Dr. Emphatico's Marvelous & Magical Purely Fantastical Medicine Show
Dr. Emphatico's Marvelous & Magical Purely Fantastical Medicine Show was an original children's musical comedy written and directed by Ken Bradbury, presented by The Dutch Sometimes Theatre and The Jacksonville Theatre Guild. In the spirit of an old traveling medicine show, the play unfolds "somewhere near the center of a town not totally unlike Jacksonville, Illinois — in the middle of the morning," with the silver-tongued Dr. Emphatico (played by Rick Barger) at its center. Ken counted it among the works he was proudest of, recalling this "kids show … it was magic."
The large community cast was led by Rick Barger in the title role, with a young ensemble that included Doug and David Bradbury. Marcia Forman served as musical director and David Zink provided the music.
The exact year of this production has not yet been confirmed for the archive. A full recording survives and is preserved below.
Cast
- Dr. Emphatico — Rick Barger
- Katie Astrouskas
- David Bradbury
- Doug Bradbury
- Brendan Carney
- Camber Carpenter
- Devon Carpenter
- Jackie Clinton
- Kristin Clinton
- Addie Cox
- Amy Donovan
- Stephanie Doyle
- Rebecah Freesen
- Lindsey Stark
- Daryl Johnson
- Rachel Johnson
- Sadie Johnson
- Willie Keithley
- Ronny Kessinger
- Susie Kording
- Brad Manker
- Laura Mattes
- Audra Mawson
- Elisabeth McGinnis
- Lora Moulton
- Christy Nash
- Kristi Schmidt
- Sarah Scott
- Matthew Snodgrass
- Lauren Whalen
- Meghan Whalen
The recording's title cards present the company "STARRING (in alphabetical order)" and close with "and Rick Barger as Dr. Emphatico."
Production Notes
- Written & Directed by Ken Bradbury — confirmed by the recording's title card and by the appearance of the exact full title on Ken's own resume among his original full-length musicals.
- Musical Director: Marcia Forman
- Music: David Zink
- Co-presented by The Dutch Sometimes Theatre and The Jacksonville Theatre Guild, per the opening title card; later JTG programs refer to it as a Jacksonville Theatre Guild production.
- A benefit performance — staged by the Jacksonville Theatre Guild to raise funds for Joanna Caldwell's youth project for North Jacksonville.
- Title variants appear across the primary sources: the canonical form on Ken's resume is Marvelous and Magical, Purely Fantastical Medicine Show; some JTG programs render it as Mystic and Magical Purely Fantastical Medicine Show or Marvelous & Magical, Truly Fantastical Medicine Show.
- The full production runs roughly 67 minutes and is preserved in the video above.
- No song titles appeared on the recording's title cards and no program song list survives in the archive, so the musical numbers are not listed here.