Young Hearts Theatre Breathes New Life Into the Stage

The people who make up Young Hearts Theatre know singing, dancing and camaraderie aren’t just for the young. Young Hearts Theatre began in 1979 under the direction of George Partridge, a man whose heart was deeply embedded in the dramatic arts, having produced and directed shows at Bowman Field during World War II that featured both servicemen and civilians. In forming Young Hearts Theatre, he wanted to create an opportunity for people aged 60 and older to sing, dance, act and entertain others.

He soon began collaborating with Eloise Terry, a veteran of WHAS television and radio and a ballroom dancer, with whom he had worked coordinating USO shows. When Partridge’s health began to diminish, she became the director and choreographer of Young Hearts Theatre. Though Terry passed away in 2019 (at age 103), her memory lives on among current members who now take turns directing and choreographing shows. Two current members, Willa Fougnie and Carol Fessler, even co-wrote a show in Terry’s honor called “A Toast to Eloise,” which was performed the year she died.

Any group that has been around for close to 50 years has seen its fair share of changes. The rehearsal location has changed since its inception, as has the number of shows performed each year. In the first 13 months of the group’s existence, it put on 26 shows at various locations throughout Louisville. Eventually the group changed focus to perform a new show every other month (except during winter months); now they perform twice a year. The mission of the group, however, hasn’t altered at all: to entertain audiences for free, especially seniors who are on a fixed income.

The group’s leadership is a 12-member board (each of whom serves a three-year term), which makes decisions for the group to align with their status as a charity and their mission. The board decides which shows get produced and when.

Fougnie, who turns 92 years young in August and is the group’s music director, says group members can write shows and submit them to the board for review. If a show gets board approval, it can be produced, and “if it’s a good show, we may do it again,” she says. Fougnie herself has written or co-written at least six shows for Young Hearts Theatre over the years.

While some of the group’s performances are variety shows, many others follow a narrative with music interspersed. The songs are selected by the writer and efforts have to be made to get permission to use them, although many of the songs they use for shows no longer have copyrights because they are so old.

Young Hearts Theatre’s next performance is called “The Church at Hidden Creek,” a funny musical written and directed by 87-year-old Fessler, another longtime member of the group. Fessler actually wrote the show in 2013, and because it was so well-received, the Young Hearts team decided to put it on again.

Fessler has a lifelong interest in performance and says she actually met her husband in 1959 while both were doing theater. Throughout their married life they performed separately and together, and joined Young Hearts Theatre in 2007. One of the things she says she likes most about being involved with Young Hearts, and especially about writing and directing shows, is that “it keeps your mind going. It keeps you sharp. You have to lay out where actors are going and what they’re doing.”

She isn’t the only person in Young Hearts Theatre to get a cognitive benefit from the performances. The members are not only memorizing songs, but they are also memorizing their respective lines, as well as where they are supposed to stand and move while on stage. It takes a lot of focus and mental acuity to do this.

When the group meets to block each act in preparation for a show, it takes a bit of imagination to get a sense of exactly what the show might look like on stage because they don’t practice on a stage until the week of the show. All meetings are held twice a week for three hours at Hikes Point Christian Church, except during opening-week rehearsals. At a recent practice, some 25 members gathered with their binders in hands, listening as Fessler instructed them on where they need to be on stage, and offering help on their lines.

This year’s show, “The Church at Hidden Creek,” is about a congregation getting a new preacher, and it has some real zingers, including a line about obedient women being in all corners of the world. This is followed by the observation that “God made the earth round.” Congregants also accuse someone of “gluteny” as opposed to “gluttony,” a verbal faux pas sure to get laughs.

Richard Ray, age 73, has been associated with Young Hearts Theatre since its inception, in part because his mother was one of the original members. For him, Young Hearts has really been a family affair because his older sister was also involved with the group. While he loves to sing, he also serves as producer of “The Church at Hidden Creek,” which means he is the tech guy. “I handle the tech stuff – the sounds and lights to get the effect the director wants,” he says. While he did some theater in high school, he says he is really very introverted, but something happens when he’s on stage. “You can be someone else,” he says.

Barbara Sutherland, age 83, has been performing with Young Hearts Theatre for about four years and says she loves the social aspect of the group. While she minored in music in college and sings in her church choir, being around others is the main draw for her. “I’m one of those people who don’t like to be sitting at home,” she says. “I like to keep moving.”

Movement is part and parcel of a Young Hearts Theatre show. During practices, members are standing, sitting and moving around the space, and while they may not be moving fast, they are moving for six or more hours a week while getting a show ready. During a recent meeting for an upcoming show, there was time on the schedule allotted for practicing clogging, which will be included in the show.

In addition to putting on a show twice a year, Young Hearts Theatre also sponsors a scholarship, called the Eloise Terry Scholarship. This financial-need diversity scholarship helps ensure that a child who wants to attend Sacred Heart School for the Arts classes can do so. This feat is pretty amazing given that the group never charges for tickets to its shows. Fougnie says the group “survives through donations,” which help cover the costs of insurance, a storage unit for costumes and props, and other expenses associated with putting on performances.

While the group’s goal is to give seniors a chance to see a fun show for free, the performances are family friendly, which is often why audiences are so generous with donations at the conclusion of a performance. In the past several years, shows have run the gamut, from vaudeville variety shows to cabaret to a production called “Westward Ho!” A particularly well-loved show called “The Frisky Fifties” was performed in 2022.

Young Hearts Theatre doesn’t require that any member have a background in music, dancing or theater; it’s a plus if they do, but it isn’t necessary. Members may have taught drama in their professional lives, performed with other amateur groups, or simply enjoy musical performance. Most everyone involved with Young Hearts Theatre would say the most essential factor isn’t what they bring to the group, but rather what they get from participating: an opportunity to tap into their joie de vivre!