NORTHWOODS NIGHTCAP
A Music and Humor Variety Hour
Hosted by Doc Heide and Lee Becker
JULY 17 @ 10PM
READ MEDIA REVIEWS
Northwoods Nightcap is AFT’s high-energy late-night comedy and song showcase---sort of Prairie Home Companion without the prairie or the home. Presented on select Friday nights from 10 to 11 PM, the 
show features talented guest artists, comical commercials, and special appearances from AFT characters. The Door County Advocate described it as “absolutely hilarious, soulful and astounding.”
This summer there will be one Nightcap, on July 17 at 10 PM. At press time, scheduled guests include Eric Lewis and Tommy Burroughs (both winners of the Best String Player Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), longtime AFT singer-songwriter Chris Irwin, Heritage Ensemble alumni Deb Fett, Tim McNurlen, and Gerald Pelrine, and other performers. Tim will sing his fabled version of “No Irish Need Apply” and Deb will do “Someone Untied the Moon”. There’ll also be a Heritage Ensemble Song of the Week (reviving the stirring music of AFT¹s predecessor troupe), plus the Pickled Joke of the Week and other surprises. Mark your calendars---then before you hit the sack, kick back and have a Northwoods Nightcap!
Adults: $10, Children (16 and under): $5 - No Reservations, Cash At The Door.
Northwoods Nightcap is sponsored by
SUB EXPRESS at SISTER BAY MOBIL
“The Restaurant with Gas Pumps”
&
THE POTTERS WHEEL STUDIO & GALLERY
Reviews
Door County Advocate - Resorter Reporter
Folklore Theatre offers a tasty "Nightcap"
MARTY LASH - August 23-29, 2006
The night of Aug. 18, American Folklore Theatre offered a special concert titled “Northwoods Nightcap,” which was a benefit for the company.
This very enjoyable impromptu event was a variety program and included various songs, gags and comic acts by the company’s best.
Doc played one of my favorite songs, “If They Made My Life A Movie.” I can relate to its lyrics, as it tells of a person who spends hours watching films; apparently one of Doc’s favorite pastimes and mine as well.
The song opens with the very recognizable theme from “Star Wars.” If you listen carefully, others can be heard.
AFT had just completed a performance that evening of “Belgians In Heaven” and out came their “angel-in waiting,” Amy Ludwigsen. Still wearing her angelic costume, Ludwigsen was absolutely hilarious as a jokester who needed to tell three good jokes in order to win her wings. She did it! A biting joke about our president drew a very loud roar of laughter from the audience.
Another very funny moment was Scott Wakefield’s rendition of this “Vegetarian Song.” He sings about the woes of a vegetarian who really just wants a good piece of pork. Poor Guy.
Another highlight of the show was the appearance of Monica Heuser. She has been touring the country performing the lead character in a one-woman show “A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline.” Heuser sang a soulful rendition of a Cline favorite, “Walking After Midnight.” The similarity between Cline’s voice and Heuser’s was astounding. She sounded like the real thing.
Later this summer, AFT will offer its traditional end of the season show. This time it will be a tribute to John Prine and will be called “Fish and Whistle: The songs of John Prine.” If this concert is anything like last year’s “The Weavers” tribute, it should be great fun. (A note to AFT, The Weavers show was too short. Could the Prine show be longer?)
The AFT players gave us a sneak preview of the show by singing Prine’s “Paradise.” The song is very touching, and Lee Becker, Wakefield and Eric Lewis performed it with energy and charm. What great guitar players these guys are!
The predecessor of AFT was a company called The Heritage Ensemble. The AFT players sang a wonderful tune from those days titled “The Bigler,” from a show called “Song Of The Inland Seas.”
An AFT event is hardly complete without a Fred Alley song. The group affectionately and lovingly played his “Aurora.” Alley was a great songwriter and is sorely missed but lives on through his timeless, wonderful melodies.
The event was only one hour, as we had to vacate the park by 11pm. I am sure many of us could have sat around and heard more.
Peninsula Pulse
Madcap "Nightcap"
ELLIE JESSUP - August 11-25, 2006
The crew at American Folklore Theatre has set its course to offer a new show to the Door community. Northwoods Nightcap debuted July 21 as the pilot of a late-night variety show on the AFT stage in Peninsula State Park.
What began as a fun idea in the mind of co-founder Fred “Doc” Heide has presented itself as the perfect way to “tap into the talents of other musicians and actors that are underutilized,” says Heide. These talents not only include original music but also improvisational theatre and comedy. The hour-long show is also a celebration of the roots of AFT drawing on music from the Heritage Ensemble and songs by co-founder Fred Alley.
As Heide says, “The first performance was an experiment from beginning to end.” Musicians Eric Lewis, Tommy Burroughs, Chris Irwin and Jimmy Kaplan joined hosts Heide and Lee Becker. Both Lewis and Burroughs are winners of the Premier String Player Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. The audience tapped toes to bluegrass tunes between jokes and stories.
Those on stage were also on their toes at all times with surprise guests joining the fun. Henry from Belgians in Heaven took questions from the crowd and Ernie the Moocher from Guys on Ice showed up with a new ukulele tune and prizes like “the home fishboil kit in a bag” for audience members that could answer a trivia question. Visits from characters from other AFT musicals and performances by local musicians are just some of the recurring themes of the show.
Northwoods Nightcap is being considered as a permanent addition to the AFT repertoire for next season. Always looking for a way to keep musical theater fresh and dynamic, “Nightcap” offers a new atmosphere with its 10pm start time. By letting the actors and musicians have an open stage there is “an opportunity for growth for everyone involved,” Heide says.
This means the audience should be ready for anything as the show will be different every time. The over 260 audience members present for the pilot performance greeted it enthusiastically, giving a standing ovation after the final number.
So mark your calendars for the next Northwoods Nightcap performance Friday, August 18 at 10pm. Guests will include Eric Lewis, Claudia Russell, and Scott Wakefield, all of whom are in the cast of the AFT fall show Fish & Whistle.
Wakefield has appeared both on and off Broadway and has been described by the Chicago Tribune as “James Taylor meets Lyle Lovett meets David Letterman.” Russell has shared the stage with such notables as Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Tish Hinojosa. She was named Best New Artist of the Year in 2000 by WUMB-Boston.
Tickets are available only at the show. Seating is general admission. A park sticker is not required.
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