Technically, I started at Plant City High School,” said Coy Permenter, Director of the upcoming Plant City Entertainment (PCE) Mel Books Musical Young Frankenstein. “It’s where I met my wife. We did our first show together back in the 80s. Someone told me there was a play going on at HCC, and that I should see it. So, I saw a couple of shows, and thought ‘I like that. I want to do that,’ and I got started in 1990.”
Permenter put his desire to work in Plant City. He has been working with PCE since 1990. “I was on the Board of Managers since the 1990s for 12 years,” he commented. “And I have done it all—directed, acted, run lights—I have literally done it all.”
Permenter chose to put on this musical because he is a big Mel Brooks fan. “We did a Mel Brooks show at Village Players,” he said. “I acted in one of my bucket list roles, which was Leo Bloom in The Producers. I enjoyed that so much that I really got into Mel Brooks movies, and found out there is a musical version of Young Frankenstein. Basically, it is the movie with music.”
PCE held open auditions for the show. “We do give everybody an equal opportunity,” Permenter commented. “I have a lot of stage veterans in the cast, not only in the lead positions, but also in my ensemble. I have an extremely talented ensemble that has also had lead roles in various productions. I was very, very fortunate. I had 43 people audition for this show, and that is just amazing. I expected a little over half that, honestly. So, I was able to make it a bigger production than I anticipated.” There are 35 in the cast and another 15 in the crew and support roles.
The music is already written, but the show takes a lot more than just following the accompanying stage direction. “We have a smaller stage than a lot of theaters do. We don’t have any wing space, so we have to make things happen that you typically would not have to focus on in another theater.”
“I will say that we probably stuck closer to what the movie is, because that is what most people are familiar with,” Permenter said. “However, this is the first time my daughter has ever choreographed anything, and it’s better than I could have hoped for. She has done an amazing job. She has taken my ideas, and she has just really run with it. She has created something very special. It is choreography that is not typical of what I have seen in community theater. She was able to put together some really original routines.”
For nearly two months, the cast and crew has been rehearsing three days a week for two-and-a-half to three hours. Permenter has also spent at least eight hours every Saturday, and every Sunday, at the PCE building. Among other things, he used this time to build the set. “There are people who come and help,” Permenter said. “It is my design, and I oversaw all of the building. I am very fortunate. I have a lot of friends in the theater world who know how to build.” People from other theaters would show up to help. “One thing about community theater—that is probably why I have stayed so long—is that we can belong to other theaters, but we still support each other. I have some friends that I have known since I started theater in 1990 here in Plant City that are very, very good friends—lifelong friends.”
Permenter is the Training Director for a large Tampa corporation. In addition to this full-time job, he estimates he has put 300 hours into making Young Frankenstein. “As much as I have put in, my wife, Kristen, has put in more hours than I have. Kristen is the set decorator, costumed the show, and she also plays the supporting lead role of Frau Blucher.
“Even though we’re a week away, and I think, ‘I will never do this again,’ I always come back, Permenter commented. “I truly enjoy the process, and the finished product. When the audience is leaving and they say, ‘You know, this was so enjoyable. This was just such a release. It was a great way to get away.’ That’s what makes me happy, and that is why I come back and do it every single year—that and the theater people.”
Plant City Entertainment is located at 101 N. Thomas Street, near downtown Plant City.
The Musical Young Frankenstein performance dates are:
September 27 and 28 at 8 p.m.
September 29 at 2 p.m.
October 4 and 5 at 8 p.m.
October 6 at 2 p.m.
To find out more or purchase tickets go to https://www.plantcityentertainment.com