We're in the Star, y'all!!!!

http://tinyurl.com/l8ql27

PB&D - Then and Now!!

OK - So you met us 20 years ago. http://tinyurl.com/mvf49k and http://tinyurl.com/mjceek

Now, let's see how much we've changed!

Meet the Pump Boys!!!

Jim (aka Reid)

Reid Miller (Jim) began singing in the shower at age 14, and despite everyone’s protestations to the contrary, managed to work his vocal stylings in to a rabid avocation, lasting almost 40 years. Barbershop in the Sixties, an Eagles-esque band in the Seventies, The Northside Travel Club and Q-95 in the Eighties, the Indianapolis Opera Company in the Nineties, and now, some 75 operas, 25 musicals, The Rocky Horror Show, a wife or two (or three) and countless gigs later he manages once again to bask in the warmth of Marni Lemons’ glow, reprising his “some-kind-or-another” award winning role of Jim in Pump Boys & Dinettes. As a father to two, a friend to a few, and a fine fellow to many, he hopes you enjoy this show as much as he does while he essentially plays himself as the owner of a small business trying to scratch a living out of the dry earth of music and gasoline. And yes, I still sing in the shower.

Jackson (aka Kevin)

Kevin Friedly (Jackson) is thrilled to say that he has been a part of this show for 20 years (foiling several coup attempts over the years by other cast members.) He still remembers distinctly the first night the cast got together at a table in the upstairs lobby of the old Civic theater at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Little did he know that this show would forge such strong, long-lasting friendships (some of them actually involving him!)
Kevin is a partner/programmer in the Indy-based software development firm Silicon Prairie Ventures (http://www.spvi.com/) and is a part owner and programmer in a company with Reid Miller (Jim), Cemetery Data Corporation. During the sane years between “episodes” of “Pump Boys” Kevin plays music with Dave Newman (L.M.) in the popular local band “Audio Diner” and with local singing sensation Michelle Haddix in the duet “Dual Nature.” Kevin’s favorite role has been being father to his daughter Colleen, a Humanities and Theater major at Broad Ripple High School.
Kevin wishes to dedicate his work in this production to the wonderful memories of Denny Yount and Bill “Uncle Bill” Hall. Thanks so much to both of you for taking a chance on me. I will always be grateful.

L.M. (aka Dave)

Dave Newman (L.M.) is a lifelong Indianapolis resident, a Howe High School and Butler University graduate who majored in music education. Dave is currently principal of the Mary Nicholson Visual and Performing Arts Academy at IPS #70. He was keyboard player and vocalist for the popular local rock band Clarian (1980-85) and has performed with fellow “Pump Boy” Kevin Friedly in the variety group Audio Diner for over 30 years. With Audio Diner he has entertained audiences from Arizona to New Orleans and all over the Midwest.
An ‘avid’ accordion player and even better tap dancer – skills he only acquired to do Pump Boys & Dinettes, Dave is very pleased to be reprising his role as LM for the millionth time. His long list of former stage credits includes Pump Boys & Dinettes, 1991; Pump Boys & Dinettes, 1994; Pump Boys & Dinettes, 2000; Pump Boys & Dinettes, 2003, Pump Boys and Dinettes 2007, (you get the picture)… He and his wife Tricia live just north of Irvington, where they enjoy landscaping and screening their phone calls. On a serious note, Dave is privileged to have been chosen to play LM with this amazing cast of characters. They are wonderful people and great friends. Thanks for the opportunity to share the stage with you. PB&D, one more time!!!

Eddie (aka Joe)

Joe Traynor (Eddie) is the president and principal appraiser for Traynor & Associates, Inc. Joe has served as the 1996 president of the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors (MIBOR) and as the 2001 president of the Indiana Association of Realtors. Joe serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Appraisal Foundation in Washington D.C and was appointed to the Indiana Real Estate Appraisers Licensure and Certification Board by Governor Mitch Daniels in 2006 and currently serves as its chairman. He has also written articles for numerous real estate publications and was a member of the Indianapolis Star's "Home Team", a panel of real estate experts who provided real estate articles to the newspaper. In 2005 Joe was named the MIBOR Realtor of the Year and in 2006 he was named the Indiana Association of Realtors Realtor of the Year. Joe was a founding board member and the first president of the board for Theatre on the Square in 1988. He also led a capital campaign five years later to relocate the theatre to its present Mass Ave location. In addition he has served as music director and bass player for numerous musicals throughout the city over the past 35 years.

