Hot time, summer in the city.
Heat-wave days and endless evenings, cruisin’ the Ave. whenever you wanted. Fireworks at the fairgrounds. Reruns, root beer and races at the Speedway.
And the summer musical at the Warehouse Theatre Company.
A Yakima “thing” for over six decades, it appears the first summer musical to hit the boards was “Guys and Dolls” in 1960. This was approximately 12 years after the Yakima Little Theatre Group, as it was then known, started putting on shows. YLTG began under the leadership and vision of Hal and Lorna Millen.
According to yellowed newspaper clippings in the thespian group’s library, “Guys and Dolls” was a hit, held over for additional performances. It was followed by other musical offerings such as “The Boyfriend,” “Pajama Game,” “Damn Yankees” and “Bye Bye Birdie.”
By 1965, the summer musical as an annual tradition was firmly launched. That year “Anything Goes” was on stage. A stellar lineup featuring Bootsy Semon as nightclub queen Reno Sweeny, Winston Hoffman as her foppish suitor, Sir Evelyn Oakley, and Randall Marquis as gangster Moonface created a cast of characters beloved by audiences.
By all accounts, “Anything Goes” was a resounding success earning standing ovations. Unconfirmed rumor has Semon and Hoffman actually stopping the show. Urban (theater) legend? Perhaps. At any rate, the duo would go on to star in many productions, leaving an indelible mark on the WTC.
Awards handed out every year for acting, directing and technical theater are in Hoffman’s honor. A plaque for Outstanding Contribution to the group bears Semon’s name.
So, when the weather gets hot and the sun takes forever to set, it’s time. The WTC summer musical is nearly upon us.
With summer just around the corner, it’s not too early to start thinking in terms of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Auditions are May 25 and 26, 2026, with opening set for July 10.
Below, in no particular order, are a few memorable musicals from the 1960s through the 2000s. How many of these have you seen, acted in or worked on? Might be worth a little reminiscing, perhaps on the back patio with a tall, cool one.
A sampling of WTC’s summer musicals throughout the years
Roger Smith soars in a solo tap number in “George M!,” 1972.
“George M!,” 1972: Featuring unforgettable tunes like “Give My Regards to Broadway,” and “Grand Old Flag,” George M. Cohan, the Yankee Doodle Kid, was portrayed by Yakima attorney Bill Baker. He was supported by Randall Marquis and Martha Stadelman as George’s parents, and Melissa Stevenson (now Labberton) as sister Josie.
John Stadelman, Martha’s son, was one of the hardworking hoofers in the chorus of “George M!” He recalls a vocal score sung in tight harmony. “(The show) was an American songbook,” notes Stadelman. Although “fully retired” (his term) from gigs at the Ashland Shakespearian Festival and the Ashland Independent Film Festival, Stadelman clearly remains bitten by the theater bug, frequently breaking into songs from the long-ago Yakima production.
“Gypsy,” 1969: “Sing out Louise! Smile, June,” commanded Madame Rose (Bootsy Semon) as she bustled onstage where her “daughters” were auditioning. Semon was backed by a cast that included Kathy Dekker as Louise, who becomes Gypsy Rose Lee, and Sandi Hill as June. The three strippers who counsel Louise as to what it takes to make it in show biz (“You Gotta Have a Gimmick”) were played by Martha Stadelman, Elizabeth Pleasants and Shelley Marquis.
“If you wanna bump it, bump it with a trumpet,” advised Mazeppa, strutting across the stage, bugle in hand. Marquis, only 17 when she was cast as Tessie Tura, says she learned a lot in her first foray onto the Warehouse stage.
“It was a great starting point for a high school kid,” Marquis said from Spokane where she now lives.
She could have danced all night. Tobi Beehler as Eliza Doolittle in the 1982 production of “My Fair Lady.”
“My Fair Lady,” 1982: Headed by Tobi Weston in the role of Eliza Doolittle, this musical showcased Weston’s vocal chops as she sang classics such as “I Could Have Danced all Night” and “Wouldn’t it be Loverly.” Steve Scholz was Professor Henry Higgins, with Glenn Woods serving as Colonel Pickering.
Contacted at her home on Chinook Pass, Weston recalled her favorite moment from the play was when she placed marbles in her mouth to improve her diction as part of Higgins’ uphill battle to transform Eliza from a cockney flower seller into a genuine “lye-dee.”
“It was a very well done show,“ Weston commented.
Also noteworthy in the 1982 production was Kirk Bowers, who lent his powerful tenor to several WTC musicals. As Eliza’s would-be suitor, Freddy Eyensford-Hill, Bowers delivered a soaring rendition of the classic “On the Street Where You Live.”
“Bye Bye Birdie,” 2013: First mounted by the WTC back in 1964, the 2013 production was the final summer musical presented in the group’s longtime home at 5000 W. Lincoln Ave. Shortly thereafter, the Allied Arts Council-owned building was found by the city of Yakima to have serious code violations and was razed in 2014.
Loss of their venue forced the local theater group to relocate, initially accomplished by renting space from what was then Melody Lane Academy, owned by Tony Akin. A couple of years later Akin sold the place to WTC, which remains there to this day.
Like many longtime company members, “Birdie” director Andrea Goberville fondly recalls both the old theater, and the musical itself. The 1992 version was her first onstage appearance at the WTC, she says. Under her direction, the 2013 “Birdie” attracted a strong cast of performers led by Monica Sevigny as Kim McAfee, Jacob Griffin as Hugo Peabody, Brandon Lamb as Albert Peterson and Ryan Clinkenbeard as Rosie DeLeon.
“Annie,” 1982: This musical featuring Annie and her fellow Hard Knock Lifers has been presented three times by the WTC. Ten-year-old Alison Clark, who performed as Alison Akin at the time, was the first Annie in 1982. Reached at her home in South Jordan, Utah, Clark described the title role as a formative experience in her identity as a performer. She recalled practicing her songs every day under the watchful eye of her mother, Peggy, who directed the Yakima show.
“It was challenging, doing that many shows in a row without losing my voice,” recalls Clark. She remains a lifetime performer and says her husband and children also participate in local productions in their hometown.
“Singing in the Rain,” 2019: A young and energetic cast under the direction of Megan Sevigny plus the technical genius of Stephen Clark (no relation to Alison) made 2019’s “Singing in the Rain” memorable.
Initially, those in attendance may have wondered if Spencer Hert in his role of Don Lockwood (the part played by Gene Kelly) would indeed be singin’ and dancin’ in the rain. This question was soon answered as the slicker-clad Hert twirled around the stage, “selling” the title track. Right on cue, the heavens opened and water poured, to the amazement of the audience.
Clark, a drama teacher at Ike, designed and installed the water delivery system based on a pump and drip irrigation used in orchards and gardens.
“It was unexpected,” Clark states, since “it was the first time it had ever been done” by the local theater group. An elevated stage with a trough on the side contained the water while stagehands did a quick mop up during intermission.
Also noteworthy in this production, Morgan Van Vleck’s (Kathy Selden) singing, and the goofy “Fit as a Fiddle” number, performed by Hert and Cole Lantrip (Cosmo Brown.)
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yakimaherald.com ’
