When Connie Mack Overstreet’s pals are playing under the harsh sunlight on a baseball diamond, the child actor is on a different type of platform. Overstreet, 13, who was named after the legendary baseball manager with the most wins and losses in major league baseball history, is at home under the lights of a stage.

LISTEN TO THE RADIO INTERVIEW HERE Cast and creatives perform songs from the regional premiere and discuss its charms Jillian Kehne, Troy Nickerson, Connie Mack Overstreet and Jerrod Phelps joined E.J. Iannelli in the KPBX studio to give details on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The production, which is a regional premiere of the 2013 musical,

Spokane Civic Theatre has renewed "National Pastime," a play from Spokane playwright Bryan Harnetiaux, which tells the story of Jackie Robinson, who made history as the first black athlete signed to a Major League Baseball team 75 years ago. Tickets are $10 for students, $25 for adults and can be purchased online at the Theatre's website! Spokane

Buck O’Neil nailed it while sitting in the KXLY studio in 2003 when he reminisced about Jackie Robinson breaking major league baseball’s color line in 1947. “When (Brooklyn Dodgers President) Branch (Rickey) signed Jackie to that contract, that was the beginning of the civil rights movement,” O’Neil said O’Neil, who became the first African-American coach

Spokane, Wash. - National Pastime, an award-winning play, is returning to Spokane this week for the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's historic MLB debut. As a part of the newly introduced Major League Baseball campaign, "The Nine", meant to celebrate and honor the impact of black baseball pioneers and further diversify the business of baseball, the

The very first scene that playwright Bryan Harnetiaux wrote for his play National Pastime was also its most severe. Although it's often referred to in euphemistic shorthand as "the office scene," the first-act finale depicts the real-life episode in which Branch Rickey, then club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, met with a 26-year-old Black baseball

LISTEN TO THE RADIO INTERVIEW HERE The director, playwright and cast members preview a play about Jackie Robinson Kimberly Ridgeway, Tré Terry and Bryan Harnetiaux entered the KPBX studio with E.J. Iannelli to talk about Harnetiaux's play National Pastime. The play recounts Jackie Robinson's historic breaking of the baseball color barrier and the toll that civil

Jukebox musicals have a reputation for flimsy narratives but are often buoyed by a hit parade of songs. But “Jersey Boys,” which opens this weekend and runs through March 26 at the Spokane Civic Theatre, has the tunes and the story, albeit an unlikely tale. There were a myriad of lads singing on the street

It's been over 50 years since four boys from Jersey formed the hit 1960s band The Four Seasons, but their story continues inspiring audiences around the globe. That story is being told once again as the four-time Tony-Award winning musical from Broadway comes to the Spokane Civic Theatre's main stage. It's rare for a community theater

No one needs to explain to Melody Deatherage and Kathie Doyle-Lipe how much heavy lifting is required to pull off “Parallel Lives.” The Spokane Civic Theatre veterans, who are the only actors in the production, are well aware that they will portray a myriad of characters since they starred in “Parallel Lives” six years ago

For Kathie Doyle-Lipe and Melody Deatherage, there's a whiff of déjà vu to their upcoming performance of Parallel Lives, opening this weekend on the Spokane Civic Theatre's main stage for a limited run. "We actually put this up six years ago for Lake City Playhouse as they were getting restarted. And then Civic approached us later about maybe

The Spokane Civic Theatre's production of THE 39 STEPS, opening Jan. 20, promises to carry audiences through a rollicking tale of romance, espionage and murder. With just a handful of actors tackling more than a hundred parts, the show, which originated in London in 2006 and became one of the West End's longest-running shows, has since delighted

Bryan Harnetiaux has served as Spokane Civic Theatre’s playwright-in-residence since 1982. Over the course of four decades, Harnetiaux has written more than 40 plays ranging from single-act to full-length, 13 of which have been published. Expanded from a shorter play of the same name, Harnetiaux’s “Exile” opened Friday at Spokane Civic Theatre. Retired from the

Bryan Harnetiaux has been penning plays for the Civic for four decades. In the theater world, playwrights-in-residence are writers who commit themselves to a particular venue for a set period of time. It's intended to be a symbiotic relationship, with the theater giving the playwright access to the resources needed to bring a