South Shore Players annual Christmas production underway
The Caterpillar Tales a musical romp through Wonderland
The stage is set for the South Shore Players annual Christmas production at the Lunenburg Community Centre, located at 19 Green St., with the premiere performance of The Caterpillar Tales, being presented at five showings from Dec. 6 to 9.
Written, composed and directed by South Shore Players president and founding member Jon Allen, The Caterpillar Tales “is a musical romp through wonderland,” he said, that includes 16 original songs, some bits of comedy, fantastic costumes, colourful characters and imaginative sets.
With characters based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in The Caterpillar Tales, Alice has returned to Wonderland, but things aren’t exactly the same as she remembers.
The creatures that she knew are acting differently. The Mad Hatter isn’t at his tea party, instead, he’s sitting on a wall where Humpty Dumpty usually sits and the Walrus and the Carpenter have both become allergic to shellfish. Alice wants to get back home to the comfort of her cozy bed, but the only person who can help her is the White Rabbit. Unfortunately, Alice keeps missing him. To make matters worse, Alice is then put on trial after evil Jack accuses her of stealing the Queen of Hearts’ tarts.
Allen said when he started writing The Caterpillar Tales about three or four years ago, the story took off. The Caterpillar Tales is a two-act play with the first half about 45 minutes and the second half about 30. “It’s not a long show, but it moves along pretty quickly,” said Allen. “It’s been a joy to write and its been a joy to work with the cast. It should be a good show.”
Rehearsals for the play started in mid September. About half the cast of 35 are “youngsters” in the nine to 17-age range, said Allen, with some of the young people in some of the lead parts. “I wanted to do that to give them a chance to really shine,” said Allen. “I tried to mix it a little bit.”
About another 20 people are involved in the production, including costume makers and a choreographer. Allen said its quite a process to convert the community centre to a theatre each year. Lighting, which is crucial, is brought in from Halifax; the draperies need to be hung and a sound system readied. “The last three weeks are always the hardest,” said Allen. “Hopefully at the end I will still be smiling.”
Showtimes for The Caterpillar Tales are Dec. 6, 7 and 8 at 7 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinee performances on Dec. 8 and 9. “I’m really looking forward to the show,” said Allen. “I appreciate everybody that is taking part in it and making my dream come alive,” adding the exciting part about writing something and writing the songs is seeing other people’s reactions and seeing the characters come alive.
The annual Christmas show is a fundraiser for the South Shore Players. Tickets (Adults $ 20 and child $12) are available online at www. SouthShoreplayers.ca and in person at: Kinley’s Drugs, Lunenburg; Kinburn Pharmasave, Mahone Bay and the Pharmasave in Bridgewater. Tickets will also be available at the door if it’s not a sellout.
It’s not a long show, but it moves along pretty quickly. It’s been a joy to write and its been a joy to work with the cast. It should be a good show. Jon Allen
President,
South Shore Players