The Growth of Theater in Tamarindo

     From its first production three years ago, Beach Nuts Theater Company has been a work in progress. Headed by Paul Belanger, the ensemble

 broke ground with their production of Cinderella. As with any new business in Tamarindo, they needed to prove their credibility. Paul felt that

getting children, young adults and their parents involved in a community production could only be a good thing. He was correct and incrementally, through the following productions of Peter Pan and Snow White, he has been embraced by Tamarindo. To be sure, there have been skinned knees and sleep lost along the way, as the theater learned through trial and error what worked and what didn’t work so well. Paul has a treasure trove of stories and he is happy to share these anecdotes.

     The theater’s most recent production of Scrooge was a defining moment, a series of hurdles for the Beach Nuts. Presented the final weekend of last November at the lovely Diria Amphitheater, where all the shows have taken place, Paul’s plan was to tie-in Thanksgiving with the premier, offering a package that included dinner at the Diria restaurant. Paul chuckled when I asked him about this. As it turned out, it was the first time in quite a while that a Beach Nuts presentation didn’t sell out. “Everyone kept telling me, ‘no, no, No!’” he mused, “but I wouldn’t listen. I’ll certainly never try that again!” In Paul’s defense, he’s Canadian…My dear old dad used to say, “It’s not a mistake if you don’t do it twice.”  

     The next night, Friday, nearly sold out, with show time at 7:00 p.m. It was raining lightly around 5:30 and reached an unseasonably late downpour at about 6:00. Ever the trooper (the show must go on!), Paul was able to calm everyone down and the rain actually stopped before curtain call; the audience was seated and the cast delivered a fantastic show (see below). Saturday, the closer, included revamping the entrance and lounge/bar, headed by Barry and Suzy of the wonderful educational organization Abriendo Mentes. By then, it was old hat, modifications were made and the show left the audience standing on their feet, cheering.  

     And what a show it was. At every show I have attended, I’ve been impressed with the level of professionalism combined with the family and community feel. Margo Wilson has bloomed onstage and had a magnetism that gelled in her portrayal of Christmas Present. Ella Haun as Tiny Tim was magical, hooking the entire audience right in. Rita Carmona portrayed an impressive Jacob Marley and Scott Muller fully embraced the lead character of Scrooge. Paul turned in his customary, slightly campy performance, full of local references, this time as Lottie, the housekeeper. The young actors showed their versatility, some playing more than one role in this presentation; Simone, Cynthia, Jessica, Shany, Olivia, Annika, Luke, Colin, Rebecca, Kyra, Abbie and Maddy: great job, all of you!

     The band did an exceptional job accompanying the actors, with Matthias on his steady bass, Jose Pinel as a complete percussionist, Darwin Akin on tasty electric guitar, Kristi Akin all over the keyboard and Elizabeth Gunton-Bunn rounding it out on acoustic guitar. And as always, the off-stage contribution was huge and slick, from the stage and set and prop crews, to the incredible lighting, the PR, patient production by Gayle Almquist, costumes, Vicki Goodloe handling ticket distribution, the sound production crew: everyone involved exemplified a collective team spirit and community consciousness that equaled an overall commanding success. And a few hurdles were cleared along the way. Beach Nuts looks to be firmly entrenched in the community, having proven their worth in dealing with their latest series of obstacles and emerging stronger for it.