By Sarah Peters
Wabash resident Susan Jones, playwright and former music teacher, has finished her second musical, “Light Up The Town,” replaying the history of how Wabash became the first electrically lighted city in the world.
The play will open in the Honeywell Center’s Ford Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 12, Saturday, Aug. 13, and 2 p.m. Sunday, August 14.
“The Honeywell Center has been wonderful,” Jones said. “They have been helpful and encouraging, with all of the people who have designed the street signs and painted and everything, we couldn’t do it without them.”
Her first play, “Wait Til You Get to Wabash,” was also shown at the Honeywell Center in 2003, and again in 2008, portraying the history of the Wabash Canal.
“I love history, I love theater, and I love music,” Jones said explaining why she started writing plays about the history of the town. “So it just puts them all together in one.”
In 2005, the county had an Electric Light Celebration for the 125th anniversary of the lights illuminating the city. The idea for “Light Up the Town” sparked in Jones’ mind soon after this event, but never truly glowed until these last two or three years.
She started writing a few songs and skits during that year, but continued putting it aside.
“I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to do all that work,” Jones said. “In the last three or four years, it’s been haunting me more and more.”
As Indiana’s Bicentennial approached, she made it a goal to finish the play by the time it got here.
“I thought the Bicentennial would just be a great time to do it,” Jones said.
She looked at old newspapers, the minutes of the city council meetings from the 1880s in city hall, and anywhere else she thought might be lit up with potential.
“I just went any place I could for information,” Jones said. “Information about the [decision to light the city or not, and] information about the people who were living here at the time.”
The actors in the musical are all locals and range from elementary school age to late adulthood. Jones herself is even a part of the show.
“I just had to sing in the chorus,” she said.
The actors will be portraying real, 1880s Wabash citizens during the musical.
“All the characters are names of people who were actually living here at the time,” Jones explained.
“The city council members names, the mayor, the sheriff, [and the townspeople] are really the people’s names from the 1880s.”
Although they don’t currently live here, the names of the director and set designer of this play may also light up some memories.
One of the characters is played by Barry Eppley, Wabash County Commissioner. He talked about the cast that was put together.
Eppley tells us what the show is about.
The director of “Light Up the Town,” Kim Grogg Marin, grew up in Wabash and is now a director, choreographer, and cabaret singer in New York City.
“She was in a church choir that I directed when she was younger,” Jones said. “For the first play, she happened to be at home visiting her mother and I asked her if she would help us and she said yes.”
Marin also brought an assistant with her from New York, Adam Carey.
“[They] loved doing it, [they] really brought the first play to life and came back to direct it again in 2008,” Jones said.
The set designer, John Corso, a former art director at Universal Studios in Hollywood, also grew up in Wabash before going to the city.
Corso has been involved in the making of movies like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Sixteen Candles,” and “Cleopatra” throughout his career. He came back to Wabash for retirement and helped Jones design the stage for “Wait Till You Get to Wabash”.
“That play, he actually built a whole, two deck canal boat right up on stage,” Jones said. “His designs are beautiful, everything is perfect.”
They rehearse every night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and are still tweaking the play, even with such a short time to go until show time.
“It’s a work in progress,” Jones said. “Even last week I was still writing small scenes [to avoid] dull moments between scene changes.”
With 41 people in the cast, an orchestra of 19, dozens of people behind scenes, and the people who helped with publicity for the play, Jones has many bright, helpful hands.
And Eppley believes the music Jones wrote for the show is great.
“There are so many that are making it happen,” Jones said. “There are lots of people to thank for getting in on.”
Jones believes that “Light Up the Town” offers a great opportunity for people to learn about their hometown and to be proud of what it has accomplished.
“No one else can make the claim to be the first electrically lit city in the world,” she said. “And we do light up the town during this play, I will tell you that!”
Tickets are on sale now at http://www.honeywellcenter.org or by calling The Honeywell Center at 260-563-1102, or by going to the Honeywell Center at 275 W. Market St. Ticket prices for youth through high school are $10 and adults are $15.
The following people are in the cast: Adrian Baggett, Adam Michael Carey, Peggy Coppler, Morris Duffey, Barry Eppley, Dean Eppley, Sarah Fadil, Matthew Jones, Rebecca Jones, Clint Kugler, Coleson Kugler, Quinn Maggart, Madison Miller, John Minkler, Ellie Proebstle, Gregg Reed, Benjamin Reichenbach, Bruce Rovelstad, Eric Schoening, Eric Seaman, Ashton Shemwell, Amanda Shull, Bobby Shull, Linda Snapp, Tom Spiece, Orion Toepfer, Jo Wagner, and Ware W. Wimberly III.
Alexa Johnson, Becca Jones, Rebecca Jones, Susan Jones, Susan Keefer, Calisen Kugler, Cindy Rich, Hope Schoening, Kris Stephens, and Karlie Wikstrom are the women’s ensemble, and Dale Slee, Mike Kerr, Tim Main, and Gary Dale are the men’s quartet.
The orchestra includes Linda Kummernuss, Paula Merriman, Rod Morrison, Kristine Papillon, violins; Robert Lynn, cello, Micheal Rueff, bass, LuAnn Craft and Patty Chambers, flute, Sarah See, clarinet, Chris Cheever and Rex Stitzworth, trumpets, Matt Weidner and Jamie Weidner, french horn, Bob Brown, trombone, Alan Hunt, tuba, Bob Ferguson and Christian Jacobs, percussion, and Eileen Dye and Carolyn Eppley, keyboards.
The production staff includes: Heather Allen, Kelli Brace, Adam Michael Carey, Dennis Conliff, John Corso, Matt Craig, Mary DeLauter, Phyllis Downey, Bill Eppley, Carolyn Eppley, Laura Eppley, Grace Frederick, Kate Frederick, Ana Gackenheimer, Posy Jasen, Pete Jones, Don Lee, Cheryl Maggart, Jay Morris, Leslie Pettit, Emma Rausch , Lindsay Rice, Lisa Rice, Ann Ridenour, Eric Sargent, Eric Schoening, Linda Snapp, Kris Stephens, Ellen Stouffer, Allison Thayer, Jane Unger and Riley Woods.