Picnics in the Park with Town Theatre and Forest Acres

There’s nothing better than great music and great company – in the BEST neighborhood around! Town Theatre will present the third series of concerts by some fantastic performers that have graced not only the Town Theatre stage but are well known throughout the Midlands. And each concert will also feature some of our Town Theatre youth who are members of the Town Teen Troupe or the Town Tweens.

On Friday, October 14, guests will enjoy the talented Kerri Roberts. Kerri is well known for her many roles at Town including Marian Paroo, Mary Poppins, Eliza Doolittle and many Marias (West Side Story and The Sound of Music). Billy Bishop will join Kerri on the mic. He has been seen on the Town stage numerous times including roles in Buddy Holly and Matilda. He most recently mesmerized audiences as both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Joining them will be Juliet Gregg, one of our Town Teen Troupe members. Juliet has been on the Town stage for many years and wowed audiences in the title role of Matilda.

Friday, October 22 brings more of Town’s long-time performers – Scott Vaughan and Shannon Willis Scruggs. Scott spent the summer and early fall on the Town stage starring in both Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Music Man. By day he is the drama teacher at Satchel Ford Elementary School, in the heart of Forest Acres. Shannon has grown up on the Town stage having served as a leading lady in Always… Patsy Cline, Bright Star, Jekyll & Hyde, Big Fish, Kiss Me, Kate and Annie Get Your Gun, to name a few. Joining Scott and Shannon will be Nathan Jackson and Mary Jayne Davis, both members of the Town Teen Troupe. Both Nathan and Mary Jayne impressed Columbia as Buddy and Jovie in Town Theatre’s production of Elf: The Musical. The group will be accompanied by Michael Simmons.

Rebecca Goodrich Seezen and Lee Martin will take the stage Friday, October 28. Rebecca grew up on the Town Theatre stage and has enjoyed wonderful roles such as Fantine in Les Mis, Donna in Mamma Mia and The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot. Lee has crooned away in Town’s productions of Hello, Dolly!, Hairspray, The Buddy Holly Story and Newsies. Joining this duo will be McKinley Porth, a member of the Town Teen Troupe who appeared in Shrek Jr. Also performing is Abby Gamble, a member of our Town Tweens who most recently was seen as Amaryllis in The Music Man. Michael Simmons will serve as accompanist.

Each concert will begin at 6 PM and will last 45-60 minutes. Tickets are $5 per concert and may be purchased at towntheatre.com. In the event of rain, the Roberts/Bishop concert will move to Saturday, October 15; the Vaughan/Scruggs concert will move to Saturday, October 23 and the Seezen/Martin concert which will move to Saturday, October 29.

In true picnic fashion, please grab dinner from your favorite Forest Acres restaurant to bring to the concert. Please also bring your own seats in the way of tailgate chairs and/or blankets. There is plenty of room at the park to spread out and enjoy the fantastic entertainment. Pinetree Park is located in the triangle between Coker Street and Wofford/Winthrop Avenues in Forest Acres. Coker runs perpendicular to Trenholm Road near Trenholm Plaza. Town Theatre thanks Forest Acres for their support of this partnership. If you have questions, please call Town Theatre at 803-799-2510 or email town@towntheatre.com.