When the Nutz-n-Boltz Theater Company (NNB) last offered a live production
in front of an audience, they enjoyed the first few performances of Sam
Bobrick’s “Weekend Comedy” in March. But the run ended after six
performances thanks to the coronavirus epidemic, which also cancelled the
theater’s subsequent musical.

But it’s tough to keep a good theater troupe down, and this month NNB is
back with a new staged reading for each of the first four weekends in October.
“It feels good,” said Kelly Lazenby, NNB’s Artistic Director and one of its
founders. “We just decided that we would slowly get our feet wet a little bit.
They are all sort of fanciful and very theatrical.”

The month kicks off with “Through the Looking Glass,” adapted from Lewis
Carroll’s work, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” on Oct. 3-4, featuring
performers Jim Butterfield, Tracey Grant, Melissa Sondergeld Hood, Kaleb
Hood and Justin Lazenby.

On the weekend of Oct. 10-11, George Bernard Shaw and Christopher Morse’s
“Pygmalion” will be read, followed by “Don Juan in Hell,” by Shaw, on Oct. 17-
18 and an evening of Edgar Allen Poe on Oct. 24-25.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays, with
performances taking place at the Boring Grange, 27861 Grange Street in
Boring. Admission is $10, with a special offer of $30 for all four shows, with
tickets only available by reserving online and no sales at the door (any tickets
for performances that are cancelled will be refunded).

Lazenby noted the Grange building makes for a good setup to adhere to social
distancing standards, with seating limited to 30 people per performance and
chairs spread out (families will be permitted to sit together). Face coverings
are required and all seats will be sanitized in between performances.

“There’s a way to do it safely,” Lazenby said, noting the theater did not have
a good way to try and make online offerings work since the pandemic hit. “A
lot of people were really happy when I sent out a press release (announcing
the shows).”

She added that while the theater was dark this summer, that doesn’t mean
that things weren’t busy. She and her husband spent time working on the
Grange building, including painting, refinishing the floor and remodeling the
lobby and kitchen.

“It’s looking pretty spiffy in there,” Lazenby said.

She also noted that there are no plans for the theater to ramp up to full speed

yet, and it will likely depend on when students are allowed to return to in-
person learning at school. She sees potential for doing another reading for the

Christmas season, but conceded that full live performances might not return
until next year.

For more information, or to make reservations, call 503-593-1295 or visit
nnbtheater.com.