Summer Theatre Kick-Off Gala

The Summer Theatre at Mount Holyoke College will announce its thirty-first season at a kickoff gala and silent auction Saturday, March 3, at the Yankee Pedlar Inn Opera House in Holyoke, from 7 to 10 pm. The benefit event, which is free and open to the public, features a silent auction and entertainment by Vintage Jazz, featuring Joyce Devlin, professor of theatre arts at MHC. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks (cash bar) will be served. Highlights of the silent auction include a role in a Summer Theatre production, a weekend getaway to Philadelphia, two round-trip bus tickets to New York City and tickets to a Broadway show, a formal evening dress from Bridal Heirlooms, and a round of golf for four at The Orchards in South Hadley.

The event will help raise funds to sustain a rich tradition of professional summer stock theater in the Pioneer Valley. The eleven-week season, which includes productions for children, has also provided a valuable venue for the College’s students, staff, and alumnae. Last summer Mount Holyoke students Kathleen “Katie” Doyle ’02 and Malea Jochim ’02 were hired by the theater to work as prop manager and as master carpenter and assistant technical director respectively. According to Summer Theatre managing director Eileen Drumm FP ’98, the theatre plans to involve more MHC students in the future. Susan Daniels ’79 is the theater’s artistic director, and Barbara Bunyan, MHC’s production manager and senior administrative assistant in theatre arts, is a Summer Theatre board member and cochair of the auction committee.

For more information about the upcoming season and the gala event, call the Summer Theatre office at x2632.