Photo credit: Nicole Hofer

Musical Theatre Thrives in GF

Live musical stage performances for a variety of tastes are drawing sellout crowds all over town this summer in Grand Forks. Foremost of these are those put on by the annual Summer Performing Arts Company (SPA), now in its 21st year of providing theatrical training for teenagers and children.

Opening night of last weekend’s production of “Oklahoma!” was nearly sold out in the large Central High School auditorium, and the remaining three nights did sell out. Although the cast was made up entirely of students going into the 9th and 10th grades, audiences saw a show as polished as one would be more likely to expect from 11th and 12th graders or college students. In fact it compares quite favorably with the semi-professional Crimson Creek production of the show three summers ago.

Standing out in the cast were Jacy Thibert in the lead role of Laurey, somewhat reminiscent of the young Deanna Durbin, and Daniella Lima as the key character of Ado Annie, looking uncannily like a dark-haired Gloria Grahame. Walter Criswell dominated his scenes as the bitter Jud Fry, as actors tend to do when playing that plum role, and Luke Hoplin was notable as Ado Annie’s father, Andrew.

What really brought the production to life was the intense enthusiasm of the entire cast, from leads to chorus members, especially in the large-scale dance numbers. Maren Tunseth’s choreography and rehearsal of the students resulted in amazingly accomplished and synchronized movements by nearly three dozen boys and girls on stage at the same time. The student pit orchestra, rehearsed by Christie Aleshire and conducted by Geoff Mercer, was also well above a stereotypical high school level.

More SPA students put on an all-girl musical revue this Tuesday and Wednesday on the stage of the Empire Theatre, and this Friday kicks off a six-day run of “Fiddler on the Roof” at the theatre in Red River High School. The “Fiddler” production features students going into 11th and 12th grades. Every performance for that show is already sold out, but extra seats will be set up so that people can take their chances by coming to the door at 6 pm to see if any tickets are available for that night’s 7:30 performance.

Last week the Fire Hall Theatre had a special four-day run of “The Great American Trailer Park Musical,” put on by veterans of the Crimson Creek Players and the UND Theatre Department. This adult-oriented parody of “trailer trash” stereotypes and tabloid television starred Darin Kerr, Ashley Braxton, and Natasha Yearwood, along with strong ensemble support from Debra Berger, Beth Laidlaw, Amanda Speare, and Daniel Dutot.

Lively music and lyrics by David Nehls give a good-natured sense of fun to the savage satire on the American public’s fascination with other people’s private problems. Chris Berg directed, with musical accompaniment provided by Emily Burkland and Rike Ruit.

Attendance at each evening show increased so that the later nights were sold out, and the Fire Hall plans to schedule an additional week in the near future once the necessary arrangements can be made.

Coming up the first week of August, the Crimson Creek Players will do another encore presentation of the popular adult musical comedy, “I Love You, You’re Perfect…Now Change.” Starring will be Debra Berger, Darin Kerr, Jared Kinney, and Misti Koop, who also appeared in the Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre’s production a year and a half ago on the Empire’s stage. This revival will also be staged at the Empire Theatre, from August 5-9 at 7:30 pm, plus an afternoon as well as an evening performance that Saturday.