2007 Cutler Bros.
Year 3 at the Gunport
"Arsenic and Old Lace"
Year 3 at the Gunport (Year 4 total) kicked off with the dark comedy classic "Arsenic and Old Lace" starring Mariann, Kelly, Marlene, and Heather Morrison. "Arsenic" has a cult class following and has been produced across the United States and worldwide for many, many years. The china hutch seen in the background here came directly out of the Cutler household's living room.
Tina Saville as a cop, Matthew as a cop, and Wolfie Winter as the chaplaine. The doors on set were originally built by Joe Purcell in 2004 - 2005.
Mariann
Mariann continued to take big roles with Cutler Bros. and won Best Supporting Actress for "Elaine Harper."
Patrick (above) played the quirky and strange Dr. Einstein.
Martha and Abby Brewster (Heather & Marlene) play two elderly, probably senile ladies, who believe they are "helping" society by killing off older gentlemen who have marital and health problems. Like we said - DARK COMEDY!
Mr. Gibbs
The first victim of Martha and Abby Brewster is the kind old gentleman "Mr. Gibbs," played by the late great Mike McMahon. This constitutes Mike's only play with Cutler Bros. Was that REAL wine on stage?!
Teddy
Marc Mahoney yet again thrilled audiences with his comedy timing and facial expressions. Around modern day Cutler Bros.' Theatre he is known as "The Legend." Mahoney won a Conny Award for "Best Actor in a Small Role" for "Arsenic."
That fake mustache didn't always cooperate, which added to the comedy for certain performances. The Bank Ladies, as they were known, loved Mr. Mahoney. They were a group of ladies that worked at the local banks and they would pick one Saturday evening to attend each play. They'd sit in the front row and just howl to the moon. Some of the best performances were caught with the Bank Ladies in attendance.
Jim Cameron (left) played the viscious and demented "Jonathan Brewster." He is the father of Mariann Cameron and he won Most Versatile Actor for the 2007 season.
Reinbolt
Martin Reinbolt won Rookie of the Year in 2007.
Jules Waber
Jules continued to make on stage appearances for Cutler Bros. Productions. Here he is seen being poisoned by the old bats!
Travis Jones
Travis Jones (back left cop) also tried his hand at theatre following his debut in 2005's "Hide and Seek."
"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"
This comedy romp (musical) was the chosen June & July show for 2007! One of Kelly Cutler's favorite all time musicals. It is said that Kelly can pass peacefully from this Earth after he has played ALL the male roles in "Forum." So far he has 3 under his belt: Hero (1999), Miles (2007), and Pseudolous (2007). He played Miles on the MCT stage in Missoula , January of that year.
"Perhaps she's too short? Too tall?"
Pseudolous makes up every excuse in the book to find the perfect courtsen for his master Hero (Matthew Cutler). Also seen here is Stevie Leigh Sammons who played one of the courtesans.
"I'm Calm, I'm Calm!"
Patrick played the role of "Hysterium," and he was everything BUT calm! Pseudolous and Hysterium are both slave's to Hero's family. Pseudolous wants his freedom so he talks Hysterium into all kinds of shenanigans to get it, and yes that includes Pat dressing up like a woman...yet again!
"Now can you say Titus the Titmouse told ten tall tales to Titania?"
Pseudolous tries to console Miles when he finds out his "bride" has passed away. What a dark summer of comedy! Little does Miles (Mahoney) know, his "bride" is actually just Patrick Cutler in a wig and dress.
That set!
The "Forum" set was adapted out of the "Arsenic" set and it was quite an argument between Jeri-anne, Kelly, and Matt. Three houses are needed for "Forum" and somehow we fit them all onto the small Gunport Theater stage. Also, LOOK at those costumes! Theresa Cameron really settled into her own as the Cutler Bros.' costume designer and we are lucky to have her to this day!
Jake Davenport & Sarah Tilley
Seen right of Miles and far right are Jake & Sarah. Jake was known as the David Spade of Cutler Bros.' "Comedy Nights" because he started in like 3rd grade. He would go on to win Actor of the Year for his performance in 2013's "The Wizard of OZ" as the Scarecrow. Sarah is the wife of Jim Tilley and she also would take on several key roles in the future including Mayella Ewell in 2015's "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Pat & Jim
Pat and Jim Cameron have always had a loving relationship on stage. In 2007 they played across from each other 3 times and rehearsals often turned into a "Roast" more than anything. Much of it was playful, but on a few occasions we have had seen some legitimate fights at Cutler Bros. behind the scenes.
"Why did he look at her that way?"
Jim Cameron played "Senex" who is Hero's father. Hero becomes suspicious of his perverted father in Act II when he believes him to have "thoughts" about his courtesan "Philia" (played by Marne Davenport)
"The Setup"
A Matthew Cutler-original! The idea behind "The Setup" was to do an "all-improvised" show from start to finish. Quite challenging, but the Cutler Brothers and friends had been performing improv throughout high school in a friend's basement and we thought we could handle it. Matt wrote only the italics of the script, which basically tells the actors where to go and what is going on. But ALL the dialogue was improvised night after night, and different from show to show. The "13th Floor" sign seen here could never be painted over after this show....we tried, it just wouldn't go away...almost like it was...CURSED!
Once again Marc Mahoney played the lead, straight man. Each actor took his own turn playing Mahoney's "girlfriend" in the play. At one point Wolfie Winter played the girl and got stuck on an improvised line asking "Do you know what you need?" Mahoney quickly responded, "I know what you need, a BRA!" Everyone lost it on stage and in the audience.
Jim Cameron played Mahoney's "boss." He was an undercover drug lord from South America. He also played the girlfriend for one or two performances and really "took to his costume," a common theme for Cameron in upcoming Comedy Nights.
Youngest person ever on stage?!
One night, Jim Tilley surprised Marc Mahoney by bringing his 6-month old son on stage out of the "closet." Tilley as a weirdo janitor that talked like Slingblade. You can tell Mahoney was surprised in this photo, but he rarely if ever "corpsed." CORPSING is when an actor breaks character and laughs on stage.
Kelly played the office manager, much like the manager off of "Office Space." He also played this old fellow here that was looking for a job. Pat played the office brown-noser that always tried to get Terry (Mahoney) in trouble.
You either loved or hated "The Setup." Some folks didn't understand the concept of "improv" and how very difficult it is, especially to carry it on for 2 straight hours. One one particularly "rough" show, the crowd wasn't into it and we were rushing to the finish line. There is a big "chase" scene at the end of the play. Mahoney quietly pulled Kelly aside and said, "End it." Kelly nodded, but then threw a chair at Mahoney and the chase scene went on for another 5+ minutes. Hey, we were here to entertain an audience, but more so to entertain ourselves!
A promo shot with Kelly & Pat for "The Setup." We spent a lot of time in the Gunport Theater and the Old Prison Museum. People asked if the place was "haunted." Well once during a show we heard footsteps above the stage in the administrator's building, long after the prison museum had closed for the night. We also left a thick film dust on the stage from building a set and the next morning there were children's footsteps. The Gunport was a large caged-in staged that was padlocked whenever we weren't there. Could a child have walked across the stage? With no adult footprints? Or was it something more....sinister....???
A young Wolfie Winter! (bald dude)
