'Society' to celebrate

The show was supposed to help celebrate an anniversary last year.

Those plans didn’t work out. So instead, it’ll help commemorate two anniversaries this year.

Jay County Civic Theatre and Arts Place are teaming up for a production of “High Society,” with the opening performance slated for 7 p.m. Thursday. It will help mark the 40th anniversary year of the former and the 50th of the latter.

“To me, civic has been a staple here in the community for a long, long time,” said Cain Bilbrey, who is acting in and directing this week’s production and is a past president of the organization. “I’ve (done) this since I was 18.”

He noted civic’s mission to provide live theatre in Jay County.

“I think that’s important because if we lose the arts and humanities, we lose ourselves,” he said.

“High Society,” with music and lyrics by Hoosier native Cole Porter, was originally slated to be performed as part of Jay County’s celebration of the Indiana bicentennial. But some scheduling issues made that plan impossible to achieve.

Instead of scrapping the show, those involved decided instead to make it part of the 2017 schedule that will also include “The Little Mermaid” in April. The musical comedy follows the story of socialite Tracy Samantha Lord and the three men who are jockeying for her affection.

The show is continuing civic theatre’s tradition that started with the performance of the play “Forty Carats” in 1977. It was one of the first facets of the local arts mission that came to fruition after Arts Place executive director Eric Rogers came to Jay County.

“Civic is very near and dear to my heart because when I came here in ’76 one of the things that we identified right away … was that there were some things really missing,” said Rogers, noting that there had been community theatre in the area in the past but that it had died out. “Community theatre is one of those things that you can make happen (on a budget) … 

“That was very special to get our first production. That was a big deal.”

Since then, the list of Jay County Civic Theatre shows goes on and on, from “George Washington Slept Here” in 1981 to “Anything Goes,” another Cole Porter show, in 1986 to “Once Upon a Mattress” in 1997 to “The Sound of Music” in 2008 to recent shows including “Young Frankenstein” and “Willy Wonka.” There are several, including “A Christmas Carol,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Grease” that have been performed more than once over the course of the 40-year run.

Rogers and Bilbrey both count 2009’s “Noises Off” as one of their favorites, and Rogers tallies off a list of actors who have been a big part of civic theatre through the years like Dan Countryman, Dixie Mann, Neil Habegger, Gerald Kirby and the Rodden and Freeman families. Sheila Takats was in that first production of “Forty Carats” and is still involved with the program today.

Getting people involved, Rogers said, is the key to any successful community theatre organization.

“We’re about nurturing the creative spirit through the arts for anyone. Anybody can participate one way or another. … A production like this, there’s plenty of room for people to help,” he said, noting acting, music, backstage and promotion. “Our idea is to get the community involved.”