“Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale; a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship….” Many people dream of spending time on a tropical island during the month of January, but not if it means sailing on the SS Minnow with the Skipper and Gilligan. But now, the Missoula Community Theatre announces the safest way to travel to the tropics with Gilligan’s Island: The Musical, live on stage at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts, January 20*- 23 and 27-30, 2022.
This family-friendly musical is based on the popular 1960s TV show “Gilligan’s Island,” created by Sherwood Schwartz. The plot is filled with wacky, slap-stick humor, foiled attempts at being rescued, and the familiar castaways of “Gilligan, the Skipper too, a millionaire and his wife, a movie star, the professor and Mary Ann….” There’s even an encounter with an out-of-this-world alien! Hope and Laurence Juber’s campy, original score includes Ginger’s “Natural Phenomenon”, Thurston and Lovey Howell’s “It’s Good To Be Rich” and even Gilligan learning to spell in “Hieroglyphics.”
At the helm of the show is Director Rosie Ayers, of Missoula’s “Home Shopping Network Girls” comedy duo and director of MCT’s Leading Ladies in 2019. Rosie shared that her husband Michael “is a grown man who watched every episode of Gilligan’s Island as a child and can still quote the punchlines and sing the lyrics while giggling like an 8-year-old.” On her own thoughts about the production, Ayers looks forward to “directing and experiencing a nostalgic show with our community and enjoying it with our most favorite medicine…laughter.” Gregory Boris will be the show’s Music Director after just completing the same role with MCT’s Sister Amnesia’s Country-Western Nunsense Jamboree.
Tickets to Gilligan’s Island: The Musical go on sale to the general public on Monday, November 29th at www.MCTinc.org, on the phone at (406) 728-7529 or at the box office from Noon to 5PM, M-F. *Thursday, January 20th is Premiere Night with a catered reception, beverages and dessert for a special price. Contact bfrazee@MCTinc.org.
Stockman Bank; WIPFLI LLP and Garlington, Lohn & Robinson are sponsoring Gilligan’s Island: The Musical, which is a production of the Missoula Community Theatre. MCT requires the wearing of masks for the safety of patrons, volunteers and staff. For tickets and more information, call (406) 728-7529.