![\"Relighting](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Jamie.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nEricson and the rest of the Lamplighters board of directors immediately made efforts to curb expenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe turned off the air conditioning, water coolers, heater \u2014 anything we could think of to save energy for electric bills and things. Anything we could do, we did,\u201d Ericson said. \u201cAnd then we ended up being very lucky in that our landlord was willing to support the theater and help us get through it \u2014 that was the key. That\u2019s why we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert M. Honn, landlord of the building at 5915 Severin Drive that houses the Lamplighters Theatre, will soon by honored with \u201ca very nice plaque\u201d for his generous patronage to the theater, Ericson said.<\/p>\n
And although that plaque is not adorning the lobby walls just yet, theatergoers can experience some of the improvements to the Lamplighters stage and stands starting July 23 with a grand reopening production of \u201cThe Last Five Years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of those improvements made to the Lamplighters space during the pandemic include new lobby and hallway d\u00e9cor and improvements to the seating.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had some patrons complain that the seats were too low last year, so we actually had a crew in here and raised them all,\u201d Ericson said. \u201cWe found some ways to stay busy and improve some things at the theater while we were waiting to get things started.\u201d<\/p>\n Another project the Lamplighters did during the pandemic, it what would be the only production during its 82nd season, was to perform a play for online streaming.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey\u201d by James Lecesne was a one-man show starring actor James Steinberg who played all eight characters and was directed and edited by O.P. Hadlock. The play was filmed on the Lamplighters stage in black box and was streamed online using an outside service.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a production it was successful,\u201d Ericson said. \u201cO.P. did a great job, the actor did a great job. It just wasn\u2019t a financial success.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople want to go to theater to see theater,\u201d added Pam Stompoly, producer for \u201cThe Last Five Years.\u201d \u201cI find it very difficult to watch a play on my computer or a TV. I think some of the excitement of theater is experiencing it with everybody around you at the same time. It\u2019s a group experience.\u201d<\/p>\n When \u201cThe Last Five Years\u201d opens on July 23, audiences will not only not miss out on the group experience, they will witness a Lamplighters Theatre first \u2014 a musical with a live band. \u201cThe Last Five Years,\u201d written by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown in 2001, is a poignant and smart contemporary musical of five years in the relationship of an ambitious young writer, Jamie, and his struggling actress wife, Cathy, played by real-life married couple Christopher and Keri Miller and is directed by Teri Brown and Jonathan Sturch.<\/p>\n The story explores Jamie and Cathy\u2019s five-year relationship and is presented in a form of storytelling in which Jamie’s story is told in chronological order (starting just after the couple have first met) and Cathy’s story is told in reverse chronological order (beginning the show at the end of the marriage). The characters do not directly interact except for a wedding song in the middle as their timelines intersect.<\/p>\n \u201cWe decided to do this first show \u2018The Last 5 Years\u2019 as an add in show because it only has two actors and we felt it was a safe choice \u2014 from an audience relationship standpoint \u2014 to put up something with a small cast to start with,\u201d Ericson said.<\/p>\n A small cast production was also a necessity, Stompoly said, because after a year and half away from the stage, assembling a large cast and production team would have been a \u201cchallenge.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s some people who lost a bunch of people during COVID, so they\u2019re staying away for a while. There are some people who just want to give it another year just because. But the majority of folks are ready to go,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Even with most theater professionals \u201cready to go,\u201d Stompoly is not taking chances with casting for Lamplighter Theatre\u2019s return season by holding auditions right away and all at once, now that the productions have all been chosen.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s part of what I\u2019m trying to do, trying to arrange auditions, trying to make sure we have all of our directors covered, and also looking to establish new relationships with new people who have not been here before \u2014 bring new blood in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The Lamplighters Community Theatre 2021-22 season schedule will include six plays and a Christmas special, starting with the production of \u201cThe Last Five Years,\u201d which opens July 23 and runs through Aug. 15. Shows are at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $26 for general admission and $23 for students, seniors, and military. Group rates also available. For reservations, call 619-303-5092 or visit www.lamplighterslamesa.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n