The show must go on, even when one of your leading actors literally breaks a leg.
Or in this case, a foot.
After months of preparation for a week of performances Crimson Tine Players was facing disaster when show star Kaylie Gibb broke her foot during a work out last Monday night.
Gibb excelled in the role of the evil Vizier in the British Pantomime, 1001 Arabian Nights and a Matinee.
“We quickly called a meeting Tuesday, just before dress rehearsal,” said producer Rhianfa Riel. “Kaylie had found out by then she was scheduled for surgery for Saturday, which of course was the same time as our final two performances.”
Some quick work from the props department allowed Kaylie to play her part Thursday and Friday evening from the relative comfort of a wheelchair functioning “as a sort of pretend sedan chair or moveable throne.”
After that it was family to the rescue as Kaylie’s brother Bobby Gibb got bumped up from his role as the front end of the production’s camel, to play the Vizier while cadging his lines from a script covered mostly by a large peacock feather.
Sister Victoria Gibb was pulled from her duties at the concession stand to take over the part of the camel.
“All three of them were marvelous as were the main role actors who got together with Bobby on their one night off to help him get a handle on his role,” said Riel. “Kaylie’s performance in the wheelchair was superb, while Bobby was absolutely stunning in pulling off the role very convincingly.”
Riel credited first time director Heather Anderson and the entire cast and crew for saving the show.
“This is just another example of how incredible it is to work in theatre, to see people step up in a crisis to find creative and winning solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems.”
