Juggling Act

When it was formed 10 years ago, the Whitefish-based Alpine Theatre Project had a good reason for its choice of name.

One of the three co-founders, Luke Walrath, said the group didn’t want to bill itself as a “company” because the group knew it would always be in the process of experimenting. 

This summer’s schedule shift to offering three shows in repertory style during a three-week period is just another part of the group’s continuing evolution as a “project.”

“As theaters close nationwide, the ones that survive are the ones that stay fluid,” Walrath said. “We’ve never wanted to get into a situation where we become stale, where the audience not only knows what to expect but we maybe run the risk of them being bored with us.

“So we’ve always tried to experiment and change things up when necessary. We’re not averse to change.”

Or to a challenge. This summer’s lineup of big musicals — “The Who’s Tommy,” “Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “Guys & Dolls” — will run on rotating nights at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center through Aug. 2 after the season opened on July 11.

The productions are in entirely different styles, requiring three distinct character demographics and three sets with unique atmospheres, all built on the same platform. 

Alpine Theatre Project co-founder and artistic director Betsi Morrison is at the helm of each show as director. And a cast of 11 professional actors, including another Alpine Theatre Project co-founder David Ackroyd, is tackling the challenge of widely differing roles in each show.

Walrath, who is one of the leads in “Guys & Dolls” and a supporting character in the other two, said from an acting standpoint that the task each day is to compartmentalize.

“When rehearsing on any given day, you might move from ‘Guys & Dolls’ to ‘Big River,’ which requires Southern accents, then move on to ‘Tommy,’ which requires a working-class London accent. 

“You have to make sure your brain shuts off when it needs and turns on when it needs.”

The actors won’t be the only ones scrambling. 

“In the space of one show you’re mounting three,” Walrath said. “We have one unit set that serves all three shows, but it gets dressed differently — a raft in ‘Big River,’ a pinball machine in ‘Tommy.’ We want a very distinct look for all three shows, so the responsibilities are higher in that department.”

Repertory schedules are common to resort areas, Walrath said, because they give visitors the chance to see more than one show during a stay.

“We weren’t visitor friendly,” he said of the group’s previous seasons of putting on one show at a time. “We were ignoring an entire section of the summer population.”

Another new aspect to Alpine Theatre Project this year is to extend its educational mission, using five acting apprentices as part of the summer company. Four actors who were past or current students at Whitefish High School — Jon Jacobs, J.J. Harris, Marijka Cevivier and Saige Perchy — and Charlotte Mack, who will be a junior at Flathead High School, each have a small part in the main shows. 

The group of apprentices also has its own production, a 30-minute adaptation of “Little Red Riding Hood,” being offered at noon on Tuesdays in Depot Park in Whitefish and on Thursdays at City Beach on Whitefish Lake. The kid-friendly shows are free and will be staged through July.

One thing the apprentice program gives the young actors is the chance to work alongside professional actors. The high level of talent that Alpine Theatre Project offers its audiences has been one of the biggest successes of Alpine Theatre Project to this point, Walrath said. 

“That was something we harped on, maybe obnoxiously so in the beginning,” Walrath said. “We’ve always plugged the Broadway angle. We needed to let people know that when we say we’re getting actors from Broadway, we’re not kidding. It’s not a term we use lightly.”

Luring actors across the country — often for less pay than they might make in bigger cities — hasn’t been the difficult task it might seem, Walrath said. He gives all the credit to his wife, Morrison, who has been the one to ensure that the actors and company “really get a Montana experience.”

“The scenery counts for a lot,” he said. “We have to sell the experience. We might not be able to offer the same salary, but we can guarantee good work with good people in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.”

One lesson they’ve finally taken to heart, Walrath said, is that competing with the great outdoors has made Sunday matinees a tough sell. So for the first summer Alpine Theatre Project has ditched the afternoon shows completely, after trying to make it work by switching up times or marketing the matinees in creative ways.

“It’s been a losing battle,” he said. “It’s hard getting people inside when it doesn’t get dark until 10 o’clock. They want to get on the golf course or barbecue or do things with the family and friend. Going inside during the day is not an appealing option, and we finally had to listen to that.”

Walrath hopes the Alpine Theatre Project’s 10th anniversary season offers plenty of reason to head inside in the evening. 

“They are three iconic shows in their own right, and all vastly different,” Walrath said. “We haven’t tackled a classic like ‘Guys & Dolls’ in a long time. ‘Big River’ is a gorgeous story. The music is moving, and the show is very touching and funny. 

“And we’ve been wanting to do ‘Tommy’ for years. It’s a fun thing doing rock musicals for musical theater geeks. It makes us feel cool, and you feel like a rock star when you get to do ‘Pinball Wizard.’ It’s pretty awesome.”