As Buffalo Gal Shuffles Off...
... we give you the last (poetic) words from Director George Werther...
Buffalo Gal, won’t you come out tonight?
Was the call to our intrepid six.
There was Amanda and James, thespians two,
Joining Jackie, Deb, Roy, Dan in the mix.
They met at a theatre down Williamstown way
To see if life could imitate art.
Of course Debbie said that, as she only could,
We thought it was a pretty good start.
Now Debbie is Karolina, her first time on stage,
And her Debbie performance was ace.
She knew all her stuff about Dionysus et al,
She even cleaned up sacred space.
Then there’s Jackie, or Chris, our “director” supreme.
‘Bout Amanda she’s not very merry,
Chekhov’s her thing, ‘bout orchards and stuff,
Even a musical called “Cherry”.
Roy is our SM, we call him Gavin,
He runs a tight ship – you can tell.
He loves talking he says – but when Debbie’s around
Her exuberance he struggles to quell.
Dan is our friend who does Ken some songs.
We are shocked by the depth of his candour.
He’s rewriting his life to return to the stage,
And do – who knows what – with Amanda.
James, our Wem, is a brother of sorts
To Lyubov, or Amanda, from Chekhov.
He’s had a tough life and really made good,
So auditions just make him feel pissed-off.
Amanda our great Diva is one Venetia.
She plays Ranevskaya who we like.
Leaving LA for Buffalo (and changing in Chicago),
Much harder than riding a bike.
So those are our actors, a fine lot of talent,
More than satisfying the “suits”.
They are all so real – and talk good as well,
Not sure about Debbie’s weird boots.
Talking of costumes, they really are fine.
Thanks Kirsten and Susan and Shirley.
Without your creations we’d be pretty bare,
And the show would have finished quite early.
Our props were by Judi, all chosen with care.
Our prompter was Robyn – so serene.
Our cast were so grateful – they say a big thanks,
Since none missed their big scene.
Then there’s the set, and how great it looks.
Thanks Laurice, you did a fine job,
And David of course with his model (and the horse).
And the builders –they’re a great mob.
Our lights were just right – thanks Maureen so much,
It all so beautifully glowed.
The pinks and the orchard were lovely of course,
Even saw Miss Keeler down the road.
Our sound was great – thanks Patrick and Neil,
And Roger made it happen each night.
From dogs and music to lighting of course,
T’was truly a feast of sound and light.
Our show was produced by Brian, also our AD,
A Williamstown stalwart with flair.
At BLT he shone – making it work.
With the Director he made a fine pair.
Our SM was Ness, who kept us in check,
Very ably assisted by Kerry.
She kept the show moving and always on track,
And mostly her mood was quite merry.
So Buffalo Gal must now close its doors
As BLT returns to Willie.
We’ll all miss Amanda, Roy, Jackie, James, Deb and Dan,
And even Sandy, Kenny and Billy.
But the memories of our play, they must linger on
Where art imitates life/art and such,
For “Buffalo Gal” was special to us
I think it touched us all so much.
George Werther
September 26th 2015
Applause!! L-R Ken McLeish, Venetia Macken, Wem Etuknwa, Chris Perkiins, Gavin Williams, Karolina Surawski
