Whitefish Theatre Co. closed out their 2023–2024 season with the comedy "Death by Design" by Rob Urbinati. I like to describe it as a play about horrible people being horrible people, and my goodness was it a delight.
Alpine Theatre Project's 2024 season kicked off with their ATP Kids production of Mean Girls the Musical, School Edition featuring a ton of super-talented kids from grades seven through twelve. Arguably not as heavy as last year's teen production of "Les Misérables," still an absolute stupendous production.
My latest work with Whitefish Theatre Company was photographing their production of "Silent Sky" by Laura Gunderson. The play depicts the true story of the women at Harvard's Observatory who quite literally mapped the stars in the early 1900's. It was at times funny, poignant, and infuriating how dismissively women were treated in academia in the last century. "Silent Sky" opens Friday, April 12, 2024.
The latest production I've had the pleasure of photographing for Whitefish Theatre Company is William Goldman's "Misery" based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. It features one of the most elaborate sets I've seen the crew at WTC put together with a super tight cast of three. Get your tickets!
Each season one of Alpine Theatre Project's mainstay productions is that of "Yuletide Affair." A production I describe as a Christmas/Holiday-themed variety show. Though I suppose it doesn't have a lot of 'skits' and is mainly music performances by insanely talented musicians and Broadway actors. There's lots of humor and pointed references to our local zeitgeist, and it's just a great time I look forward to each holiday season. 2023 marked the 20th such year ATP has put this on, and I hope it continues for another 20 years.
Who knew Ebenezer Scrooge can sing?! Apparently whoever wrote the musical version of "A Christmas Carol" I suppose. This was a real joy to watch—more than photographing it because Ebenezer himself was out of commission for rehearsal—and featured so many of my favorite faces from past WTC productions as well as younger actors I've photographed in Alpine Theatre Project productions.
Whitefish Theatre Company's first full theatre production for this 2023-2024 season was Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers." This production, it also marked my third season working with the crew at WTC and it's always a blast, even if the material my not be... celebratory. To put it lightly.
A part of how Alpine Theatre Project made its name was bringing Broadway talent to the Flathead Valley to perform Broadway and off-broadway productions. As they've evolved over the years to focus more on youth education opportunities—and the start of the COVID pandemic—that aspect of their mission took a bit of a backseat.
Needless to say, it was such a pleasure to finally get to photograph one of those productions. This summer ATP staged Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux's musical "Million Dollar Quartet" which dramatizes the Million Dollar Quartet recording session of December 4, 1956, at Sun Records which featured Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Once again working with my friends at Whitefish Theatre Company, I had the pleasure of photographing the delightful farce "Suite Surrender." And what a classic farce this particular play is. Mistaken identities, missed connections, and misunderstandings abound. If you're in the Flathead Valley this weekend or next—June 1–4th and 8–10th—you should really check it out.
Over the span of a couple of months, 50 plus middle and high school students throughout the Flathead Valley rehearsed and performed "Les Misérables," one of—if not the most—famous theatre shows in the world. It's a difficult show about love and loss set amidst the backdrop of the French Revolution.
If you've followed my work for any amount of time, you're likely already aware of how impressive Alpine Theatre Project's productions are. Their student productions in particular never fail to just blow me away. The amount of care and commitment ATP puts into each production, and the dedication the kids display is so evident when seen on stage, it is nothing short of inspiring.
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Matt Wetzler is an editorial, motorsport, portrait, and destination wedding photographer based in Whitefish, Montana.
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