Vickie Phipps knows how important this two-night fundraiser is to the future of the Carmel Community Players.
“We’re the oldest community theater (in the area) without a home,” Phipps said.
Phipps will perform in “Jerry’s Girls” at the fundraising events, set for Aug. 18-19 in the grand ballroom of Woodland Country Club of Carmel. The reception starts at 6:30 p.m., with the performance at 7:30 p.m. each night. There also will be a silent auction and prizes. Proceeds benefit the CCP Capital Fund.
“Jerry’s Girls” is a musical revue from the works of composer Jerry Herman.
“There will be a lot of familiar music,” Phipps said of Herman, who composed music for Broadway hits such as “Hello, Dolly!” and “Mame.”
Phipps will be joined by five other women for the revue. Phipps and Susan Smith are from Carmel. Diane Tsao and Jill O’Malia are Fishers residents. Heather Hansen lives in Zionsville and Georgeanna Teipen is a Greenfield resident.
Phipps’ first CCP show was “Hello, Dolly!” in 1994, when Smith played Dolly and Phipps was joined on stage by her daughter, Carley.
O’Malia co-starred with Teipen in the CCP production of “Suite Surrender” in 2017. O’Malia, who serves on the CCP board of directors, has performed in five different productions of Herman shows, including “Mame” twice, “Hello, Dolly!” “La Cage aux Folles” and “Milk and Honey.”
“It’s so much fun singing favorite Jerry Herman songs and learning some new ones we’ve never heard,” O’Malia said. “Three of the women in the cast are very close friends of mine. The other two ladies (Tsao and Hansen) I’ve met through the rehearsal process are lovely and I’m happy to call them new friends. The chemistry in the group is extremely good. The Carmel Community Players fundraiser ‘Jerry’s Girls’ is being produced to celebrate CCP bringing high-quality theater to Carmel for 30 years.”
O’Malia said CCP’s intention is to “continue producing quality and affordable entertainment in Carmel for years to come.”
Tsao, a vocalist for Swing Shift Indy Big Band, has performed in almost 70 theater productions.
Smith has been in more than 20 CCP productions. She has received 13 Encore Award nominations and has five Encore Award wins. She was in the crew/production staff of every CCP show produced from 1995 until 2003, more than 40 consecutive productions.
Smith also has played the title role of “Mame” at CCP. She has played the role of Dolly five times at different theaters and was a Dolly understudy at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre.
Smith has served as a music minister since her teens as a cantor for Sunday services and a soloist for funerals and weddings.
Teipen will be performing the title role in “Hello, Dolly!” at Footlite Musicals in September. She has performed in two prior CCP shows, “Next to Normal” (2016) and “Suite Surrender (2017). She was last season’s Encore Award winner for best female singer in the production of “White Christmas” for Main Street Productions at the Basile Westfield Playhouse.
Hansen is performing in her first show featuring Herman’s music.
“It has really opened my eyes to the wonderful work he created,” Hansen said. “I watched ‘Hello, Dolly’ regularly as a child and it is one of my favorite movie musicals. I will be performing in ‘Hello Dolly’ this fall at Footlite as Irene Malloy, and I’m really thrilled with the opportunity to help tell that fun story.”
Hansen’s only previous CCP experience was performing as Mother in “Ragtime” in 2018.
“CCP holds a dear spot in my heart for offering me my first major role (in ‘Ragtime’) after my long maternity leave,” Hansen said. “I will forever be grateful for those who had faith in me, took a chance on me, supported me and have become dear friends.”
Tickets are $75 each or $500 for a table of eight. For more, visit carmelplayers.org.
