May 28, June 3, 4, 10, 11, 1967
Paint Your Wagon, a lively musical by Lerner and Loewe, is the story of Ben Rumson and his "almost growed-up" daughter Jennifer, who are searching for gold in California in 1853. One woman in a camp full of miners can lead to quite a few problems.
During Paint Your Wagon a small snake, apparently making its home near the seating area, ventured out during a performance. One man hastily threw it toward the stage. The snake, not very aerodynamic, flew only a few rows, landing beside a woman who hated snakes. She panicked. A man sitting nearby threw the snake into the bushes. On one side of the Theatre was pandemonium, while on the other side necks craned to see what was happening. On stage, Ray Puddicombe, in the role of a Mormon, and his two wives were on their knees singing. They could see perfectly what was happening. Two of them maintained their stage presence, but one wife could not contain her laughter. Years later director Earl Kelly still used this as a cautionary tale on the importance of maintaining stage presence no matter what happens.
A member of the cast, on a trip to Eastern Washington picked up a good supply of tumbleweed to better establish the mood of the set. With the help of an electric fan, the tumbleweed dramatically rolled across the stage, to the delight of the audience.
The stage crew must have had an incredibly difficult task. They had two different animal props, a horse and a donkey. In addition, there were a whole set of flats to move on and off. They set up a town scene and a stable scene with multiple 'buildings' to set up. Then they had to be moved off for the outdoor scenes.
