Lumby’s Charles Bloom Secondary School is getting in on the act for the busy fall theatre season.
Bloom’s drama department is presenting two one-act plays, and a delicious dessert to accompany the action on stage, tonight and Thursday at the school theatre.
On stage is Storybook Reunion Murders by Scott Haan, performed by the drama Grade 9/10 class, and The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet by Peter Bloedel, performed by the theatre Grade 11/12 class.
“If you love to laugh and be entertained, these evenings are for you,” said drama teacher Christine Yamaoka, who is directing the productions, while Charles Bloom teachers Roxsy Salvas and Kim Vardon are lending a hand as stage managers.
In Storybook Reunion Murders, the Aesops and their cross-town rivals, the Grimms, are each holding reunions until things go wrong and characters start dropping like, well, Humpty Dumpty off the wall.
“There’s no end to the laughs as the two warring schools team up to solve the mystery,” said Yamaoka, adding a cast of 14 students will take audiences on the mysterious journey, with jokes and twists that will leave everyone guessing.
In turn, the theatre 11/12 class will perform a whimsical reinvention of Shakespeare’s tragic love story, complete with rhymed couplets, creative wordplay, and fantastic characters, but with a Dr. Seuss twist.
“The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet is similar to something Dr. Seuss might have come up with if he ever had his way with the script,” said Yamaoka.
In the play, Romeo Monotone and Juliet Capitulate (played by Grade 11 actors Calvin Tourand and Jade Phillips), try to make their way through their romantically challenged relationship.
The Seuss-like narrative is performed by Grade 12 student Carlee Croteau and Grade 11 students Sierra Krog and Micah Kutzley, who each help to tell the story, resulting in a hysterical tale full of colourful and wacky characters guaranteed to delight, said Yamaoka, adding those wishing to find out if the story ends as Shakespeare intended will have to see it for themselves.
Doors to Lumby’s Charles Bloom Theatre open tonight and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with curtain time at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults, and $5 for seniors/students, and include coffee, tea and dessert.
