The Lost Treasures Collection, a series of rarely performed musical gems, continues its thirteenth season at Lakewood Theatre Company on its Side Door Stage with the musical Celebration, April 14-15, 2023. This year’s theme, in honor of Lakewood’s 70th Anniversary Season, is “Celebrating Shows Once Performed at Lakewood Theatre Company.” The shows in the Lost Treasures series are staged in a concert/cabaret style, and are presented script-in-hand with minimal staging. No sets, no props and free from the usual trappings of a fully staged production.
 
Celebration will have only three performances: Friday, April 14 at 7:00 PM and Saturday, April 15 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Celebration is a musical with book and lyrics by Tom Jones and lyrics by Harvey Schmidt. It was originally produced on the Broadway stage in 1969. At Lakewood Theatre, the production was originally staged in April of 1978.
 
Lakewood’s 2023 production is directed by Dennis Corwin and the musical director is Jeffrey Michael Kauffman. Performances are on Lakewood Theatre’s Side Door stage at Lakewood Center for the Arts in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The Lost Treasures series sponsor is Fritz Camp, and the curatorial sponsor is Jack’s Overhead Door. The playbill sponsor are Ed & Judy McKenney.
 
The Story: The narrator, Potemkin (Sean Ryan Lamb), invites the audience to imagine a cold winter night in the City. It is New Year's Eve and a young Orphan (Sam Green) wanders into the home of the richest man in the world with the goal of convincing him to save the orphanage. Mr. Rich (Bobby Jackson) declares that if the orphan boy can help him feel emotion once again, the orphanage will be restored. All is going well until Mr. Rich and the Orphan battle for the affection of a beautiful fallen Angel (Leia Young). In this age-old struggle between the powers of humanity and Mammon, love, as always, triumphs over the forces of power and greed. Memorable songs include: “Celebration,” “Love Song,” and “Somebody.”
 
The cast of Lakewood’s production also includes Robert Altieri, Melissa Standley, Joey Klei, and Blythe Woodland as revelers.
 
Ticket prices are $20 for all seats. Contact the Lakewood Theatre Box Office at (503) 635-3901 or order online at http://www.lakewood-center.org/
 
Lakewood Theatre Company’s Side Door Stage is located in the Community Meeting Room at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State Street in Lake Oswego. Light food, snacks, and beverages are available to purchase before and during the show.

History of the Show: Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones were a successful musical theatre writing duo from the 1960s to the early 2000s.The duo is best-known for the musical The Fantasticks (1960), which ran for 42 years off-Broadway, from 1960 to 2002 for a total of 17,162 performances. They also collaborated on the 1995 feature film adaptation. Other highly noted productions by Jones and Schmidt include 110 in the Shade (1963), I Do! I Do! (1966), Philemon (1973), The Show Goes On (1997), and Roadside (2001).
 
Celebration opened on Broadway on January 22, 1969, at the Ambassador Theatre, and closed on April 26, 1969, after 109 performances and thirteen previews. Directed by Jones and choreographed by Vernon Lusby, the cast featured Ted Thurston as Rich, Susan Watson as Angel and Keith Charles as Potemkin, with Michael Glenn-Smith as Orphan. Ed Wittstein designed the scenic design, costumes, and lighting.

THE FACTS IN BRIEF:
 
What?
Lakewood Theatre Company presents the musical Celebration.
A young orphan stumbles into the home of the richest man in the world, whose bizarre entourage includes a beautiful fallen Angel. With the orphan’s help, the jaded Mr. Rich regains his humanity, only to find himself locked in a ritualistic battle with the youth for Angel’s love. The Lost Treasures series sponsor is Fritz Camp, and the curatorial sponsor is Jack’s Overhead Door.
 
Where?       
LAKEWOOD THEATRE COMPANY
Side Door Stage: A 90-seat cabaret stage at Lakewood Center for the Arts.
Location: 368 S. State Street, Lake Oswego, OR 97034.
 
When?
Runs:  Three performances only – Friday, April 14, 2023, at 7:00 PM and Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM.
 
Ticket Reservations:
503-635-3901 or online at http://www.lakewood-center.org/
 
Tickets:
$20 All seats.
 
LAKEWOOD THEATRE COMPANY WEBSITE:  https://lakewood-center.org/  
 

About Lakewood Theatre Company
 
70 Years of Live Theatre: Founded as a not-for-profit organization in 1952, Lakewood Theatre Company is a professional theatre dedicated to the study and presentation of drama in all its forms; the training and development of actors; and the creation, maintenance, and operation of a theatre in which to present plays and other forms of entertainment. Lakewood Theatre Company is the oldest continually operated, not-for-profit theatre company in the Portland Metropolitan area. It annually provides theatre artists opportunities to learn and display their craft and attracts more than 35,000 people to its shows.
 
— 70th Season —
Productions in the 2022-23 season are underwritten, in part, by
The Regional Arts & Culture Council
The Oregon Arts Commission
The National Endowment for the Arts
The Kinsman Foundation
The James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation
Marilyn & Ron Nutting
M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust
The Jackson Foundation
The Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation
Media Sponsor: The Oregonian, Powering OregonLive