2010-2011:
Fall, 2010: A Midsummer Night's Drama by William Shakespeare with script by Lynn Brant
The addition of a ton of new costumes and a revised script made this a very colorful production!
Spring, 2011: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella
Another famous princess took the stage in the spring---and with her came lots of technical challenges, like a carriage, horses, multiple mice, a pumpkin patch and a magic costume change!
Fall, 2011
"Have you ever wondered what would happen if Monty Python met up with Mel Brooks to tell their version of Robin Hood? Well...um...poor Sherwood Forest would never be the same again." —Flint Youth Theatre, Flint, Michigan
"It sure is hard to be humble when you're a swashbuckling, egocentric super-hero. But our gallant guy-in-green tries his best as he swaggers through The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood, a frantically funny, Monty Pythonesque retelling of the classic. This time around, the legendary legend, in his never-ending quest to aid the needy, encounters a lovely damsel-in-distress (oddly obsessed with skin conditions); an ever-scheming sheriff who would rather bowl a strike than hit a bull's-eye; a gold-hoarding, bad-guy monarch wannabe; and a good-natured "Town's Guy" who manages to make his way into every scene, whether he belongs there or not. Combine them with an expandable band of spoon-wielding Merry Men whose collective IQs equal six, and you've got an irreverent jaunt through Sherwood Forest you won't soon forget!" --Dramatic Publishing (www.dramaticpublishing.com)
This was our second production of this hilarious take on the Robin Hood legend, and it was just as fun this time! Featuring a giant tree (see poster) as the central set for Sherwood, the show featured all sorts of opportunities for great characterization, from Josh Rathbun's Sheriff of Nottingham, Blaine Shearer as Prince John, Alice Hiemstra's over dramatic Maid Marion and Jim Myers as Robin Hood. Combine that with a whole group of Fawning Ladies and a troop of Merry Men that would rather eat Twinkies and you can't help but have fun!
Winter, 2011: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Drama 2 class)
A class project, this play turned out to be a challenge to do in just class time, but we had fun putting some people on stage that hadn't done it before and not even trying to pretend that our dwarfs were short--because they weren't!
Spring 2012
We have all seen it, but do you know the history behind this classic show? It all begins with a novel from the turn of the century, and it weaves through several stage versions, silent films, the 1939 MGM film, and two adaptations of that film on stage—following its own Yellow Brick Road on to our stage in 2012!
The Wizard of Oz was first turned into a musical extravaganza by L. Frank Baum himself. A loose adaptation of Baum's 1900 novel (there is no Wicked Witch or Toto, and there are some new characters), it first played in Chicago in 1902 and was a success on Broadway the following year. It then toured for seven years. Two silent film versions were produced in 1910 and 1925, and the seven-minute animated cartoon in 1933. The 1925 version, with which Baum, who had died six years earlier, had no association, made Dorothy a Queen of Oz, rather like the later sci-fi TV miniseries Tin Man.
"The 1939 film adaptation bore a closer resemblance to the storyline of Baum's original novel than most previous versions. Many details are omitted or altered, while many of the perils that Dorothy encountered in the novel are not at all mentioned in the feature film. Oz, and Dorothy's time there, is real in the book, not just a dream. The Good Witch of the North (who has no name in the book), Glinda the Good Witch of the South, and the Queen of the Field Mice are merged into one omniscient character, Glinda the Good Witch of the North. To take advantage of the new vivid Technicolor process, Dorothy's silver shoes were changed to ruby slippers for the movie. Due to time constraints, a number of incidents from the book, including the Dainty China Country and the Hammerheads, were cut. In L. Frank Baum's original novel, Oz is meant to be a real place, one that Dorothy would return to in his later Oz books and which would later provide a refuge for Aunt Em and Uncle Henry after being unable to pay the mortgage on the new house that was built after the old one really was carried away by the tornado. Also in the novel, the four travelers were required to wear magic spectacles before entering the Emerald City. The role of the Wicked Witch of the West was also enlarged for the movie (in the book, although she is mentioned several times before, she is only present for one chapter towards the end). This was done to provide more dramatic tension throughout the film, and to unify what is otherwise a very episodic plot. The role and character of Dorothy were also transformed: in the film, she is depicted as a damsel in distress who needs to be rescued, while in the novel, she, a little girl, rescues her friends, in keeping with Baum's feminist sympathies. Although it received largely positive reviews, it was initially a box office failure. The film was MGM's most expensive production up to that time, but its initial release failed to recoup the studio's investment. Subsequent re-releases made up for that, however. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It lost that award to Gone with the Wind, but won two others, including Best Original Song for "Over the Rainbow". Telecasts of it began in 1956, re-introducing the film to the public and eventually becoming an annual tradition, making it one of the most famous films ever made.
This was followed, in 1945, by a musical theatre adaptation presented at the St. Louis Municipal Opera (MUNY). The script was adapted by Frank Gabrielson from the novel, but it is influenced in some respects by the motion picture script and uses most of the songs from the film. A new song was added for Dorothy to sing in the Emerald City, called "Evening Star", and the Wizard goes home in a rocket ship instead of a hot air balloon. The Wiz is a 1978 musical film produced by Motown Productions and Universal Pictures. An urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz featuring an entirely African-American cast, The Wiz was adapted from the 1975 Broadway musical of the same name. The film follows the adventures of Dorothy, a shy Harlem, New York schoolteacher who finds herself magically transported to the Land of Oz, which resembles a fantasy version of New York City. Befriended by a Scarecrow, (played by a young Michael Jackson) a Tin Man, and a Cowardly Lion, she travels through the land to seek an audience with the mysterious "Wiz", who they say has the power to take her home.
In 1987, the Royal Shakespeare Company revamped the show once more, opening it in London’s Barbican Theater. An additional verse has been put back into the Academy Award-winning song 'Over the Rainbow,' as well as an entire number, 'The Jitterbug,' that was cut from the movie. Every word of the screenplay has been left in, following even more closely the film's screenplay than the 1945 MUNY version and attempting to recreate the film's atmosphere and some of its special effects.
Our production was the result of months of hard work. The Wizard of Oz has been described as one of the most elaborate musicals that a program can produce, despite its familiarity. Challenges like scenes that depict everything from a farm in Kansas, a miniature village and a cornfield to three different forests, an entire bustling city and a gothic castle kept all of us using our creativity and working hard. Add in that most of the actors in the ensemble tonight have an average of 5 costume changes (the only one who doesn’t change at all is Toto!) and the wonderful song and dance, our trip down the Yellow Brick Road was a wonderful challenge!
Note: Poster above was from SubPlot Studio (www.subplotstudio.com) and The Wizard of Oz (RSC) is licensed through Tams Witmark (http://www.tamswitmark.com)
