Actors and directors came from as far as Arizona and Texas for Port City Playhouse’s 25th Anniversary, which was held at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial last weekend.
Guests were treated to a catered reception before going into the theater to watch a recap of Port City’s 25 years of performances.
Chris and Adriana Hardy came from Texas to participate. Adriana Hardy and Ronnie Hardcastle delivered a very clever dialogue which managed to mention every one of the over 100 performances presented during Port City Playhouse’s 25 years, while Chris Hardy served as script and scene announcer.
Interspersed with the dialogue were songs and monologues from prior shows, including Joe Peck’s delivery of “A Puzzlement” from “The King and I;” Bruce Rauscher’s monologue from “Breaking the Code;” Gilly Conklin’s rendition of “All That Jazz” from “Chicago;” and a monologue from “On the Verge” by Wendy Wilmer. Patricia Rohrer was the accompanist; Dick Schwab did the lighting and electric piano was provided by George Brundage.
“I wouldn’t have missed it,” said Isabelle Taylor, one of the founding members who came from Arizona.
Another founding member, Jim Gauthier, also flew in from Phoenix. Port City President Joanne Tompkins was there; publicist Lynne Sia was there; director Roland Gomez came as did actress Kathy Fannon. They all wanted to be part of a quarter century of excellence in the theater.