Meet the Dinettes!!

Prudie Cup (aka Karen)

Karen Frye (Prudie) has appeared in over 40 Indianapolis area productions over the past 20 years. Favorite roles include: Adelaide in Guys & Dolls (many times), Mabel in Mack & Mabel, Prudie in Pump Boys & Dinettes (many, many times), The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods (traveling to Japan to represent the U.S. in the Toyama Amateur Theatre festival with fellow “Dinette” Marni Lemons), and Jen in the Indiana premiere of John & Jen. Most recently she appeared as Miss Hannigan in Annie at the Actors’ Studio and Ida Webb in Civic’s production of Twentieth Century.
By day, Karen is the marketing director for Dance Kaleidoscope, Indiana's premier professional contemporary dance company and the proud mom of Sam (12) and Elizabeth (10). Karen (a former ‘pageant girl’ herself) is a former board member of the Miss Indianapolis Scholarship Pageant and of Theatre on the Square. She is also a costume designer and owned and operated local costume house Costumes by Margie for many years. She sends many thanks to a very tolerant, theatre-widower husband, Bryan!

Rhetta Cupp (aka Marni)

Marni Lemons (Rhetta) has been a fixture on Central Indiana stages for more than 20 years, having appeared in nearly 70 productions at venues such as Indianapolis Civic Theatre, Footlite Musicals, Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, Theatre on the Square and the Phoenix Theatre. Most recently, she has appeared in Civic Theatre’s productions of Enchanted April and 42nd Street and as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes and Miss Mona in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, both at Footlite Musicals. Marni is probably best remembered by local audiences as the Narrator in Civic Theatre’s wildly successful productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2007 – oh, and for numerous productions of Pump Boys & Dinettes! By day, Marni works in public relations for Eli Lilly and Company. Marni is blissfully married to producer/director/techie extraordinaire Michael J. Lasley and thanks him for becoming a devoted member of the PB&D family after filling in as sound man in 1991. Love you baby! Finally, this show is dedicated to Bill and Denny. We may have lost you two along the way, but you’ll never be forgotten!!

No need to worry 'bout peakin' too soon!

Y'know, one of the strangest things about re-visiting this crazy show every few years for the last two decades has been when we get together to start rehearsals again. Well, that happened again last week. This time around, it's only been two years. Ha! Might as well have been TEN years - at least for me!! Oh well - as my dear sis Pru (aka Karen) says, "Well, there's no danger of us peaking too soon!" Ain't that the truth!

After all these years, we've abandoned such basic conventions as using sheet music, preferring to go instead by our ever-more-cloudy memories. Makes sense, right? Funny that LM (Dave), who's been with us the shortest amount of time (only 18 years for him) seems to remember the music best of anyone.

The nice thing, though, is when we find -- sometimes by accident -- those magical harmonies or a great chord or a cool dynamic change, it just reminds us all what a great foundation our wonderful, original music director, Denny Yount, laid for us. Sadly, we lost Denny in 1993. But I can still hear his voice in my head.

And once we get the show "on its feet," I'm sure we'll hear our late, great director "Uncle" Bill Hall's voice in our heads, every time we get a little rambunctious or Jackson (Kevin) suggests we throw in another inside joke. :-) It'll be weird doing it without Uncle Bill. (We lost him last year.)

But no worries, y'all. It'll be great! Don't forget to get your tickets! http://www.civictheatre.org/ or 317-923-4597.

We also took some new photos last week. (Thanks to Zach Rosing, our photographer!) So I'll be peppering some of our fave photos in to our next few posts. I'll also try to keep y'all updated as we move through the rehearsal process. Stay in touch!

Love y'all,

Rhetta