Linda Schaefer, president of the Marathon Community Theater, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the theater.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show made its debut on stage last night at the Marathon Community Theater, where Schaefer’s husband performed.
She said, “He’s fabulous. This is his third time around with Rocky Horror. We did the first show back in 2022 a repeat in ‘23, took a year off, and now the show is back. Better than ever. It’s amazing. Jimmy’s directed all three times, and every time it just gets a little more interesting. Every year, you get somebody new, and you’re just amazed at how everything can evolve and change. It’s a lot of fun. Jamie Roberts is our choreographer and Abby Colella is our our music director and when you listen to the harmonies, and you see that very tight choreography, and everybody just 100% or more thrown into the effort, it’s just so much fun.”
The Odd Couple is coming up and Schaefer is going to direct.
She said, “The Odd Couple is going to be in January, and that’s a show that I watched as a kid back in the 70s, and just really loved it. Loved the humor. And we’re doing kind of a throwback to the 70s. So we’re going to have the music before the show, played by Jackie O’Neill is going to be 1970s TV theme songs, and it’s just going to be a nod to that era when some of us grew up.”
The Odd Couple will be on stage on on January 8.
Schaefer said, “I have four Karen’s on the crew. I’ve got Karen Witte, who is producing, Karen Shotwell is assistant directing. Karen Foley is looking for props and different things. And then Karen Diehl is building my set, so I’ve got the whole Karen crew there.”
The theater is still looking to Raise the Roof and pay off the renovation of the roof.
Schaefer said, “We’ve met our roof repairs, but we have a sizable loan that we are trying to eliminate before we get hit with those big interest rates. With with the Wizard of Oz (coming up in November), we actually have a cast and crew that includes some students. So we have elementary and middle school, high school students that are playing some of the roles with an adult cast. It is the version of the show that is a lot like the movie. So you’ve got lots of familiar songs and familiar characters, and it’s really going to be really fun.”
It’s a great partnership to have theater arts woven into the school district.
Schaefer said, “It’s a priority for our schools. We are educating people, it’s not just about the academics. It’s about the whole student. Here at Switlik we have music, we have art, we have PE, we have science, and our media specialist is amazing with bringing all the different activities and things that come in to enhance kids lives. So we’ve got Fishing Club, we’ve got flag football, we’ve got Explorers Club. We have a lot of things that are just about growing as an individual, not just about academics.”
For more information, click here: https://marathontheater.org/