FSCC offers road trips to variety of stage shows

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Fort Scott Community College will offer plenty of opportunities throughout the next year for community members and others to enjoy theatrical productions and other entertainment.

Each year, FSCC sponsors a variety of events related to theater and cultural arts. Participants will be able to choose from productions in Kansas City and Branson. The schedule of shows this year includes "The Love List," "The Sunshine Boys," "Sylvia," "A Branson Christmas," "Lend Me a Tenor," "No Way to Treat a Lady," "The Odd Couple," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and "Honky Tonk Angels." Many of the shows will be performed at the American Heartland Theatre and the New Theatre Restaurant.

Pam Hightower, an employee at the college who coordinates the bus trips, said she makes the schedule of shows based on input from community members who return a questionnaire that she distributes each year.

Hightower said there are about 40 people of varying ages and towns on each outing. While most of the participants are from Fort Scott, others hail from various nearby towns.

"We have sisters, husbands and wives, grandparents taking their grandchildren ... some people are retired and some are still working. It really is a mix."

Hightower said FSCC also offers "A Branson Christmas," a popular trip that is scheduled for Dec. 10-12. Highlights of this trip include shopping, the Titanic Museum, "Yakov's Moscow Circus," "The Osmonds," "Pierce Arrow Show," "Christmas with Tony Orlando and the Lennon Sisters," and dinner at some of the best restaurants in Branson.

"They love musicals, anything with music and dancing," Hightower said. "That trip is almost full already ... they like the humor. They like the families. They like Branson."

All outings will be made on a chartered bus, and reservations must be paid 30 days in advance. For more information on availability, cost, and how to make a reservation, call Hightower at (620) 768-2908, extension 31.

Hightower said there has already been a positive response this year to the trips, and many are nearly full, so people who are interested in making one or more of the trips should make reservations as soon as possible.

"A lot of the shows are filling up fast," she said. "A good amount have already signed up so the sooner they call, the better."

Fort Scott community College provides the trips each year as a community service, Hightower said.