May 27, June 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 1962
A boisterous story of oil speculation, Wildcat was originally written for Lucille Ball by N. Richard Nash, with Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh. Wildcat "Wildy" Jackson (Dolores Tarzan) wanted a gusher for herself and her sister Jane (Lois Rathbun), although she lacked money, land, equipment and an oil crew.
In staging Wildcat, the Players had to produce realistic "oil" for the gusher. It was hard to invent a mix that would look like oil but not stain costumes and sets or damage the environment. They used 25 gallons of colored water and air compressed to 2,500 pounds. When it went off, the oil gusher upstaged the whole cast.
Wildy had to climb the more-than-26-foot high oil derrick. As director Earl Kelly explained in a interview, the part was especially demanding "because Dolores is afraid of heights."
Because of unfortunate weather on May 27 and June 2 and 3, the run of the play was extended to an extra weekend, June 16 and 17. Some 4,000 persons attended the seven performances.
