Carl Halladay Jr. at the Burst of Music X performance
September Musician of the Month: Carl Halladay Jr.
Norma Whitley
Carl Halladay Jr. moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming when he was four years old. He began playing the guitar in grade school at the age of 10 and has been playing the guitar ever since that time.
Carl’s father, who had spent 20 years with General Motors, opened an Oldsmobile/Cadillac dealership in Cheyenne, Wyoming at the end of WWII. After college and the Navy, Carl joined his father full time at the dealership in 1964 and remained there until he retired in 1993.
In 1964, a lovely lady by the name of Joanne Hansen moved to Cheyenne from Oregon to teach school. She arrived on the railroad since she did not have a car or a license to drive. Carl was introduced to Joanne by acquaintances. It became evident to Joanne that she needed a car to get to and from school for her teaching job. She wanted a 1965 Ford Mustang; however, she ended up purchasing an Oldsmobile Cutlass at Carl’s dealership. Shortly after, Carl and Joanne married in June of 1965. They have been married for 52 years and have three children and four grandchildren.
Upon discovering PebbleCreek, Carl and Joanne bought one of the first 200 lots that were available on their spring break vacation in 1994. They went through design in January of the following year and their home was completed in July of 1995. They were snowbirds for 18 years and then decided to move to PebbleCreek full time in 2013.
Music has always been an important part of Carl’s life. He was a founding member of a comedy bluegrass group by the name of The Chugwater Philharmonic String Quartet that performed for over 40 years throughout the Rocky Mountain area. Carl also produced the Happy Jack Mountain Music Festival at Curt Gowdy State Park in southern Wyoming for eight years and performed five summers at the Bit-O-Wyo Horse Barn Dinner Show, a horse ranch between Cheyenne and Laramie.
Carl remained musically active in PebbleCreek as well, spending a few early years in the PebbleCreek Singers and performing in some ShowTime productions. He has taught several students over many years and encourages anyone who wants to learn to play the guitar. Carl is the founder of the PebbleCreek Guitar Club.
Performing with the PebbleCreek Big Band over the past nine years has been one of Carl’s favorite things. It has broadened his horizons and stretched his ability to be a better guitar player, especially when it comes to swing rhythm and jazz guitar. He enjoys every minute of it.
Carl is also a member of the Desert Rovers, a folk group that performs several times throughout the year including the annual PebbleCreek Folk Festival in the spring. In addition, he is a PebbleCreek Musicians board member.
When asked what he likes most about PebbleCreek, Carl shared that he likes the people in the community and enjoys the PebbleCreek lifestyle.
Back to Nashville: Experience the Music
Laurie Farquhar
When you walk through The District in downtown Nashville, every other retail spot is a bar with a band playing in its front window and on every corner a musician is performing in hopes of being discovered. It is the heart of Music City, alive and jumping and that is the feeling you will get in ShowTime’s production, Back to Nashville.
Chanca Morrell, who is the writer and director of Back to Nashville, says she wants this show to be more than just a return trip following her 2012 hit musical revue, Nashville to Vegas. She is adding extra excitement with an Open Mic segment similar to the one at the famous Bluebird Café. This bar, along with restaurants like The Stage on Broadway, Honky Tonk Central and The Second Fiddle, is where some of country music’s biggest singers and songwriters have gotten their start. Chanca says the “good news about Open Mic at Back to Nashville is that you don’t have to stand in line for three to four hours to get into this place,” although the music in the ShowTime production will be just as fabulous.
In addition to the Open Mic segment, the show will feature songs from some of Las Vegas’ famous acts such as Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion and Josh Grobin. There will also be comedy routines and performances by Dance Fusion. It promises to be a fun evening of great singing, dancing and laughter.
Back to Nashville will run six nights from Monday, November 13 to Saturday, November 18. Tickets go on sale both online and in the Renaissance Theater at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 14. For more information about the new online ticket sales system, please see the accompanying article.
Music lovers from around the world travel to The District in Nashville in hopes of hearing their favorite up-and-coming country artists perform in one of these more intimate venues. PebbleCreekers can get that same experience right here when Back to Nashville takes over the stage at the Renaissance Theater in November.
9 to 5 the Musical: Auditions
Laurie Farquhar
Your favorite movie from 1980 has been turned into a Broadway musical and it is coming to PebbleCreek next spring. ShowTime Productions is presenting 9 To 5, The Musical in April and auditions are scheduled for October.
