FAYETTEVILLE– Totem Pole Playhouse, founded in 1950 by television Producer Karl Genus and his wife Muriel Benson, is now celebrating its 75th season and ushering in new educational programming, bringing live theater to Pennsylvania and Maryland elementary school students. “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley TYA,” kicks off the program Oct. 14, with sold out private showings Oct. 15,16, & 17, at 10 a.m. and one public Totem Pole performance Oct. 18, at 10:30 a.m. A final performance will be hosted by The Maryland Theatre, Hagerstown, Oct. 21, at 10 a.m., with student tickets still available and an invitation extended to homeschoolers in particular.
The parking lot fills with yellow school buses, spilling out excited elementary schoolers
As a kid growing up in Chambersburg, I could not wait to be old enough to ride a big yellow school bus like my older brother. If I had any idea that those buses sometimes transport students to the theater too, I would have been exponentially more envious.
Totem Pole Artistic Director Ryan Gibbs noted, “More than 1,700 elementary school students will attend ‘Flat Stanley’ performances free of charge, with an additional 400 students attending at up to an 80 percent reduction on the regular ticket price.” Support is provided by Washington County’s Mary K. Bowman Fine Arts Fund in conjunction with multiple organizations managed by The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, which seeks to support community development in South Central Pennsylvania, including funding from the Palmer Family Foundation Fund, Franklin County Community Fund and Arts for All.
Produced by Gibbsology, LLC, “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley TYA” bring to life the well-loved children’s book character, Stanley Lambchop, which Gibbs described as,
“… an ordinary boy who becomes extraordinary when a bulletin board flattens him, sending him on imaginative adventures …”
Introducing the cast of “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley TYA”
Demonstrating the Playhouse’s commitment to regional artists, the cast and crew are comprised of local talent. Hailing from Chambersburg, Jovie Delgado (Shalom Christian Academy) and Lily Snowberger (homeschool) are high schoolers and alumni of Totem Pole’s musical theater summer camps, which have been assembling whirlwind productions with talented young thespians for over 20 years.
Director, Set and Props Designer Luke Reed, a Shippensburg native, inspires young audiences with a preshow speech sharing how he transformed his passions into a career in theater. When he asks the young audience what they think he does as director of the show, a voice rings out, “Owns it!” Once subduing his own chuckle, Reed patiently lends insight surrounding his work leading the show’s production.
Wennick, Wingert, Ulmer, and Shank face family challenge in “Flat Stanley”
Ear plugs may be wise to survive the din of warranted preshow elementary schooler excitability. Students cheer as each school is called out and I feel my own heart swell as Chambersburg’s Buchanan, my alma mater, is named.
There is so much to love about this talented cast. Charlie Wingert as flattened boy Stanley gives a fully dimensional performance, impressively interpreting a unique acting challenge. Ashton Ulmer stirs riotous audience laughter as Stanley’s brother, Arthur, enthused with all things pop culture, from light sabers to Harry Potter, and painfully reaching for popularity at all costs. Adam Shank and Bailey Wennick project like sunrays as parents Mr. and Mrs. Lambchop, beaming unsinkable encouragement in tunes like, “The Funny Sunny Side.”
Whidden as Cartero enrolls Stanley in an interesting prospect
Effectively brimming with oblivious-turned-wise humor, Taylor Whidden as postal carrier Mrs. Cartero, reveals the signature plot twist: that any boy who can be folded like origami can also be folded like a letter … and mailed … anywhere. This catapults Stanley into international adventures.
Jovie Delgado plays Stanley’s Los Angeles-based friend Samantha, distanced from East Coast Stanley and resigned to being pen pals until Stanley discovers the fortuitous aspects of becoming mailable. The ensemble cast transforms into showbiz moguls for Stanley’s Hollywood arrival, where Cartero, now transformed into talent manager, exclaims, “Talent makes the world go ‘round!” Determined to profit from Stanley’s standout predicament, the entourage sends him on an international tour of opportunities.
Stanley takes on Hollywood
Reeled in by newfound fame and traveling by airfare from Paris to Hawaii with the enviable lick of a 25-cent stamp, Stanley finds himself cast in a surf movie, co-starring with Bikini Wahini, played by Lily Snowberger, whose star worthiness shines bright as does the rest of the ensemble as they consistently impress with flexing talent in a diversity of roles.
Reed’s minimalist set design is an imaginative delight, with whimsical turns like a tree constructed out of a ladder and umbrellas. You’ll have to attend for yourself to see how roller sneakers and scooters make an appearance, or to witness the scene of the fateful flattening. A woman of many talents, Chambersburg-based Bailey Wennick is both in the cast and serves as Musical Director.
