THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996 TAG: 9605140107
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
After two weekends at the Wells Theater, the Hurrah Players will take their latest production on the road.
Only they'll have to hop a plane to get there.
The Norfolk-based theatrical company of children and adults will travel to London on June 13 for a weeklong stay and a chance to perform at the prestigious Polka Theatre. The theater is based in a centuries-old church in the Wimbledon section of the city.
After several days of touring Bath, Stonehenge, Stratford-on-Avon and Salisbury, and attending four professional plays in London's theater district, the company will perform June 17.
For the British audience, the Hurrah Players will do excerpts from ``And the Winner Is ...,'' a musical salute to the legends of Broadway, rock 'n' roll, television, MTV and the movies. Songs will be performed by the Hurrah's versions of Pocahontas, the Beatles, Lucy and Ricky Ricardo of ``I Love Lucy'' fame, Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Before going to London, the performers will open the show Friday in Norfolk at the Wells. Performances will held Fridays at 7 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. through May 26.
A few weeks after they close, 26 performers and chaperones will take the show to London.
``It's so exciting,'' said Hugh Copeland, Hurrah's director. ``Working out the details has been at times difficult, but when we hit the stage in London the rewards will be worth it.''
Copeland arranged the trip after visiting London last summer and touring the Polka Theatre. Officials there invited him to bring his company, which is similar to theirs, to visit and perform.
It's not the first time the Hurrah Players have performed outside the country. In 1987, Copeland took another group of performers to London. They performed in the city's outdoor Covent Gardens. But that time the trip was arranged through a tour company and was not specially geared to the Norfolk group's interests.
For this trip, Copeland wanted the week to be more affordable and entirely geared to theater appreciation. Consequently, the company will stay in dorm rooms at the University of London, near the West End theater district and within walking distance of shows they plan to see. Other highlights of the trip will include an Elizabethan banquet and a tour of the Shakespearean Globe Theater. ILLUSTRATION: The Hurrah Players' Mary Kathryn Young plays Carol Channing and
Peggy Young portrays Joan Rivers.
AT A GLANCE
The Hurrah Players will open their current production, ``And the
Winner Is ...,'' at 7 p.m. Friday in the Wells Theater.
The musical review will continue through May 26. Performances are
at 7 p.m. on Fridays, and 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Tickets are $11 and $9. They can be purchased in advance by
calling 623-7418.
by CNB