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Mullinville, Ks —
Last Thursday night members of the Kiowa County High School Drama club presented a 40-minute performance, of the one-act play “Cricket County Academy” written by high school drama teacher turned playwright Eddie McPherson, to a packed house of family and friends inside the Mullinville School auditorium.
The play, about a newly wealthy family of hillbillies and their integration into the snooty Gold-Leaf Academy performed by local students, exceeded expectations.
Far too often high school drama productions are bland, drawn-out, painful affairs with an abundance of polite hand-clapping, watch-checking and waves of highly contagious yawning. This was not the case on Thursday, when Director Kim McMurry’s choice to perform the short light-hearted comedy, was well received with boisterous laughter and heartfelt applause.
KCHS junior Shad Butler, in his portrayal of the good-hearted but chronically daft “Fester,” garnered the most laughs with a barrage of one-liners from the start of the play to the finish. First appearing in overalls, and later, a king’s robe (for his character’s audition in the upcoming Gold-Leaf Academy production of “Rapunzel”), the Fester character, as written is a one-note role, at best, relying heavily on the “mis-understanding” of words, common in fish-out-of-water stories. If Fester was a one-note character, then Butler performed the heck out of that note and even showed his improved skills when, in the second half to the play, his prop ax broke in half. His over-the-top approach to the “hillbilly with a heart of gold” was quite enjoyable.
The other “country folk,” played by Patty Tores (as Glenda Mae), Charity Schmidt (as Brenda Mae) and Cody McVey (as Elkin) delighted as a rough and rambling, albeit moral, group of tough country types.
McVey, dressed as an overgrown “Alfalfa” from “The Little Rascals” is oblivious to the scheming Mrs. Langley (aptly performed by sophomore Catherine Kibel), who convinces the drama teacher Ms. Ward (played by sophomore Lillian Hinshaw) to allow the new students an audition, even though the play has already been cast, by dangling the prospect of a future “state-of-the-art” theater funded by the new family. If I were a reporter for the Cricket County Signal, I would have taken issue with the exchange, having clearly violated some, if not legal, perhaps moral guidelines.
However, I did not take issue with the electrifying performance of Hinshaw, who, in her portrayal as the eccentric, poly-spiritual high school drama teacher reminded me of my own freshman year, when Mr. Pennington presented to us, our upcoming play “Arabian Nights”, wearing a (ladies) Indian sari and scuttling about nervously, script in hand.
Last Thursday night members of the Kiowa County High School Drama club presented a 40-minute performance, of the one-act play “Cricket County Academy” written by high school drama teacher turned playwright Eddie McPherson, to a packed house of family and friends inside the Mullinville School auditorium.
The play, about a newly wealthy family of hillbillies and their integration into the snooty Gold-Leaf Academy performed by local students, exceeded expectations.
Far too often high school drama productions are bland, drawn-out, painful affairs with an abundance of polite hand-clapping, watch-checking and waves of highly contagious yawning. This was not the case on Thursday, when Director Kim McMurry’s choice to perform the short light-hearted comedy, was well received with boisterous laughter and heartfelt applause.
KCHS junior Shad Butler, in his portrayal of the good-hearted but chronically daft “Fester,” garnered the most laughs with a barrage of one-liners from the start of the play to the finish. First appearing in overalls, and later, a king’s robe (for his character’s audition in the upcoming Gold-Leaf Academy production of “Rapunzel”), the Fester character, as written is a one-note role, at best, relying heavily on the “mis-understanding” of words, common in fish-out-of-water stories. If Fester was a one-note character, then Butler performed the heck out of that note and even showed his improved skills when, in the second half to the play, his prop ax broke in half. His over-the-top approach to the “hillbilly with a heart of gold” was quite enjoyable.
The other “country folk,” played by Patty Tores (as Glenda Mae), Charity Schmidt (as Brenda Mae) and Cody McVey (as Elkin) delighted as a rough and rambling, albeit moral, group of tough country types.
McVey, dressed as an overgrown “Alfalfa” from “The Little Rascals” is oblivious to the scheming Mrs. Langley (aptly performed by sophomore Catherine Kibel), who convinces the drama teacher Ms. Ward (played by sophomore Lillian Hinshaw) to allow the new students an audition, even though the play has already been cast, by dangling the prospect of a future “state-of-the-art” theater funded by the new family. If I were a reporter for the Cricket County Signal, I would have taken issue with the exchange, having clearly violated some, if not legal, perhaps moral guidelines.
However, I did not take issue with the electrifying performance of Hinshaw, who, in her portrayal as the eccentric, poly-spiritual high school drama teacher reminded me of my own freshman year, when Mr. Pennington presented to us, our upcoming play “Arabian Nights”, wearing a (ladies) Indian sari and scuttling about nervously, script in hand.
Hinshaw appeared at ease on stage wearing the funny teal garment and a bulbous posterior prosthetic, as her character attempted to wrangle the new students and play referee between the new kids and the locals. Hinshaw precisely performed the large moments and small, displaying multiple levels of the character from the exaggerated and over-the-top, to subtleties that created depth and weight. Though her performance did not garner the amount of laughs received by Butler’s “Fester” character, I felt her performance was the highlight of the evening.
Payton Miller and John Colclazier, playing local cool kids Michael and Zack, did a wonderful job, although their characters seemed only to serve as a side dish for the outlandish Fester and family, whose caricatured performances outshone the consistent and worthwhile performances from Miller and Colclazier.
Kadie Larsh, Laina McMurry, Dottie Housworth and Remington Grasz rounded out the ensemble with key performances that made the entire evening a joy to watch.
My only true critique of the evening was the abysmal theater seating which, in record time, put both of my legs to sleep.
editor@kiwoacountysignal.com
