The Mountain Play and Ross Valley Players garnered a pair of awards at the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle‘s Gala for their 2019 holiday season co-production of She Loves Me. The virtual gala, held on April 30, celebrated the work produced by Bay Area theatre artists in 2019. She Loves Me director Nicole Helfer received an award for choreography, while actor Anthony Maglio won for featured actor in a musical.
The co-production between two of the oldest Marin County community theater companies was the first full production collaboration between these two companies since the 1930s. In 1935, Ross Valley Players brought their production of The World We Live In to the mountain as that season’s Mountain Play production. In fall 2018, the two companies collaborated on the musical reading of a new work Swiss Family Robinson.
The co-production between two of the oldest Marin County community theater companies was the first full production collaboration between these two companies since the 1930s. In 1935, Ross Valley Players brought their production of The World We Live In to the mountain as that season’s Mountain Play production. In fall 2018, the two companies collaborated on the musical reading of a new work Swiss Family Robinson.
The plot of the play revolved around Budapest shop employees Georg Nowack and Amalia Balash who, despite being consistently at odds with each other at work, are unaware that each is the other’s secret pen pal met through lonely-hearts ads. She Loves Me was directed by Nicole Helfer with musical direction by Jake Gale.
“The long friendship of these companies has continued behind the scenes but it stepped to center stage with She Loves Me,” says Mountain Play Executive Director Eileen Grady.
The 411: The Mountain Play and Ross Valley Players won a pair of SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle awards for their co-production of She Loves Me.