Stephen Foster Drama Association: A Summer of Music and Dance
My Old Kentucky Home State Park continues to bring out toe-tapping music — and colorful theater — courtesy of the Stephen Foster Drama Association. Each summer, for more than half a century, the Stephen Foster Drama Association has produced The Stephen Foster Story, a historical drama celebrating the music of Stephen Foster.
Performances are in the state park’s J. Dan Talbott Amphitheatre (with an auditorium at Bardstown High School available for Saturday matinees and bad weather.)
The plays depend on a talented and dedicated assortment of actors and stage crew, drawn from local residents, college students and professional actors. But there’s an additional reason for the show’s enduring popularity: It’s “the music of Stephen Foster,” said Johnny Warren, managing artistic director of the association's sister organization, Stephen Foster Productions. “It’s timeless — a part of the fabric of American Culture,” Warren said. “Everybody knows a Stephen Foster song.”
While The Stephen Foster Story remains its mainstay, the acting company offers other productions throughout the summer.
The Stephen Foster Drama Association expanded is playbill about 12 years ago, Warren said, as waning bus travel began to cut into the number of out-of-state visitors to My Old Kentucky Home and to the Foster musical.
The new productions boost the draw from regional audiences, who may not want to see repeat performances of the Foster musical year after year, will turn out for fresh productions, Warren said.
The amphitheater setting is also a strong draw, he said. “There’s just something about the great outdoors” that makes a musical special.
Posted on Feb 8, 2011 by Bill Wolfe
