The seats in McGregor Hall are a little more comfortable – ok, a lot more comfortable – than those hard, wooden seats in the E.M. Rollins auditorium. But once the house lights dimmed, the audience settled in to those wooden seats to enjoy another performance by the Henderson Rec Players.

This year, the Rec Players celebrate 50 years of bringing live theater to the area. There have been some changes since that first season in the summer of 1972, but not that many. Just ask Tommy Nowell – he’s been around for each and every one.

Nowell said he graduated high school in June 1972 and it was June 1972 when the first rehearsals started. He said a few years ago he’d counted up, and reckons he’s “spent somewhere like 25 years of my life at the auditorium of E.M. Rollins.”

He and Jo Ellen Nowell spoke with John C. Rose on Tuesday’s TownTalk about this season’s shows, as well as the importance of introducing children to the theater arts.

The first production is Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” which will run from June 23-26.

“A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum” is scheduled for early July, followed by a children’s production of “Frozen Jr.” Capping off the season’s offerings is “The Fantasticks,” which will be performed Aug. 12-14.

Dwight Pearce was the group’s first director, and Jo Ellen Nowell said she co-directed “Bye, Bye Birdie” with Pearce in 2002. After that collaboration, Pearce was able to retire knowing that he’d successfully passed the baton. She has served as primary director since 2003.

“Right around that same time,” Jo Ellen said, “we were so fortunate that Mark Hopper came to town” and began working with the Rec Players to direct his first show – “The Wizard of Oz” – in 2003.

Dustin Britt will direct “Our Town,” Jo Ellen will direct “Forum” and Hopper will take the reins for “The Fantasticks.”

Audience members will have an up-close and person vantage point for “Our Town,” Jo Ellen said, because the audience also will be located on the stage.

Tommy said the seating will create almost a theater-in-the-round experience, making it intimate and different.

“You get a lot of energy from the audience when you’re that close,” he said.

“Forum,” with music by the late Stephen Sondheim, has two weekend runs – July 8-10 and 16-17.

“It is a flat-out comedy,” Jo Ellen said, “and fairly politically incorrect – it should be very interesting.” This production will have a full orchestra.

And the final production of the season is “The Fantasticks,” which includes a 4-piece orchestra. This season finale is special for Nowell and for Hopper – “It is Mark’s and my favorite musical ever,” he said.

The Rec Players have not shied away from performing long-running Broadway shows like “The Fantasticks” and others that have great lasting power. The company sticks to much of the traditional production, but feels free “to put our own twist” in the performances.

“You want to do shows that will appeal to the most people,” Tommy said.

That may be one reason why the children’s theatre camp will perform Frozen Jr.

Cindy Clark will conduct the two-week camp in July, culminating in a July 31 rendition of the blockbuster Disney movie.

“A lot of these children can sing the songs already,” Jo Ellen noted. During the first week or more of the camp, the young people will be learning about the theater, how it works and the different technical aspects that go along with a production.

“It’s a really great learning experience for the kids,” she said. The last part of the camp will be performing the show at McGregor Hall.  The camp runs from July 18-31. Performances are scheduled for July 29-31.

Education is an integral part of what the Rec Players is all about. “We need to expose the arts to our children,” she said. “We need to teach it to them and teach them to love it, because they are the ones to carry it forward.”

The casting calls are less about auditioning and more about finding a way to include anybody who wants to be a part of a production, she said.

Tommy said there’s just something about being part of a production that, once you’ve experienced it, stays with you.

Just ask Robert Peace. He called in to the show to express his thanks for the Rec Players and bringing live theater to the community. He said he participated in the Rec Players in the late 1970’s and enjoyed every moment. “I just fell in love with theater,” he said, adding that he continued to find ways to tap in to theater during the next 15 years or so when he was in the military.

“This is great what you guys are going,” he said to the Nowells. “Kids get a feel for this and it just stays with you. I still love it to this day.”

Purchase season tickets by calling 252.598.0662 or visit www.mcgregorhall.org.

The deadline to become a season patron is June 21.

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