1997 was a banner year.
Madeleine Albright became the nation's first female secretary of state. Scottish scientists announced they had cloned a sheep. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was published in the United States - and the Merrimack Valley Players were born.
The community theater troupe started as a way for local college students who had done shows together since elementary school to perform as a group once again while home on summer vacation.
In the past 10 years, the group evolved beyond that core of friends into a theater organization open to all, with members ranging from their mid-20s to early 60s.
The Players typically put on a spring musical, but this year decided instead to honor its 10th anniversary with "An Evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein Classics."
"It is our 10th anniversary and we wanted to do something a little different," said Susan Veilleux of Methuen, the Player's music director and this show's artistic director. "Our musicals have been very well attended but it's a lot of work to put on a full-fledged musical. With a spring concert, we'd have a year to regroup and bring back a musical next year."
The show features 17 Players in an all-music revue of songs from classics like "South Pacific," "Oklahoma" and other shows from the dynamic duo of American musical theater, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.
"There are very few songs on this list that people will not recognize," said Veilleux. "People will leave singing," Veilleux said.
Glenn Wakeley of Andover, who's been part of the group for nine years, thinks the Players' strength comes from their ability to diversify.
"We have tried a little bit of everything - musical theater, musical comedies, concerts," Wakeley said. "It lets everybody apply themselves to something that fits their strength."
That diversity extends beyond the talents of the cast and volunteer crew - it also brings new faces to MVP shows, said Wakeley.
"Every time we do something different I can almost guarantee there will be new faces for that event," Wakeley said, adding most shows attract abut 300 people.
Veilleux joined the group in 2001 for a chance to use her skills as a musician and an educator in the role of musical director. Among the things she said she's most proud of since she arrived is the Players' annual Christmas concert, which has become a holiday tradition for many locals.
Madeleine Albright became the nation's first female secretary of state. Scottish scientists announced they had cloned a sheep. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was published in the United States - and the Merrimack Valley Players were born.
The community theater troupe started as a way for local college students who had done shows together since elementary school to perform as a group once again while home on summer vacation.
In the past 10 years, the group evolved beyond that core of friends into a theater organization open to all, with members ranging from their mid-20s to early 60s.
The Players typically put on a spring musical, but this year decided instead to honor its 10th anniversary with "An Evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein Classics."
"It is our 10th anniversary and we wanted to do something a little different," said Susan Veilleux of Methuen, the Player's music director and this show's artistic director. "Our musicals have been very well attended but it's a lot of work to put on a full-fledged musical. With a spring concert, we'd have a year to regroup and bring back a musical next year."
The show features 17 Players in an all-music revue of songs from classics like "South Pacific," "Oklahoma" and other shows from the dynamic duo of American musical theater, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.
"There are very few songs on this list that people will not recognize," said Veilleux. "People will leave singing," Veilleux said.
Glenn Wakeley of Andover, who's been part of the group for nine years, thinks the Players' strength comes from their ability to diversify.
"We have tried a little bit of everything - musical theater, musical comedies, concerts," Wakeley said. "It lets everybody apply themselves to something that fits their strength."
That diversity extends beyond the talents of the cast and volunteer crew - it also brings new faces to MVP shows, said Wakeley.
"Every time we do something different I can almost guarantee there will be new faces for that event," Wakeley said, adding most shows attract abut 300 people.
Veilleux joined the group in 2001 for a chance to use her skills as a musician and an educator in the role of musical director. Among the things she said she's most proud of since she arrived is the Players' annual Christmas concert, which has become a holiday tradition for many locals.
"There is something about the (Methuen Memorial Music Hall, where the concert is held) - the lights, and the acoustics - that bring a warm family atmosphere," Veilleux said.
Other highlights include the Players' two most successful shows: "Crazy For You" in 2001 and "42nd Street" in 2003.
"I think it was time period (of the shows)," said Veilleux, about their popularity. "The tap numbers alone are worth the ticket price."
For Kerri Torrisi of Merrimack, N.H., one of the highlights of her four years with the group was being part of the cast for "The Wake of One, Ira Chang," written by Wakeley and fellow Player Jeff Kucukistipanoglu of Methuen.
"That was a lot of fun, especially because it was written and directed by our members," said Torrisi, who first heard about the group when she was a student at Merrimack College in North Andover.
Over the years, Veilleux has said the group has grown and matured as both singers and actors. Probably the biggest challenge they had to overcome were the financial constraints faced by many community theater groups, she said.
"It's very expensive to put on good theater, expensive to find halls, buy the rights; it's a struggle," Veilleux said. "That is the biggest obstacle, but I think you would find that if you asked any not-for-profit theater company."
She counts the MVP's musical growth from strictly amateur to nearly professional as its biggest accomplishment.
"This is a group that has come so far musically," she said. "I feel like when I am working with this group, I am working with musicians."
Wakeley would love to see the group continue to grow, attracting more members from the community.
"We are always giving our audience something new so that it doesn't become stale," Wakeley said. "We're always presenting something new for the Valley."
If you go
* What: "An Evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein Classics"
* When: Friday, April 27, and Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m.
* Where: Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway
* How: Tickets cost $20 for adults, $18 for children and seniors over 65, and are available at www.merrimackvalleyplayers.org and at door. Call 603-893-6226 for group rates.
"An Evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein Classics" includes songs from:
* "The King and I"
* "Carousel"
* "The Sound of Music"
* "Oklahoma"
* "South Pacific"
* "State Fair"
A decade of musicals
Shows the Merrimack Valley Players have performed over their 10 years:
* "Pippin" (1997)
* "Damn Yankees" (1998)
* "Godspell" (1999)
* "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (2000)
* "Crazy For You" (2001)
* "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (2002)
* "Just So" (2003)
* "42nd Street" (2003)
* "Bathroom Humor" (2004)
* "Once Upon a Mattress" (2004)
* "The Wake of One, Ira Chang" (2005)
* "Hello Dolly!" (2005)
* "The Night Is My Enemy" (2006)
* "The Wiz" (2006)
