Y.O. Ranch sets exotic game auction

The 32nd Annual Spring Y.O. Ranch Exotic Game Auction is scheduled for Saturday, April 30, kicking off at noon.

The sale will showcase exotic game offerings for purchase as well as via livestream through DV

Auctions.

With ticket purchase, guests will be treated to unlimited food and drinks, vendor pop-ups with local artisan booths and conclude with a live concert in the ranch’s 1,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, featur-

A celebratory opening night gala is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 29 in the lobby of the Steve W. Shepherd Theater, followed by a performance of the Fredericksburg Theater Company’s (FTC) spring comedy “Lend Me A Tenor.”

The production will have nine performances, running April 29 through May 15, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at the Steve W. Shepherd Theater, 1668 U.S. 87 South.

The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. with food and beverages served in the lobby. Live music will play in the background, as audience members are free to mingle and enjoy the refreshments.

At 7:30 p.m., the curtain rises on “Lend Me A Tenor.” Following the first act, during intermission, desserts will be served in the lobby. All of this is included in the cost of admission to the opening night performance.

The original production was a sensation on Broadway and nominated for nine Tony Awards.

Set in the 1930s, “Lend Me a Tenor” is a screwball comedy that takes place when Tito Merelli, the fiery-tempered and worldfamous Italian superstar, arrives in Cleveland, Ohio to make his debut with the local opera and promptly goes missing.

Cast is Elliot Dooley as Max, Heidi Eubanks as Maggie, David Cummings as Saunders, Pierre Minjauw as Tito, Amy Taylor as Maria, Justin Elliott as Bellhop, Heidi Melton as Diana, and Rhonda Behrends as Julia.

Tickets are on sale now.

Performances are April 29 through May 15, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Admission is $29 for adults, $12 for children 17 and under. Box office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.fredericksburgtheater.org or by calling the box office at 888-669-7114.

Auditions for ‘Forever Plaid’ ing Texas singer/songwriters Ray Wylie Hubbard, Django Walker and Ryan Culwell.

Tickets are available at https://bit.ly/3ENLioI by Daniel Melton. Actors must sign up in advance for a five-minute time slot by calling the theater office at 888-9973588. Auditioners will need to prepare 32 bars of a show tune, or a verse and chorus, either a song from the show or one that best shows vocal range and abilities. A CD player and MP3 hookup will be available. A keyboard and accompanist will also be present. No acapella auditions please.

The Y.O. Ranch is located off Texas Highway 41, 140 miles southwest of Austin.

There will be a brief dance/movement auditions. Actors will also be asked to read scenes from the script. Scripts will be available to be checked out from the FTC Box Office.

Video auditions may also be submitted to Executive Director Steve Reily at fbgtheaterco@verizon.net with the subject line “Forever Plaid Auditions.”

Rehearsals are typically Monday through Friday,

6:30-9 p.m.

Technical/dress rehearsals are Aug. 15-18. Attendance at rehearsals and all performances is mandatory for the cast and crew.

Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18 (preview); 7:30 p.m. Aug. 19, 20, 26, 27 and 2 p.m. Aug. 21 and 28.

About the show

High school pals Sparky, Jinx, Smudge and Francis — the “Plaids” — are a talented “guy group,” just four nice young men who love singing harmony. On the way to their first big gig, tragedy strikes. The young men linger in limbo until the conjunction of various “astro-technical” phenomena allow them to return to Earth, perform their final concert, and hopefully win a place in Heaven — and the deluxe plaid dinner jackets of their dreams.

Auditions for FTC’s summer finale, “Forever Plaid” will be held Saturday, June 11, at 6:30 p.m., and Sunday, June 12, at 2 p.m. at the Steve W. Shepherd Theater. The production will be directed

For more information on the 175th Anniversary Grand Finale Weekend events, visit 175th.org.

Community Worship service slated for Thursday, May 5

The 175th Fredericksburg Anniversary Steering Committee will sponsor a community-wide worship service on Thursday, May 5, at the Fredericksburg High School Auditorium as the kick-off event for the Grand Finale Celebration of the 175th anniversary of Fredericksburg.

“Those of us who have been planning this worship service for over two years are thrilled to finally offer this opportunity for our community, in all its rich diversity of faith traditions, to unite in praise and thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness in shaping the past 175 years and this present moment,” said Planning Team Chair the Rev. Monte Marshall.

The 6 p.m. worship service will feature the combined voices of the Fredericksburg Chorale, directed by September van der Stoel, and the Fredericksburg High School Choir, directed by Ellie Parks, in a performance of the “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Additional music will be provided by a brass ensemble directed by Bill Smallwood, and the Praise Band from Fredericksburg United Methodist Church, led by Don Doss.

Clergy from the community will lead the service. All past and present Fredericksburg pastors are invited to participate in an opening processional, sit together during worship, and lead the congregation back out into the world to conclude the service.

“As we gather for our 175th celebration, we are assured in the scriptures that when we dwell together in unity, it is there that the Lord commands His blessing,” said Senior Pastor the Rev. Jimmy Pruitt of Bridge Church FBG and president of the Gillespie County Ministerial Association.

The sermon, titled “Called to a Far Country,” will be delivered by Dr. Jeryl Hoover.

Hoover served in church ministry from 1981 to 1996.

In addition to Marshall, the 175th Community Worship Planning Team consists of the Reverends Bobby Vitek, Casey Zesch and Rick McMinn. Bob Straus will assist with staging and logistics.

Lester Frantzen of the 175th Fredericksburg Anniversary Steering Committee was the liaison with the Community Worship Planning Team.

The Fredericksburg High School Auditorium is located at 1107 Texas 16 South. Doors to the auditorium will open at 5:30 p.m. Overflow seating and a live stream of the service will be at Bridge Church, 224 FM 2093 (Tivydale Road) by Paige Findley’s Fbg.Live at https://fbg. live/events/.