Woodland Theatre Company 'Excited' for Medfield Debut This Weekend

After months of preparation, members of the Woodland Theatre Company are "excited" to kick-off their 2012 production season with "Cabaret" at their new Medfield home – the Lowell Mason Auditorium – this weekend.

"It is our fastest selling musical to date," said Joshua Chelmo, the company's director of audience growth. "We have sold tickets extremely well and I think it will be our most sold musical, which really excites us. ... [Cabaret is] a different kind of show. It’s a beautiful show and we are really excited to bring it to Medfield."

"Cabaret," according to Chelmo, is a powerful musical and beautiful story that takes place in Germany during the rise of the Nazi regime.

"It’s got comedy, it’s very sexy," Chelmo said. "It takes place in Berlin in a Kit Kat Klub so the girls are very dark and they dance and they sing. There will be very little clothing for the girls but it is done in a tasteful way. There’s a very beautiful story attached to it and it is very powerful. I think a few people will have shed a few tears by the end of the musical."

Woodland Theatre Company's website offers the following description of "Cabaret":

"There was a cabaret. There was a Master of Ceremonies. There was a city called Berlin in a country called Germany … and it was the end of the world.” Cabaret brings to life the dark, sexually-charged decadence of 1930’s Berlin… and invites you into the Kit Kat Klub on the eve of Hitler’s rise to power. Defiant and melancholy, brazen and gleeful, Cabaret sizzles and provokes with classics such as Wilkommen, Money, Mein Herr, and of course, Cabaret.

The hit musical is winner of 12 Tony Awards and eight Academy Awards, according to the Theatre Company's website. The Woodland Theatre Company will be performing the musical in the Lowell Mason Auditorium on Friday, Jan. 27 (opening night) at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. The Theatre Company recommends this musical for mature audiences as the show contains adult subject matter.

Chelmo, who will play "Bobby," one of the Kit Kat Boys in this weekend's production, says the Theatre Company has high expectations for the show in Medfield.

"We think once they see one show they will be hooked and want to come back," Chelmo said.

The Theatre Company believes through the guidance of director Doug Hodge and the talent and experience of its actors and crew members, it will bring high quality theatre to the area for a fraction of the cost.

"Doug [Hodge] really pushes your boundaries as a dancer, a performer and a singer," Chelmo said. ... "It’s really great for the community to have an affordable regional theatre in the area and for us to be able to perform these high quality shows at a fraction of the cost for people in the town and surrounding towns."

Tickets for "Cabaret" are $30 and can be purchased at on Main Street until Friday, online at the Woodland Theatre Company's website and at the door on the night of the shows.

"Tickets will be available [throughout the weekend]," Chelmo said. "This is our highest selling show, but we do have a lot of seats available in this theatre and it’s a reason we wanted to move to this location – because of the theatre’s size. It allows us to be able to expand our audience base so we will be able to sell tickets [throughout the weekend]. If you show up at the door, you will be able to purchase tickets but you can go to Lord’s Department Store until Friday and we can sell on the website as well. It’s probably best to purchase on the website because you can pick your seats."

A Little Bit About the Woodland Theatre Company

The company was established in 2010 and has been performing at Sherborn's Community Center. This past fall, the company began exploring ways to grow and expand its audience base and came to an agreement to move to Medfield and rent out the Lowell Mason Auditorium.

The company's purpose, according to its website, is to bring the thrill and production of Broadway in New York City "home" to communities like Medfield and throughout the surrounding area for affordable prices.

"It really is a spectacular theatre company," Chelmo said, who joined the company last year. "It’s a regional theatre company. Its shows are extremely professional, we have actors from all around New England. We have some from New York that come in. It’s really great. ... I joined last year and fell in love with the theatre company. I fell in love with the professionalism, the fact that you only have between 12 to 14 rehearsals before tech week. I thought the director really utilizes your time."

Chelmo said that professionalism starts with Hodge and his wife Kelly and trickles down through the actors and members of the production team.

"The show quality is so professional that I knew I really wanted to be apart of this theatre group," Chelmo said. ... "[Doug and Kelly Hodge] have been in the business for a long time. On tours, working in New York City and they really wanted to put together a theatre company the right way and the correct way."

The company, according to its website is a "non-profit, federal tax exempt 501(c)(3) theatre dedicated to bringing affordable, high-quality musical theatre productions to the metro-west area of Boston. Its goal is to create a place where family and friends can come together and experience an evening of wonderful, imaginative, and meaningful entertainment not far from home."

The Move to Medfield

Medfield Superintendent of Schools Bob Maguire announced at the School Committee's Nov. 21 meeting that

The reason for the move, according to Chelmo, was an opportunity to expand and grow its audience and its production.

"We had outgrown the Sherborn Community Center, it just wasn’t a place where we were going to be able to grow, we had outgrown that space and we moved to Medfield," Chelmo said.

Since the move, the company has enjoyed its time in Medfield and getting to work in what Chelmo described as a "beautiful facility" in the Lowell Mason Auditorium.

"The location is better," Chelmo said of the Medfield High School auditorium. "There are more seats available for the audience. We don’t have to build the stage from scratch. When we were in Sherborn, we had to build the stage up and put out the seating. Everyone [in Sherborn] was wonderful and we really loved the community center and really appreciated everything they were able to offer us but we had outgrown that. ...

"The lighting is absolutely gorgeous and the theatre is wonderful and we are excited to have everyone come in and experience it. Hopefully by experiencing it, they will want to come back for when we do the family-friendly show of ‘Guys and Dolls’ this May. ...

"It’s nice to be able to have a lighting grid and to be able to have a curtain and be able to come in and not have to build the actual stage. It frees up more time for us to rehearse."

Getting Involved in the Community

As part of the agreement with Medfield Public Schools, the Woodland Theatre Company is offering workshops and hands-on experience for Medfield High School students interested in theatre and involved in drama.

"Working with the school has been wonderful," said Chelmo. "They have been gracious enough to welcome us and through that we are going to be doing things for the school like teaching master classes. When people come up to work our set and do the lighting, the kids in the school from the drama department and so forth will be able to come in and learn from Woodland Theatre Company."

Chelmo said two Medfield students are involved in "Cabaret."

"For Cabaret, we actually have two students on staff to work the stage crew," Chelmo said. "It’s a great opportunity for them to learn a little extra and to put something on their resumes as well."

Getting to Know Medfield

Two weekends ago, members of the company walked around town to get to know the community and according to Chelmo, were "thoroughly impressed."

"Medfield has truly been an amazing town so far," Chelmo said. "We have found that Medfield has been extremely gracious and welcoming. ... We wanted to know who our neighbors were going to be and the surrounding businesses. ... We enjoyed every encounter we did have. ...

"It was really great to walk around. We are hoping to grow relationships with them. A lot of them actually chose to advertise with us in our program and a lot of them took posters from us to hang up. So it’s been nice to walk around town and see the posters for Woodland Theatre Company in the actual windows. ... It’s nice to be in a place that appreciates what we can do."

Volunteer at Woodland Theatre Company

For those in the community looking to get involved with the theatre company, Chelmo says there's an opportunity to volunteer.

"We are asking for anyone who would like to volunteer ... we do have a donor sponsorship program on our website, so they can really get involved with the theatre company," Chelmo said. "That’s really a quick way to get involved. We are looking for people from all different aspects of life to come in, whether it’s building, helping with costumes, they can go right online and send an e-mail to the volunteer e-mail we do have posted there. It would be really great to have people in the town of Medfield come out and show their support."

To volunteer, click here.