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Christine Brunner (left), with Julia Abanto and
Catherine Cook, is pleased to be onstage again in
Taking Christmas to the Troops.
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Christine Brunner does it all. Well, just about. As executive director for Middletown's fledgling theater, the Rising Phoenix Theatre Company (RPTC) and director of its building space, the Temple Arts Center, Brunner estimates she works more than 90 hours a week. Her efforts are paying off.
Already the group's reputation has grown by leaps and bounds. For its third production, Taking Christmas to the Troops, the company has sold over 800 tickets, almost twice the number of tickets sold during the entire run of their debut show, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, in September.
Of course, the events of Sept. 11 and the months after might have played into the demand for tickets. Taking Christmas to the Troops is a re-enactment of authentic USO canteens performed to entertain American troops overseas during World War II, complete with swing dancers, crooners and a comedian emcee. It's fun, nostalgic and a reminder of all the Americans who have ever spent their holidays serving overseas.
"Suddenly, this show seems so relevant," Brunner says. "Now that the nation is once again at war, we find people are calling us up saying they hope the show features more than just Christmas songs. They want patriotism."
They want it, and they've got it. Set designer Joe Schneider (who appeared as Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) is also a professional florist. He brings to the stage a mixture of life-size artificial trees, lights and colorful patriotic decorations in a palette of red, white and blue. There's no question that this is a production with a stateside flare.
Middletown audiences might recall that the concept for this show was developed last year for the Actors Repertory Theatre, a company that had a strong beginning, but then quickly petered out before completing its first season. Brunner wants audiences to know that, although she feels she owes a lot to that company for paving the way, RPTC is something new and different. Brunner, who has a bachelor's degree in business, is one of six actors who were part of the Actors Repertory Theatre ensemble prior to its collapse.
"We're running this theater like a business," she says, "and that's an advantage that the former company didn't have."
As if she's not busy enough, Brunner will perform onstage as well, appearing as one of the "Lemming Sisters," a trio of talented '40s singers designed to serve up the holidays, USO style.
"It's good to be onstage again," Brunner says. Her schedule as executive director has kept her from taking to the spotlight until now. But Brunner is no stranger to the stage. She has performed in theatrical productions and television commercials for years, and she's a familiar face to audiences in Dayton and Cincinnati. (Her performance as the ditzy, drunken Honey in Ovation Theatre Company's production of Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf? earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for this year's Cincinnati Entertainment Awards.)
Christine Brunner's husband, Jay Brunner, is music director for the show. Although some might suppose that working side-by-side with a spouse could be a challenge, particularly in a potentially ego-infused field such as theater management, Brunner says it's been an overall good experience.
"This is the most time Jay and I have been able to spend together for a few years." She says others comment on how well the two work together. "We are able to recognize and respect each other's areas of expertise. And I can let him be boss when he needs to be boss."
The production is directed by Aaron Breford, who also directed A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the group. Catherine Cook and Julia Abanto return to the RPTC stage, filling out the female singing trio. The show also features six swing dancers, several from the Actors Repertory Theatre production a year ago. Brunner hopes this production will promote Middletown as a destination for holiday tourism and is currently coordinating efforts with other Middletown businesses and arts organizations to help build a tradition to attract travelers from all around.
"It's nice having enough things in place that I can focus on long-term planning," she says, "and not just wonder who's going to change the light bulb that just went out."
TAKING CHRISTMAS TO THE TROOPS, produced by the Rising Phoenix Theatre Company, runs through Dec. 23 at the Temple Arts Center, 2 N. Main St., Middletown.
