Redlands Theatre Festival Kicks Off

Heartbreak, humor, and music will be the main focus of this year’s Redlands Theatre Festival (RTF). Actors and crew members alike will occupy the Avice Meeker Sewall Theater in Prospect Park from now until August 24 as they bring to life five exceptional performances. Now in its 41st season, the 70-plus-member repertory company kicked off its annual celebration Friday, July 12 with a real crowd-pleaser. “Dividing the Estate” featured 13 actors who played the roles of family members divided over the fate of the property owned by their mother. Set in 1987, this play, while heavy on dialogue, had enough humor to keep the audience laughing throughout the show. The play, written by Horton Foote, is one that many can identify with, as the family fights over money and struggles to come to a resolution regarding their uncertain financial future. This season will once again celebrate the old and the new, with four other shows including Oscar Wilde’s comedy “The Importance of Being Earnest,” the musical comedy “The Andrews Brothers,” the Tony Award-winning musical “Hairspray,” and the international hit “Love, Loss, and What I Wore.” Festival founder and producing director Cliff Cabanilla explains: “Doing true repertory theater requires a different side of the artistic temperament. Live theater has a certain charm to it.” Nowhere else but in repertory can audiences see five different shows with alternating cast members, many of whom appear in several of the plays, says Cabanilla. While not on stage, actors can be found working in other areas of the festival, from technical crew to musicians to tram drivers. This theater production first began as a summer program back in 1972 at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa. It has since grown, transforming itself into a theatrical institution in the Inland Empire. Over the past four decades, the RTF has produced more than 200 plays and musicals, and staged more than 1,600 performances. Company members come from near and far to take part in these productions, with the most recent coming from Redlands, San Bernardino, Fontana, Rialto, Hesperia, Beaumont, Highland, Crestline, Running Springs, and Riverside. Crew member Eric Barnard has spent most of his collegiate career around theater, but says this experience is one of a kind. “It’s a lot of work and it’s fun because you don’t come to work on the same thing every day. It’s kind of panicking though, because there are so many shows going on at once, so there’s a lot less rehearsal.… It’s fun. It’s kind of a beautiful form of chaos.” Performances are at 8:30 p.m. in Avice Meeker Sewall Theater, Prospect Park, at the corner of Cajon Street and Highland Avenue in Redlands. For more information about the show and ticket sales, visit www.rftseason.com or call 909-792-0562.