Drumheller is about  to yee-haw for the latest musical to hit the stage at Kaleidoscope Theatre.
    Over the past month, the cast and crew of Kaleidoscope Theatre’s latest production have been hard at work rehearsing, building sets, and singing and dancing up a storm for Oklahoma!, which premiers on Wednesday, July 17.

Phil Wolters, left, and Ashley Turner star as Will Parker and Ado Annie, who come together in true love in the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Oklahoma! Kaleidoscope Theatre is going into the final dress rehearsals for its latest production and the curtain will rise on Wednesday, July 17, for opening night.

    With less than a week before opening night, the cast and crew are putting the finishing touches on the play and are doing the final dress rehearsals. Sitting in the director’s chair is theatre veteran Becky Neuman.
    The show stars Eric Neuman as Curly McLain, the cowboy with a heart of gold, as he tries to win the heart of Laurey Williams, played by Darby Andrus. Between the two stands the imposing and dangerous Jud Fry, played by The inSide Drumheller’s very own Devon Syvertsen.
    In addition to the love triangle of Curley, Laurey, and Jud, the show follows the efforts of Will Parker, played by Phil Wolters, as he tries to win the affections of the flirtatious Ado Annie, played by Ashley Turner. Unbeknownst to Will, Ado has another suitor, the womanizing Ali Hakim, a travelling peddler brought to life by Kaleidoscope veteran Warren Nichols.
    Interspersed throughout the story are great songs that range from the humourous to ones that tug on the heart strings. Some of the most iconic include “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin,” “People Will Say We’re in Love,” and the titular “Oklahoma!”
    The cowboy classic was penned by musical theatre powerhouses Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein in 1943. Since then, it has become one of the most critically acclaimed and successful American musicals.
    Oklahoma! is the first summer production by Kaleidoscope Theatre since the troupe did Hello Dolly several years ago. Kaleidoscope’s most recent musical was The Sound of Music in the fall of 2011.
    For a chance to win tickets to the play see the Oklahoma! contest in the latest editions of The Drumheller Mail and inSide Drumheller.

After months of work by tourism stakeholders in Drumheller, a new destination marketing organization (DMO) for the town may be ready in the near future.
    A new name has been chosen for the group; Travel Drumheller. Upon formalizing the group, they will be eligible for funding from Travel Alberta.
    “We’re pretty close to moving forward on the Travel Drumheller Marketing Association. We’ve come up with a tentative structure,” said Paul Salvatore, Director of Community Services with the Town of Drumheller.
    To become fully operational, the group has recruited an executive director to take the helm.
    “This is a critical piece for the organization to move forward. It will put us in a good position to take advantage of more opportunities in tourism in the future. He has an incredible amount of enthusiasm and experience in business and not-for-profits. We had a good level of comfort with his application and the ideas he brought to the table,” said Salvatore.

Chris Curtis
New executive director of Travel Drumheller

    Chris Curtis, the new executive director, feels he can bring another perspective to the marketing efforts of Drumheller.
    “I was really excited. I’ve been to Drumheller twice and the second time I was really overwhelmed by the scenery. It’s a beautiful and unique place,” said Curtis. “I think I can bring a unique perspective. I’ve travelled all over the world and worked in 45 different countries. Quite often, if you live close to something, you don’t see the beauty that other people, like a tourist, might see.”
    Curtis is preparing to make the move from Halifax. Upon arriving, he will start by engaging tourism sector businesses and see how best to move forward from there.
    “I’ve done a lot of work helping get into the tourism business as entrepreneurs,” said Curtis. “The best thing to do is to talk to people in the community and find, from those discussions, what needs to happen. I have some ideas, but it needs to be driven by the community and it’s my job to see that it happens.”
    Early estimates had the organization up and running this summer. The timeline has been pushed back slightly and the organization will move ahead once Curtis arrives in Drumheller.