Second Stage Productions
The Round Barn Theatre's Second Stage Productions were started by
Jeremy Littlejohn in 2004. After
many years of hearing patrons ask for non musicals he approached Round
Barn Theatre Executive Producer Richard Pletcher and pitched the idea
of using The Locke Township Meeting House as the home for the Second
Stage. The intimate venue located down the hall from the Round
Barn in The Greeting Barn gift shop was the original home of Plain
and Fancy and was thus a perfect location to launch an entirely
new theatre program.
2008
Second Stage Productions
Lost in Yonkers
Our
Town
2008 Staged
Reading
Carmelina
Upon Pletcher’s approval, Littlejohn went about putting together his first production. In August of 2004 Second Stage opened its doors for the first time with Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. “The whole idea behind starting this program was to give the audience a taste of something different,” Littlejohn commented, “We strip these works down to the bare essentials and focus on the actors and the language. It’s acting in its most pure form.” The Glass Menagerie was a rousing success introducing Amish Acres audience to South Bend Theatre Diva Pat Berardi who turned in a memorable performance as Tom’s troubled mother Amanda. Pat would go on to play Daisy Werthan in the 2005 production of Driving Miss Daisy. Driving Miss Daisy would blossom into one of the most popular shows in Amish Acres history proving that the Second Stage was here to stay.
In 2006 the program participated
in The Joseph Stein Festival which was part of The Round Barn’s
season. Round Barn alumni Sam Brown flexed his comedic muscles
and quickly won the audiences heart in Enter Laughing. After
surveying the audience it became clear that what they wanted next was Steel
Magnolias and so in March of 2007 Steel Magnolias opened. It
would be the first time in Amish Acres history that a show would open
the day the farm opened. The production would become so popular
that it would sell out the entire run after the first week.
2008 will be yet another landmark year for the Second Stage as for the first time ever a non musical will open on The Joseph Stein Stage when Our Town is produced in August. It will also be the first time that two different non musicals will be produced in the same year with Lost in Yonkers opening in March.
The Second Stage recently accepted the Staged Readings into its fold. The Staged Readings had already become a Round Barn staple with readings of Take Me Along, Anne of Green Gables, The Spitfire Grill and Rags touching audiences. The 2007 reading of Floyd Collins would prove to be one of the most daring ventures Amish Acres had taken on thus far. The production was a critical success! The Second Stage continues to grow and its future is certain. This makes Littlejohn grin, “The people have spoken. Non musicals are here to stay.”
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