The Latest News

Publishing contract signed with Samuel French Inc.
Messiah on the Frigidaire will now be published by Samuel French. They will also handle the wordwide rights for production of the play. Samuel French is the oldest and largest publisher of plays in the world with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Toronto. "These are exciting times," says Culbertson. "There's a certain validation you get when a company with the reputation of Samuel French wants to publish your play. I look forward to a long relationship."


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"Messiah" Goes International
John Culbertson's southern comedy "Messiah on the Frigidaire" will take the stage in
a very different kind of south, Umm Qasr in southern Iraq. The long strange trip for Culbertson's play began in Toledo, Ohio where the Waterville Playshop was lining up a director for their spring production of the play. John Oster was chosen to direct the play, but Uncle Sam had other ideas. You see Oster is also known as Sergeant John Oster in his reserve unit.
When the unit was shipped off to Iraq, Oster decided to produce the play there, using soldiers as actors and crew. After getting permission from the playwright, Oster began assembling his cast. “As far as I know this is the first community theater production being done here,” Oster said. “Most of the entertainment programs offered are usually sports-oriented. This is different. It will be a breath of fresh air and maybe attract some soldiers to community theater who hadn’t been exposed to it before.” Oster and his unit are stationed at Camp Bucca, a detention facility with more than 20,000 detainees. The play is scheduled to run for four performances at the end of April. MORE INFORMATION in an exerpt from the MIrror News.

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O CANADA!
It's official, The Canadian Premiere of Messiah on the Frigidaire will hit the boards September 19th through the 27th. The Workshop Theatre in Calgary will perform the play at the beautiful Pumphouse Theatre. Playwright John Culbertson is planning on attending the opening night festivities. Check back for further updates on the Premiere.


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O-HIO!
God Bless Ohio. Seven more productions coming up in 2008-09 in the Buckeye State.
In February, The Potter Players in East Liverpool, Ohio, In March it's the Waterville Playshop in Toledo, and in April and May, Bruce Jacklin and Company will perform the show at the Alcove Dinner Theatre in Mount Vernon.
The Drama Workshop in Cincinnati has also announced that Messiah on the Frigidaire will be a part of their 2008-2009 season,
and the Emerald City Players in Dublin plan on producing the play in 2009 as well. Just added to 2009 are the Athenian players in Athens, Ohio, and the Mansfield Playhouse in Mansfield, Ohio.


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Speaking of Ohio, Here's a Nice mention from the Sun News in Cleveland.


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Spotlights stays bright during OCTA competition

Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Sun Courier

Broadview Heights Spotlights Community Theater has several bits of good news and information for this week's column.
First and foremost, the results from the theater's first appearance at the Ohio Community Theater Association's state competition are in.

The Spotlights presented an excerpt from "Messiah on the Frigidaire," which it staged in March. The show is about the appearance of a miracle on a refrigerator in a small-town trailer park. The cast comprised of Denise Bernstein, Ken Chambers, Brian Diehl and Colletta Louie West was recognized for Excellence in Ensemble Performance and also received an award for Merit in Costuming. Director Robert Allen Kmiecik received an award for Merit in Directing, and Bernstein received an award for Merit in
Acting.

"Messiah on the Frigidaire" was produced by Pat Petipas and Annette Phelps. Fittingly, the Spotlights production of "Messiah on the Frigidaire" was a Cleveland area premiere.