A Stage Full of Stories

By Liv Stecker

It's been just shy of 28 years since Kathleen Malcolm first took the stage in Kettle Falls. A friend in her water aerobics class talked her into coming to auditions for a show called "Here's Love". A self-proclaimed introvert, Kathleen took a small role, and worked to avoid speaking on stage. But silent support was not her theatrical destiny. Since 1987, Kathleen has performed in more shows than she can count, commonly in a lead role. Her most recent part was fall of 2014 when she played the nervous, uptight mother of free spirit Corrie Bender in the Neil Simon comedy, Barefoot In The Park. Malcolm stole the scene as a middle-aged conservative who, through accident and hilarity, rediscovers her youth and romance with an eccentric Don Juan.

This spring, Kathleen has taken on a role that is somewhat new for her, even after nearly thirty years in the theater business. As director of the Woodland Theater spring musical, she has tackled more than ninety minutes of beloved Dr. Seuss storybook characters set to music. Seussical the Musical starts at the theater on March 6th, and not only introduces local audiences to Kathleen as musical director and choreographer extraordinaire, but also for the first time, extra weekend matinee shows and special pricing for children’s tickets. Another unusual practice for Woodland Theater and their yearly musical production - this show will be done without the traditional support of the Woodland orchestra. The traditional live musicians will be taking a year off in the wake of personal and organizational changes, and the Seussical stage performance comes with a soundtrack that keeps the entire 36 member cast on their toes and the show humming right along.

Long before Kathleen joined the troupe in Kettle Falls, the old theater building was drawing crowds and entertaining locals. Built in 1940 by H.B. Woods from Republic, Washington, it originally served as a movie theater when the town of Meyers Falls was merged with Kettle Falls and there was a sudden population increase. Construction of the Grand Coulee Dam had forced the relocation of Kettle Falls and many other small towns along the Columbia, as the lower lying settlements were flooded with the rising waters of Lake Roosevelt. For over 20 years, The Kettle Falls Theatre entertained moviegoers from around the region. In 1962 the theater closed down. For more than ten years the building was used for a variety of purposes until the Old Mission Art Gallery, a consortium of local artists, purchased the building for $11000 in 1974. After a remodel, the theater became a showcase for local artists and occasional live performances.

In 1977 Helen Acorn, a feisty local drummer, organized a live dance band at the theater that was affectionately dubbed the “Farmer’s Philharmonic.” That began a series of musical performances and annual traditions that took root and morphed into a theater arts group called Woodland’s. In 1988, Woodland Productions purchased the theater from the Old Mission Art Gallery, and a series of remodels and upgrades followed through the years. Staging one musical production a year, plus numerous concerts and drama productions, Woodland’s Theater has continued to flourish and grow since.

The Seussical cast draws from all ages and all walks of life. The various stories of cast members and their background in the community is even more diverse than the shows that Woodland’s stages. Nancy Christopher joined the theater within two years of Kathleen, and much like the Seussical director, has acted in, directed and produced more shows than she can list. In addition to producing Seussical, Nancy plays the Sour Kangaroo, once again pulling her weight as a guiding voice of experience on stage with large cast. Both Nancy and Kathleen have decades of good memories at the little theater. Friends and family members that they have introduced to theater continue to perform and attend, while there are other family members and friends that the theater has introduced to them. There is no denying the close-knit sense of community that the cast of a show finds backstage during countless hours of rehearsal. Despite differences of lifestyle, religious preferences, age groups and motivations, the all-volunteer community at Woodland’s is a beautiful glimpse of our diverse area.

The cast of Seussical is a stirring combination of veteran actors like Adam Huff, who returns to the stage to play Horton the Elephant, and brand new additions, including exchange student Robin Apostel from Germany who plays a mischievous and charismatic Cat in The Hat. Nearly a third of the cast members are under the age of 12, as young as 7 years old, making backstage management almost as much of an adventure as the drama on stage. Nancy and Kathleen, along with a small army of stage parents, have ample experience wrangling young actors, after shows like Annie, The Wizard of Oz and Oliver, all stories calling for a large and young cast. Seussical the Musical is an endearing story of friendship, loyalty and bravery that weaves its way through the plots of most of Dr. Seuss’s stories, featuring some of the most loved characters from the children’s books.

Seussical takes the stage on Friday, March 6^th, and runs through the 22^nd. Tickets are available at Main Street Floral in Colville, kids under 12 are $7, students and seniors are $12, and adults are $15. Opening night, March 6^th only, all seats are $10 (no kids tickets are available for this show).