|
‘Meets the Eye’ takes stage
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · October 24, 2014
Grandma Letty’s children stories earned the author “Grandmother of the Year.”
Life Magazine and a newsreel agency want to interview the winner.
How nice.
Except that there is no Grandma Letty, so the real author, Stanley Nichols, needs to drum one up — fast.
Like “Mrs. Doubtfire,” the comedy “More than Meets the Eye” includes a lead male character who feels compelled to dress like a woman to hide a secret. West Branch High School’s drama department will put on the three-act play this weekend with shows at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the auditorium.
“It’s very family friendly,” Director Molly McCarthy-Hill said.
There are 11 members of the cast and 14 building the set and running crew.
In this adaptation of the play, Sam McCrory plays Stanley, who’s tired of children’s books and wants to write something more meaty, even philosophical. McCrory says his character has not yet realized his true potential.
“I like him because he’s very sarcastic,” McCrory said.
A lot of Stanley’s scenes are with his agent, Cyril B. Hoskins, played by Brad Arp. Agent or not, Cyril has never actually met face-to-face the person he believes is Grandma Letty. So when the somewhat older Cyril shows up and meets Grandma Letty — Stanley in drag — Cyril finds himself smitten.
Christine Nichols, played by Abby Nopoulos, is Stanley’s wife, and she finds herself busy trying to keep her husband on track, stays out of trouble and that he writes important moral lessons for his Grandma Letty series.
“She knows what she wants and what’s right,” Nopoulos said of her character.
McCrory likes the stories “interesting plot twists” in the farcical story, which includes a lot of physical comedy and back-and-forth banter.
One of the story’s subplots includes a young couple, Bradley and Peggy, played by Cole Tisinger and Sophie Nopoulos.
Bradley is a handsome and smart young man who is madly in love with Peggy. Peggy is a bubbly teenager who does not consider herself very intelligent and thinks Bradley is too good for her.
“He’s always chasing me and I don’t think it’s going to work,” Nopoulos said of the couple. “It’s very unpredictable.”
Tisinger said his character spends a lot of time trying to convince Peggy he really cares for her, but this is where his smarts come up short.
“I try to go in for a few kisses and get slapped,” he said.
The play is set in the 1950s and the high school thespians like the costumes, hairstyles and dialogue that defines the decade in this play.
“It’s out of the ordinary,” Nopoulos said. “It’s funny, so people should come and see it.”
Tisinger said this is his first play, and he’s always wanted to do something like this.
“I like this kind of play,” he said. “And how it’s ‘old school.’”
Other characters include Maude, played by Jenna Rohret; Nora, played by Jill Exline; Prudence Harper, played by Jenna Bower; Carl Henderson, played by Jordan Baldwin; Miss Jenkins, played by Claire Kaufman; and Miss Ellerbe, played by Maggie Wilson.
Working on set and crew: Austin Barnes, Skye Bradley, Paige Breuer, Analisa Chiavetta, Kim Gould, Rachel Hahn, Hannah Knoche, Quentin Powers, Delaney Rife, Brianna Wright, Katherine Yates, Hunter Calkins, Kayla McMath and Maddy Lynch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
