004 summer production of "The Dork Meets Paul," making it the 1st "Comedy Night" to be produced at the Gunport Theater.