Author: Life Without Lesson Plans

by Shari Murphy Coote and Friends Back and front of the 1977 Season Program BookletCover Sketch by Marlene Marston Bringardner. NOTE: The mime show, Tom Ott’s Circles of Silence, was added to the season after the program covers were printed.  CHECK OUT THOSE ADMISSION PRICES! Season Six, 1977 THE SHOWS Fiddler on the RoofRated X-tra… Continue reading Brooke Hills Playhouse: A Collective Memoir, Part 15-A, 1977 →

Cathy Caster as the heroine, Tom Ott as Davy Crockett, and Bob Hahn as the villain in the opening show of 1976 Season Five, 1976 THE SHOWS Davy CrockettThe Marriage-Go-RoundThe Girls in 509It’s Never Too LateRight Bed, Wrong HusbandNo Sex Please, We’re BritishThe Odd Couple Dames at Sea   THE STAFF Bill & Shari Murphy… Continue reading Brooke Hills Playhouse: A Collective Memoir, Part 14 →

The set for "Black Comedy," Brooke Hills Playhouse, 1975. We were still using the black burlap and wooden slats for scenery instead of canvas flats, but with Steve and Bobby on the staff, the designs were much more detailed. Notice how the desk is on a little raised platform, stage right. There's a little staircase… Continue reading Brooke Hills Playhouse: A Collective Memoir, Part 13, 1975 →

Bill Harper, Playhouse co-founder and my husband (at the time), commissioned my high school classmate and professional artist Barbara Newton,to paint this picture of the Playhouse on plywood for our second wedding anniversary. SEASON THREE, 1974 Season of Shows                                                                                   The Company  Harvey                                                       Bill & Shari Murphy (Harper) Coote What the Butler Saw                                                        John & Judy Porter… Continue reading BROOKE HILLS PLAYHOUSE: A COLLECTIVE MEMOIR, Part 12 →

1973 Season Poster.  How about those prices?  It cracks me up that we were still using my mom and dad's address on Marianna Street for correspondence.  I don't think we had much! SEASON TWO, 1973, CONTINUED The eight-show, second season rushed on with the delightful, small-cast musical The Fantasticks.  On seeing some old photos of… Continue reading BROOKE HILLS PLAYHOUSE: A COLLECTIVE MEMOIR, Part 11B →

Butterflies Are Free opens the 1973 season (Cast--Judy Porter Hennen, John Newton, Marlene Marston Bringarden, Bob Afflerbach) SEASON TWO, 1973           Season of Shows                                                      The Company Butterflies Are Free                                               Bill & Shari Murphy Harper Mary, Mary                                                           John & Judy Porter Hennen The Owl and the Pussycat                                               Al & Tommie Martin Bus Stop                                                                                      Bob Afflerbach The… Continue reading Brooke Hills Playhouse: A Collective Memoir, Part 11A →

1972 CONTINUED Brooke Hills Playhouse at the end of the first season, 1972 ON WITH THE SHOWS! The first season progressed, and it is somewhat a blur. One after another, the shows were outstanding. The shows ran five nights a week (Wednesday through Sunday) which was very ambitious, and we just rushed from one show… Continue reading Brooke Hills Playhouse: A Collective Memoir, Part 10 →

Very early in the barn remodeling.  It's hard to see, but scaffolding is erected and most of the missing barn siding has been replaced. 1972 THE FIRST SEASON IS UNDERWAY The first show, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, opened to great reviews and modest-sized audiences that loved every moment of the production.  Many people… Continue reading Brooke Hills Playhouse: A Collective Memoir, Part 9 →

By Shari Murphy (Harper) Coote Bill Harper, Opening Night, 1972.Cigarette in mouth, champagne in hand, big grin on face! BILL MADE IT COME TOGETHER While John, Judy, I, and all the staff and volunteers were right there with him, Bill Harper was really the driving force behind the barn-to-theatre conversion. He knew what needed to… Continue reading Brooke Hills Playhouse: A Collective Memoir, Part 8, A Tribute to Bill Harper →

An early press release from some unknown local paper using my mom and dad's address and my sister's phone number for information. Eventually "Story Theater" was changed to "Fable Theater" and the "yet-undetermined" show would be "The Four Poster."NOTE: I know this is impossible to read.  You can read a transcription at the end of… Continue reading Brooke Hills Playhouse: A Collective Memoir, Part 7E →