Woodminster Summer Musicals
40th Anniversary Season Summer 2006
Press contact: Kathy Kahn, woodminsterpr@yahoo.com, 510-418-8523
Theater contact: Harriet Schlader, harriet@woodminster.com, 510-531-9597

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CALENDAR INFORMATION JULY:
WHAT: "Ragtime", A Story of Multicultural America
PERFORMED BY: Woodminster Summer Musicals by Producers Associates, Inc.
WHERE: Woodminster Amphitheater in Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland
WHEN: July 7-16, 2006
PERFORMANCES: July 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 8 p.m.
TICKETS: 510-531-9597 or www.woodminster.com, $21.50-$34.50 ($2 discount for children/seniors)
Book by Terrence McNally, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Music by Stephen Flaherty, Based on the novel "Ragtime," by E.L. Doctorow

Woodminster Summer Musicals Opens
40th Season July 7 with "Ragtime"
Group Has Performed Under the Stars
In Oakland Every Summer Since 1967

May 26, 2006 - Oakland, CA - Producers Associates, Inc. will open the 40th consecutive season of the Woodminster Summer Musicals with "Ragtime," playing July 7-16. An epic story of the shaping of multicutural America, "Ragtime" is based on E.L. Doctorow's famous novel about the turn of the twentieth century. The lives of a wealthy white family in upstate New York, black working class people in Harlem, and Jewish immigrants at Ellis Island intertwine with each other, and with historical figures including Henry Ford, Harry Houdini, and Emma Goldman. Music is by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and book by Terrence McNally.

Woodminster shows are performed by a combination of professional (Actors Equity Association) actors and talented local non-professionals. This season includes local children in key roles in all three shows. "Ragtime" features a huge cast of 62 actors from 26 Bay Area cities ranging from Fairfield to San Mateo, and from more distant places including Los Angeles and New York.

The role of Coalhouse Walker, Ragtime piano player turned anarchist, will be played by Lawrence Beamen of Walnut Creek. His love interest Sarah will be portrayed by Angela Dean-Bahan of Oakland. Joni DeGabriele of Novato will play Mother, with frequent Woodminster performers Noel Anthony of New York as Younger Brother, and Robert Moorhead of Piedmont as Father. Michael Kostroff of Los Angeles will play Tateh, the Jewish immigrant movie director.

"Ragtime" will be directed by Joel Schlader, with choreography by Harriet Schlader. Vocal director is Trente Morant, and the Orchestra, composed of members of American Federation of Musicians, Local 6, will be conducted by Brandon Adams.

After "Ragtime," Woodminster's 40th season will continue with the Rodgers' & Hammerstein classic, "The King and I," August 4-13, and will close with "Disney's Beauty and the Beast," playing September 1-10.

Woodminster seasons are chosen based on balloting by season ticket holders, and many seasons are composed of "old favorites" that have been performed before on the Woodminster stage. This year is different, as two of the shows are relatively recent Broadway offerings that have never before been performed at Woodminster, and the third (The Rodgers & Hammerstein classic "The King and I") hasn't been performed here since 1969, Woodminster's third season.

The Woodminster Summer Musicals are performed under the stars at Woodminster Amphitheater, an open air performance facility in Joaquin Miller Park high in the Oakland Hills. The park's spectacular views and serene woodsy environment made it the perfect setting for the amphitheater, cascades, reflecting pool, and paths that were originally built as a WPA project in 1939-40. For many East Bay families, it is a long-standing summer tradition to enjoy a picnic in the park and then see a musical at Woodminster.

Producers Associates, Inc. was founded in 1967 by James and Harriet Schlader to provide affordable live summer family entertainment in the East Bay, and to foster a love of live theatre. For the last 40 years, the organization, in partnership with the Oakland Park and Rec Department, has been producing summer musicals at Woodminster Amphitheater. Today it sells more tickets per year than any other resident performing arts group in the city.

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Cast Photos

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Angela Dean-Bahan of Oakland plays Sarah, and Lawrence Beamen of Walnut Creek plays Coalhouse, in Ragtime, which opens Woodminster's 40th season.

Below, *Stu Klitsner as Grandfather, Grant Lowenstein as Little Boy, and *Robert Moorhead as Father in Ragtime, which opens Woodminster's 40th season. For more photos, click here. To retrieve a high resolution version, click on the photo.