Wennick, Delgado, Wingert, Shank, and Snowberger resolving a dance number
Choreographer Zoe Sheehan Moore is no stranger to the region, where she’s performed with Hersheypark’s Music Box Theatre and is now kicking up the casts’ heels on the Totem Pole stage. Sound Designer and Primary Audio Engineer Kate Wecker is also an Adjunct Professor of Theatre at Messiah University, spreading her talent across multiple counties. “Flat Stanley” presents Wecker with the uncommon fun of amplifying a display of foley artistry in one scene when the usually hidden mechanisms of sound effects are brought onstage. Lighting Designer Sam Sims artfully utilized playful gobos, casting light patterns that effectively and efficiently immerse the audience in the vibe of Stanley’s destinations.
Costume Designer Elizabeth Angelozzi not only managed to creatively imply Stanley’s one dimensionality, but her iconic designs lend instant comprehension of the many briefly appearing characters, such as the Hollywood mogul entourage, all clad in black power suits and shades. Both wardrobe and production design lend something akin to animation or comic strip aesthetic that appropriately sets the tone for Stanley’s outrageous predicament, including the work of Video Designers Brandon Zalar and Katie Jasmann. Production Manager Kia Armstrong, Stage Manager Rebecca Kleeman, Stagehand Alex Armstrong, and Assistant Stage Manager and Followspot Operator Olivia Snowberger rounded out the support team.
All are excited to unveil a new addition to the stage: a 20’ x 12’ LED video wall that takes the Totem Pole experience to new heights. Built from thousands of individual LEDs in 48 tiles, this special element is created in partnership with 4Wall Entertainment, Penn State University Scene Shop and Chris Russo, with sponsorship by the J. William Warehime Foundation, the Alexander Stewart, M.D. Foundation and the Sharon T. Cline Foundation.
While Managing Director Fern-Marie Aames pointed out that this new feature offers great potentials to enhance elaborate production design in relatively small stage space, “creating new scenic depth and expanding the cyc[lorama],” Gibbs said that it also allows tightly budgeted shows like “Flat Stanley” to capably exist, travel, and quickly turn over.
LED video wall provides dimension and efficient scene building by Zalar and Jasmann
Artistic Director emeritus William H. Putch first introduced programming for and with young people through Totem Pole with his invention of the Tadpole Players, which Gibbs described as “kids doing shows for kids in regional schools.”
Photo courtesy of John Putch
Totem Pole Playhouse has been presenting sponsor-subsidized holiday programming to nearly 2,000 middle school students for decades. Generations have delighted in attending Carl Schurr and Wil Love’s adaptation of Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol,” performed at Gettysburg’s Majestic theatre, featuring a blend of local and guest artists. For many students of the region, Totem Pole’s educational programming marks their introduction to live theater. Rest assured that, though “A Christmas Carol” won’t return this holiday season (in lieu of “Million Dollar Quartet Christmas”), it will be back in 2026, as Totem Pole enters a rotational approach with holiday programming, offering “A Christmas Carol” every other year.
Also know that this new student programming for elementary-aged students is an addition, not a replacement, of the ongoing middle school program.
“Flat Stanley” cast member and Musical Director Bailey Wennick (formerly Hovermale) was surprised by a unique marriage proposal onstage during the curtain call of the 2024 final public performance of “A Christmas Carol” (wherein she played Young Scrooge’s love interest), vowing to marry fellow thespian Adam Wennick, forging the couples’ commitment to build love and family around their lives in the theater.
Adam Wennick proposes to Bailey Hovermale, photo credit: Wennick/Hovermale Family
Totem Pole’s family affair is well-established, including the famed Totem Pole clan of William H. Putch, Jean Stapleton and their showbiz children, John and Pamela.
Photo courtesy of John Putch
Former theater power couple, Producing Artistic Director Carl Schurr and Associate Artistic Director Wil Love, constructed their family out of theater artists. Current Artistic Director Ryan Gibbs is joined by his performer wife Amy Decker and two sons. Eldest son, Anderson Gibbs, made his Totem Pole debut in the 2025 Creative Dramatics Camp.
Family spirit and leadership are alive and well in the Playhouse, with familiar names like the Wakefields, Spangs, Snowbergers and Bowens, including third generation General House Manager Lauren Bowen. Aames proudly noted, “So many people have met and started their families here.”
Satisfied students leaving the theater, photo credit: Kathleen Davison
How is the rollout of programming for the youngest of Totem Pole theater families being received? There is no question of audience approval, as children who never heard of a standing ovation leap to their feet to applaud “Flat Stanely.” Don’t miss your very limited opportunity to experience this family values-based show with a rollicking cast for the Oct. 18, 10:30 a.m. public performance at Totem Pole Playhouse, 9555 Golf Course Road, with free ticketing by reservation through www.totempoleplayhouse.org or by calling the box office at 717-352-2164. $10. tickets are available for the closing Maryland Theatre, 21 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown, Oct. 21, 10 a.m. performance by calling the Totem Pole box office at 717-352-2164 and selecting option 1.
Come join the theater family and embark on Stanley’s adventures!
Production Photo Credit: Andy Smetzer
