By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

The delight in Theatre at the Pond’s third annual production at Brooksby Village came not only from its punch lines or upbeat musical numbers, but also from the unmistakable camaraderie between cast members.

“They enjoyed each other; I could see that, says Helen Desmond, who lives at Brooksby. “They made us have fun.”

Full house
This fall, Theatre at the Pond (TAP) entertained a total of 1,200 audience  members over three days with The Butler Did It, Singing, a musical adaptation of Tim Kelly’s book, with music by Arne Christiansen and lyrics by Ole Kittleson.

A cast of ten principal actors, including Phyllis Toban as socialite Ms. Maple and Anne Roberson as housemaid Haversham, told the comedic story of a group of detective writers who participate in a murder mystery weekend hosted by the showy Ms. Maple. The fun begins when the group finds itself wrapped up in an actual murder and solves the puzzle through 11 musical numbers.

Making the tunes offstage, Music Director Joanne Smith played piano while her husband, Associate Music Director Andy Smith, led the 15-member chorus in song that kept listeners tapping their toes.

“I think they’re wonderful,” says Liz Wallace, who has lived at Brooksby for  six years and attended performances of TAP’s first two musicals.

‘Theater family’
TAP is a group of 230 Brooksby community members who put on one large production each year, “by the residents and for the residents,” says Nancy Walsh, coproducer of this year’s show and vice chair of TAP’s board of directors.

Between meeting to choose a show, raising the funds to put it on, and entertaining audiences, much time and many hands are put to work.

“With this whole group of people involved, it’s a feeling of being a theater family,” says Dianne Van Nest, who plays Laura in the show and is also chairman of the TAP board of directors and coproducer of the The Butler Did It, Singing.