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theatre by Maureen Curtis I f the w o r d s " U n c l e R a n d y P r o d u c t i o n s " c o n j u r e up images of a C o l o n e l S a n d e r s - t y p e f e l l o w in a w h i t e suit and a b u n d a n t m a t c h i n g facial hair, y o u ' v e g o t it all w r o n g . T h e main p e r s o n b e h i n d U n c l e Randy P r o d u c t i o n s is a 2 5 - y e a r - o l d f e l l o w w i t h a ready grin and a Jean Luc P i c a r d haircut. H i s n a m e is R i c h a r d B e r g . H e and a v e r y loyal g r o u p of f r i e n d s , p e r f o r m e r s , and f a m ily m e m b e r s are w h a t U n c l e R a n d y P r o d u c t i o n s is all a b o u t . O n A p r i l 9, U n c l e R a n d y P r o d u c t i o n s is p r e s e n t i n g a c o n c e r t c e l e b r a t i n g five years of musical t h e atre w o r k , i n c l u d i n g Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, a n d Godspeil. E v e r y p e r s o n e v e r i n v o l v e d -- s o m e 106 a c t o r s , singers, and d a n c e r s (many of t h e m c h i l d r e n ) , 96 p r o d u c t i o n c r e w m e m b e r s , and 3 8 m u s i c i a n s -- h a v e b e e n invited t o r e t u r n f o r this o n e night review. U n c l e R a n d y P r o d u c t i o n s w i l l also i n t r o d u c e its u p c o m i n g p r o j e c t . The Wizard of Oz, o p e n i n g this N o v e m b e r . Uncle Randy Productions-- Celebrating Five Years of Musical Theatre p h e n o m e n o n in the t o u g h w o r l d of t h e a t r e , w h e r e it's hard f o r a y o u n g p e r s o n t o get s t a r t e d and even t o u g h e r t o put o n a profitable s h o w . T h e r e is an a d d e d p r o b l e m with N o r t h Shore audiences, which tend to drop their entertainm e n t dollars a c r o s s t h e water. W o r k i n g t o dispel t h e n o t i o n that "if it's o n t h e N o r t h S h o r e , it can't b e v e r y g o o d , " B e r g has managed t o put o n s o m e of the m o s t p r o f e s s i o n a l - q u a l ity a m a t e u r p r o d u c t i o n s in t h e L o w e r Mainland, according to f o r m e r Centennial Theatre director Oksana D e x t e r . " B e r g has an uncanny eye f o r identifying talent a n d t h e ability t o b r i n g p e o p l e t o g e t h e r and get t h e best o u t o f t h e m , " she n o t e s . Twelve years ago, w h e n 13-year-old B e r g m a d e his inauspicious entrance into A u r o r a Reale's g r a d e eight d r a m a class at B a l m o r a l High School, there w e r e n o visions o f a c a r e e r in t h e a t r e d a n c i n g in his h e a d . "I w a s t o o c l u m s y for shop and not athletic e n o u g h f o r s p o r t s , " jokes B e r g , w h o had b e e n headed for a c a r e e r in e n g i n e e r ing at t h e t i m e . N o t a born perR* Cr)t Janet Ogliotti (I) and Carrie Lehman 1996 enjoyed their rotes in I n t o T h e W o o d s . k n o w n f o r giving e v e r y o n e a c h a n c e t o perform. "I give h i m c r e d i t f o r getting t h e a t r e t o be a v e r y cool thing at B a l m o r a l . " says Reale. A t t h e same t i m e , B e r g c r e d i t s Reale w i t h helping h i m and many o t h e r students become confident.Their friendship is s o c l o s e that B e r g r e c e n t l y asked Reale t o be his best man at his u p c o m ing m a r r i a g e t o a c t r e s s - s i n g e r - t e a c h e r Carrie Lehman. A s a s t u d e n t , B e r g d i s c o v e r e d that he really liked t o bring all the aspects of a t h e a t r i c a l p r o d u c t i o n together. In 1994, he and s o m e g o o d friends f r o m his B a l m o r a l days d e s p e r a t e l y w a n t e d t o put o n a big s h o w f o r a w i d e a u d i e n c e . A t a pizza party/planning s e s s i o n , they s k e t c h e d o u t plans f o r t h e p r o d u c t i o n of Jesus Christ Superstar o n t h e backs of a c o u p l e o f placemats. Family f r i e n d " U n c l e R a n d y " R a n d o l p h B r o w n said he w o u l d help the " k i d s " m a k e it happen o n t h e c o n d i t i o n that Berg's m o t h e r , Ev, j o i n e d h i m as p r o d u c e r . T h e c o m p a n y was n a m e d after B r o w n , w h o d o e s n ' t have a w h i t e whisker o n him. A t the time, no one was l o o k i n g f u r t h e r ahead than Jesus Christ Superstar. Ev B e r g , w h o has since c o n t i n u e d as p r o d u c e r of U n c l e Randy shows, was terribly disappointed w h e n Berg d r o p p e d o u t o f sciences at university. Already, anticipat i o n is building a m o n g s t local performers for the auditions to be h e l d in J u n e . To be p a r t of an Uncle Randy creation means b e i n g i n v o l v e d in high-quality a m a teur work. The fact that B e r g has a t e n d e n c y to toss resumes aside and instead l o o k f o r r a w talent in an a u d i t i o n is also v e r y attractive to younger perf o r m e r s w h o lack credits. "I've taken s o m e btg chances o n p e o p l e , and f o r t h e m o s t p a r t they have paid off," says B e r g . U n c l e R a n d y P r o d u c t i o n s is a f o r m e r , he s o o n b e c a m e fascinated w i t h t h e many o t h e r facets o f t h e a t r i c a l production. A f t e r graduating to C a r s o n G r a h a m S c h o o l . B e r g kept r e t u r n i n g t o B a l m o r a l t o help o u t . H e is still a fixt u r e in the d r a m a d e p a r t m e n t and is