Community Theater

Cowboy. Cloche. Bucket. Toque. Beret. Fascinator. Boater. Crusher. Bretonne. Panama. Newsboy. Fedora. Boater. Bonnet. That’s a lot of different names for one item of feminine apparel: the hat — or “crown,” if you will. And the significance of those crowns is part of the substance of West T. Hill Community Theatre’s upcoming production. The six primary characters are played by Lori Moody, Victoria Troxler, LaFonda Stallworth, Jane James, Willetta Fitzgerald and Aimee Hereford.

West T. Hill Community Theatre’s annual Play Reading week will be March 6-9. The four-day event is an opportunity for the community to read excerpts of the plays the theater’s personnel are considering for the 2011-2012 season. The readings will be held in West’s Wing on North Third Street. The Sunday session begins at 2:30 p.m.; the weekday sessions begin at 6:30 p.m. Refreshments will be provided. West T. Hill Community Theatre Managing Director Karen L. Logue said there isn’t a common thread quilting together the plays that will be read this year.

Three of a suspense master’s early works are encompassed in play form in Joe Landry’s  “Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play.” The drama is best described the show’s announcer, according to directors Bill and Crystal Nichols: “Bringing murder back into the home, where it belongs.” “Vintage Hitchcock” includes pieces of  “The Lodger,” “Sabotage” and “The 39 Steps.” The directors said it’s “a masterful blend of  horror, suspense, comedy and romance.

HARRODSBURG — Feeling trapped in a small town, and wanting to fly away to parts unknown, comprises the substance of Ragged Edge Children’s Theatre’s production of “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” The young woman seeking excitement is Belle (Katie Followell). “She craves adventure and something different,” explains Tagan Citty, director of the production. “She gets her adventure when she is imprisoned by the Beast (Henry Webb) and she discovers his enchanted castle.

A musical adaptation of a popular fairy tale is the stuff and substance of West T. Hill Community Theatre’s summer production. “Honk Jr.,” adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Ugly Duckling,” is the story of a homely fowl “born into a family where he is very different and sticks out like a sore thumb,” said Karen Logue, who is co-directing the show with Beth Marlowe. “His journey to find himself leads him on an adventure replete with all kinds of interesting characters he meets along the way,” Logue added.

HARRODSBURG — Natalie Berry has graced the stage at Ragged Edge Community Theatre numerous times in the past several years. For “Always .... Patsy Cline,” the theater’s upcoming production, she also took on managerial-type duties to coordinate the production in addition to playing the title role. Berry talked about what the show is about, how she got involved with it, and what she hopes theater-goers get out of seeing the play. The Bodacious Bobcats Band — Laura Foley, piano; Terry Wilson, guitar; Nick Pendygraft, bass; and Wayne Westerfield, drums — will provide the music for the show.

Amy Barkman started out writing skits. She also wrote love songs and country songs. But she never thought of writing a full-length play. A song triggered such a vivid visual image for Barkman about two years ago that she turned it into a full-length play. Its title is "Claus and the King," and it is the holiday production at West T. Hill Community Theatre. The play is based on a story Barkman told when she was the "story lady" for Danville. "I read the story to lots of people and they always liked it," she noted.

When Marianne Miller was a freshman at the University of Evansville, she didn't take any special note of the name on the front of her acting textbook. But years later, the Nicholasville native was taking cues from the author of that book as she starred on the set while filming his movie, "Fire Lily. " The independent film took home several awards at the American Artist Film Festival this past summer, including a best-actress prize for Miller in her very first movie. Miller started acting in the third grade when she began participating in annual church plays at Nicholasville United Methodist Church, where she said she "got hooked.