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MVHS Students Present Thought-Provoking Trifle

By CATHERINE ELLERTON

Moapa Valley Progress

The Princess, played by Cameron Slight, insists she will NOT be kissing the frog, played by Joe Garber in an MVHS Drama Production last week. PHOTO BY VERNON ROBISON/Moapa Valley Progress.
The Princess, played by Cameron Slight, insists she will NOT be kissing the frog, played by Joe Garber in an MVHS Drama Production last week. PHOTO BY VERNON ROBISON/Moapa Valley Progress.

As this reporter left the Ron Dalley Theatre on Thursday night, November 20, after attending the MVHS Theatre Department’s production of Don Zolidis’ “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,” I shook my head and uttered, “OY VEY!” So I decided to ‘sleep on it’ and see what would happen. I awoke revved to share a strange evening with you. (Keep in mind that when I was in high school “Ladies of the Mop” was one of our presentations.)

First I had to look up Don Zolidis to find out who was this supposed playwright? Well, he is a former high school and middle school theatre teacher and currently a Professor of Creative Writing at Ursinus College, Texas. He has written and has had produced numerous plays. What did the Brothers Grimm have to do with it? They recorded many of the early fairytales and set them in the ‘Grimms’ Fairy Tales’ book.

First – the set. This consisted of a lovely back drop painted to represent several cottage type homes with a tower structure on Stage Right. Second – the props. Minimal at best and very effective as the audience didn’t become overwhelmed – a bed – a closet – a stove –a confectionary house -3 prop holding crew members holding birds on a stick, a gown, a hat, a boa, a wand.

Next up would be the cast. In retrospect these young thespians pulled ‘it’ off. Their enthusiasm, stage deportment and sincerity brought this strange, fast-moving tale together. Olivia Heath and Nephi Boren as the Narrators, or, as I like to think of them, as the Newscasters, of this strange tale managed to keep a level of sanity throughout and clarified the ensuing madness.

Garrett O’Toole as The Actor was outstanding. His character came about as the other actors ‘became ill’ and he was the only one left to play numerous roles in the Cinderella story. In this fast paced story, he was able to keep characters and characterizations separate and in character. It was certainly a ‘tour de force’ this young actor conquered.

Many of the young actors played numerous roles but the entire cast became a highly coordinated team ‘hitting their marks’ and creating memorable fairytale characters. There were the traditional princess in the tower, talking fish, throwing a witch into the oven, a frog prince whose spell is broken, several dwarfs whose individual stories were told, a sleeping snow white and a glass (oops, sorry) golden slipper.

The dialogue included many references to current psychology – “a woman’s place is in the home,” “a man built it (no stairs),” “from the other side of the family” and “avoiding traditional gender roles” which did invoke a bit more thought than the usual fairytale mentality.

The drama teacher Angie Lee, who tackled this unusual, fast paced story as her first ever stage production, stated that, “…it’s just silliness. Something the kids wanted to do.” But in hindsight, this reporter feels it had a far deeper interpretation.

Then, when all the stories had been interwoven, there was a 2 minute recap when all the stories were once again told….from back to front. If I may repeat, “OY VEY!”

When this reporter first left the theatre I thought this was a forgettable play; but, I’m still thinking about it and talking about it. It was a thought provoking story that the young thespians pulled off well.

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1 thought on “MVHS Students Present Thought-Provoking Trifle”

  1. We spent three delightful evenings, in the Ron Dalley Theatre, watching “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,”

    We drove from Texas to see our grand-daughter as Snow White, along with the rest of the performers in this interesting and fun presentation.

    Perform they did, every one of them.

    At the Intermission of the first, Tuesday, performance, I said what was happening on the stage reminded me of “Fractured Fairy Tales” from the “Rockey and Bullwinkle Show” , which began in 1959 and can still be seen on cable/satellite TV.

    The stories were silly, funny, profound, entertaining.

    All involved deserve a great big Hoorah!.

    One down side,

    The number of seats filled was not great.

    Moapa Valley has, in past, done much better at filling the seats for the High School Plays.

    Why so few attending in recent years?

    I don’t know.

    But, I know that if we can drive 1400 miles to see the performances, people who live here should be able to drive the few miles to support the young Thespians of Moapa Valley High School.

    Hope to see more of you at the next play.

    Jim Scanlon
    New Braunfels, The Republic of Texas

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