It may be off-season for the Alpine Theatre Project, but the lights aren’t out behind the curtain. Just around the corner, the ATP summer season preps to lob three plays at Flathead Valley audiences: The Full Monty, Pete ‘n’ Keely, and Olympia Dukakis in The Other Side of the Island.
“This is definitely is our biggest season,” says Executive Director Luke Walrath. “We’ve never done big shows like this.” In addition to more expansive shows that have never been seen in the Flathead, ATP will be staging two of the plays in the new larger Whitefish Performing Arts Center, and one is a world premier.
Starting in mid-July, The Full Monty brings its hilarious tribute to the struggles of down-and out men with a New York and Los Angeles cast. Pete ‘n’ Keely follows with a divorced couple reliving a swinging musical ‘50s and ‘60s romance. It features costumes from the original Broadway show and a set designer from Sesame Street. The season finale wraps up with Olympia Dukakis in her world premier play The Other Side of the Island, based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Also this summer, ATP Honorary Board member Henry Winkler joins co-founder David Ackroyd for An Evening With series. ATP also just added Broadway star Rebecca Luker and playwright Arthur Kopit to its Honorary Board. Luker has been nominated for a Tony Award three times for her performances in Showboat, The Music Man, and her current role in Disney’s Mary Poppins as Mrs. Banks. Kopit, twice a Pulitzer Prize finalist, is the author of Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad; Indians; and Wings.
Season tickets for the summer series are currently on sale. Tickets for individual shows go on sale June 2. Call (406) 862-SHOW or visit alpinetheatreproject.org.