Set in 1979, 9 To 5 The Musical is the story of three female coworkers who take control of their office as they get even with their sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical boss. It is a high energy show with terrific music and lyrics written by the great singer/songwriter Dolly Parton.
This award-winning musical will run six nights from Monday, April 9 to Saturday, April 14. Auditions are scheduled for Thursday, October 26, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, October 29, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Tuscany Ballroom. Beginning September 11, copies of the audition material and music will be available from Producer Patti Wegehaupt at 623-536-7233 or [email protected]. Assistant Director Chrissy Bridges will be booking audition times and she can be contacted at 623-521-6084 or [email protected].
9 to 5 The Musical promises to be another outstanding ShowTime presentation and if you have ever thought of getting involved in PebbleCreek’s terrific theater community, this may be your ticket into a new whole new world on the stage.
PebbleCreek Big Band to begin rehearsals in October
Norma Whitley
Once again the PebbleCreek Big Band will begin rehearsals in October in preparation for the next performance of Burst of Music, which will take place in the spring of 2018. Many days and hours of practice go into making Burst of Music one of the best resident performances at the Renaissance Theater each year.
At this time a few openings are available in the saxophone, trumpet and drum sections. Residents wishing to find out more information about applying for any of the openings should contact Bruce Birnel at [email protected].
Save the dates for the next performances, Burst of Music XI, which will take place the evenings of March 22, 23 and 24. More details regarding ticket sales will be posted in the future.
Auditions scheduled for Over the River and Through the Woods
Barbara Faler
Exciting news! PC Players production of Over the River and Through the Woods, written by Joe DiPietro, is coming to the Renaissance Theater March 7 through 10, 2018. Apropos of the title, our generation remembers those holiday and weekly visits to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, even if it wasn’t in a sleigh!
Over the River and Through the Woods is a play about Italian maternal and paternal grandparents who weekly enjoy visits from their adult grandson whose parents have previously migrated to Florida to retire. The grandparents’ world is already threatened by technology, but when their grandson announces that he is being promoted to a position in Seattle, the grandparents are pushed overboard. They scheme in a variety of ways to keep their grandson in good ole’ New Jersey! And things get truly out of control.
Filled with Italian humor, this play is loaded with laughs every step of the way according to reviews by Back Stage magazine. If you enjoyed On Golden Pond and its generational conflicts combined with bonds of love you’ll love this show and you will surely identify with the actors’ emotions in this story.
Director Barb Faler is looking for actors and she says, “This is your opportunity to act your own age!” Needed: three men and three women. Auditions are September 11 and 13 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom. Scripts are available for reading now. Contact Keith Longley at 935-0849 to check out a script to read.
Come one, come all and if you are from Hoboken, New Jersey, the setting of the play, all the better! Rehearsals will start this December after you’ve had plenty of time to work on your lines!
Save the date
Auditions:
PC Players
September 11, 13, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom
Auditions for Over the River and Through the Woods. (Production dates will be March 7 through 10, 2018)
The Roving Readers
September 18 and 21, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom. Auditions for Reader’s Theater Spoofs of Your Favorite Scary Bedtime Stories. You don’t have to memorize parts for this show and you’ll enjoy telling/reading an adult version of those old beloved fairy tales. What fun! Performances will be January 18, 19, 24, 2018 in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom.
ShowTime
Thursday, October 26, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, October 29, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Tuscany Ballroom. Auditions for 9 To 5 The Musical; contact Chrissy Bridges at 623-521-6084 or Patti Wegehaupt at 623-536-7233. Performances (7:00 p.m. in the Renaissance Theater)
PC Players presents:
Wednesday through Saturday, October 18 through 21. The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holiday
Tickets on sale Saturday, September 23, both in theater and online and thereafter at the Eagle’s Nest Kiosk on Mondays and Fridays from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. (cash, check or credit card) and ongoing online.
ShowTime presents:
Monday, November 13 through Saturday, November 18, Back to Nashville
Tickets go on sale both online and in the Renaissance Theater at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday October 14. Watch future eGroup posts and the PebbleCreek Post for more information.
PC Singers presents:
Tuesday, November 28 through Saturday, December 2
Christmas Holiday Concert; ticket sales information to be announced.