A quick-witted slave, a lovesick suitor and a beautiful but naive virgin. These characters become embroiled in a scheme of trickery and dangerous entanglements as one tries to win his freedom and another pursues the object of his affection in the farce “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”
A company of 43 actors, musicians and stage technicians will perform four shows of the musical at the Meunier-Pelow Theater in Gillett starting Thursday.
The musical was picked because it involves less set construction and an amusing story line, director Ben Burish said.
“We wanted something fun for the summer, and there aren’t many musical farces,” producer Wayne Strei said.
The show, with music by Stephen Sondheim, will include Gillett summer school students, volunteer actors, musicians and faculty members from both the Oconto Falls and Gillett school districts.
“This was kind of an experiment,” said Burish, band director at Oconto Falls High School. “Because the theater is here in Gillett, we wanted to see if people would come here from Oconto Falls. So far, it’s not a big deal to go back and forth. Because we need a bigger cast, it allows us to pull from both areas.”
He said the show has been easy to put together technically.
“The hard part comes in with the farce, but with the people from both Gillett and Oconto Falls … we felt that we really did bring the perfect cast together for this show,” he said.
Performers range in age from 14 to 72, and Burish said working with adults and teens has been a great experience.
“It’s been awesome because the strengths in both groups feed off each other. The older actors in our show bring a sense of commitment and preparedness, and the young kids bring that energy and enthusiasm that inspires the more seasoned actors to rise to the occasion,” he said.
Gayle Gander, an English teacher at Oconto Falls High School, will reprise the role of Senex, which he performed in college. Others carrying lead roles are Strei, Ben Rehn, Nick Borisch, Paige Spude, Kayla Sorlie, Jim Hanson and Gary Kopitzke.
The production includes a 14-member pit band of adult and teen musicians, directed by Anna Burish, music teacher at Oconto Falls Elementary and Abrams Elementary.
Jake Kulba, band teacher at Gillett High School, is technical director. He leads a crew of summer school students who are earning high school credit for their work. The show is partially funded by the Gillett School District’s summer school program.
The company has met five nights a week for the past two months.
Kayla Sorlie, a Gillett native on summer break from college, said she loves being involved in the show.
“I don’t have tons of free time, but this is something I prefer to do in my free time because I enjoy it so much,” she said.
Categories
