What might be the most dramatic physical confrontation downtown Wilkes-Barre has witnessed in 100 years began on Friday evening as Hollywood stunt woman and Kingston native Heidi Germaine Schnappauf stood at a podium and off-handedly insulted Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre.
Little Theatre’s artistic director Scott Woolnough took issue, stepping out from the crowd of 160 people, many of them wearing gowns or tuxedos to a $100-per-person gala at the Westmoreland Club in celebration of the theatre’s 100th anniversary, and angrily confronted her.
A moment later — remember, Schnappauf is a stunt woman — Woolnough was flat on his face because Schnappauf had grabbed his arm and flung him to the floor.
But don’t worry. Schnappauf and Woolnough had pre-arranged their “confrontation,” it was all in dramatic fun, and of course Schnappauf loves Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre.
On Friday evening, she was one of several friends of LTWB who pitched in to announce the 2023 season, which will begin in January with “Dracula.”
Following that will be “Grease” in March, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” in May, “The Wizard of Oz” in June, an evening of One Acts in August, “Carousel” in September, “The Rocky Horror Show” in October and “A Christmas Carol” paired with a New York-style Holiday Revue in December.
Sharing the announcing duties on Friday evening, show by show, were Woolnough, LTWB’s general manager David Parmelee, Life Member Walter Mitchell, veteran actor and set designer Michael Gallagher, friends of the theatre Lauren and Lorenzo Medico and former general manager Jim Harris with his wife, Andrea, who had flown in from Hawaii.
Speaking remotely via recorded videos to announce more of the season were Tony Award-winning set designer and King’s College grad Santo Loquasto, Saturday Night Live writer Rob Klein, and Broadway performer Celia Hottenstein, a Kingston native appearing in “Wicked.”
For many, the gala was a chance to reconnect with old friends, such as Bill Ulichney, a self-described “techie who acts,” who traveled from Lexington, Ky., to attend. “I always loved to hear people ask, ‘how’d you do that,’ ” Ulichney said, reminiscing about special effects.
Some attendees, like Walter Mitchell of Bear Creek Village, said theatre runs in their blood. His grandfather was a founding member of LTWB, his parents were active, and now his son, David, is the fourth generation to be involved.
Others, like Karen Krakosky of Swoyersville and Susan Hritzak of Forty Fort, agreed they were “professional audience members,” looking forward to watching some upcoming shows.
And for Breana Schall of Exeter, who hopes to audition for an upcoming show, and her mother, Rhonda, the gala was a great opportunity to wear the gowns they had picked up on sale years earlier, at unbelievably low prices.
“I was just waiting for the opportunity to wear it,” Schall said with a smile.