We were saddened by the news of the death of Neil Simon who had gained fame as the comedian of Broadway based on the 30 or more plays he wrote during several decades in 60s, 70s and 80s. A large number of these plays were made into movies while the Sampson Community Theater has produced many of his comedies including “Come Blow Your Horn”, “The Odd Couple”,”The Prisoner Of Second Avenue”,”Barefoot In The Park” and “I Ought To Be In Pictures”.

Tom Wilbur was the director of most of these shows at SCT and his casts included many of our veteran actors which includes Gary Melvin and Erica Miller.

In just three weeks the curtains will part and “Blithe Spirit” will provide our audiences with seances, talking ghosts and cast invented by Noel Coward. He was an actor and a playwright who was successful with shows such as “Private Lives”, “Look After Lulu”,”Hayfever”,”Fallen Angels” and many other scripts. The cast is in serious rehearsals currently and is headed by Nick Owen who plays the central character who has a previous wife appear as a ghost during a seance. Make your plans to attend one of the shows scheduled for Sept. 21-30.

Ken Sutton is responsible for his company sponsoring this show as he arranged for State Farm Insurance to get involved. Mr. Sutton is a very civic minded individual and we appreciate his efforts on our behalf.

Our 2019 season is now available.

February — Pocahontas, the Musical

May — Sister Act

Late June, early July — Shrek, the Musical

August — Memphis

October — The Savannah Sipping Club

December — A Christmas Carol

Theater camp — TBA

This list is subject to change if we are unable to obtain the rights.

Upcoming shows

Blithe Spirit — Ongoing rehearsals. Directed by Tom Wilbur. Sponsored by Ken Sutton at State Farm insurance. Performance dates Sept. 21, 22, 28, 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 23, 30 at 2:30 p.m.

A Christmas Story, the Musical — Directed by Dan Holland. Auditions, Saturday, Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. Performance dates are Nov. 30, Dec 1, 2 and Dec. 7, 8, 9.

Thoughts until next week

Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.

Don’t let those who take advantage of your generosity stop you from being generous.

By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed their stomach.

https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/web1_caldwell-5.jpg

The cast of ‘Blithe Spirit’ continues rehearsals and prepares for opening night in September.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/web1_E-BS-8-27-18-018-1.jpgThe cast of ‘Blithe Spirit’ continues rehearsals and prepares for opening night in September. Tom Wilbur|SCT photo

By Bruce Caldwell

Contributing columnist