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Tuesday's Internet Edition, January 06, 2009.
PGHS 'Players' dazzle in Shakespeare’s romantic comedy
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Photo by Andrew Greene
Performers from the Pleasant Grove High School Players dance, dip and bow during a scene from William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy 'Much Ado About Nothing' on Nov. 15.
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By Andrew Greene
River Valley Times Staff
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The Pleasant Grove High School Players closed out a successful run of seven performances of William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” on the evening of Nov. 15 at the school’s Black Box Theater.
Produced and directed by PGHS drama teacher Renee Fritz, the play, set in Southern Italy, told the tale of Claudio, played by Sky Manzanetti and Hero, played by Abigail Weber, whose nuptials had to overcome the sabotage launched by others.
The other two main characters were Benedick, played by Andrew Burt and Beatrice, played by Nicole Knudsen. The two proudly steadfast characters had sworn themselves to living lives eternally single and free until Claudio and Hero tricked them into falling in love with one another.
Along the way, Fritz’s adaptation treated the audience to dance, intrigue and much humor. In particular, Burt brought laughter and applause from the sold-out theater during the final show. Each of the other actors likewise shone playing their own roles. Upon the small stage, all the actors lived their parts, feeling their lines rather than merely reciting the words that were written more than 400 years ago.
Knudsen cried honest tears as she sat oblivious to Benedick’s staid attempts to comfort her. Hero and Claudio became respectively lost and angry as the sabotage nestled its weight upon them, one at a time.
Ninth-grader Kirsten Helfrick said she was inspired by the show. “The acting was amazing," she said. "It was a comedy mixed with romance. I had never seen a play before, but now I am thinking about trying out for the one in the spring.”
Janine Knudsen, whose daughter Nicole plans on majoring in theater, said, “This has just been amazing. Everyone is enjoying it. And Nicole is enjoying her passion so much.”
Nicole Knudsen, who said Beatrice was her favorite Shakespeare character, said everyone put many hours worth of dedication into the show starting with auditions towards the end of September. The week after auditions, normal rehearsals and readings took place after school for two hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. These sessions became daily and started lasting until 7 or 8 p.m. as the opening date grew near.
During these weeks of practice, the students had to keep up with their normal classwork. Knudsen said, “We studied and did homework during rehearsal downtime and also once we got home after rehearsal. Really, not many of us got much sleep the last few weeks."
The supporting cast members were Sarah Jungkeit; Eddie Amezquita; Joel Aguero; Marsalis Cannady; Carlos Horton; Gabe Gomez; Chris Hauder; Katherine Barskey; Jordan Potch; Alison Bartow; Kelly Christoferson; Travis Daulton; Kody Baeta-Orick; Aaron Davis; David Cross; Kiara Pugh; Mike Egan; Vanessa Gonzales; Rebecca Smith; Michael Carson; MacKenzie Carroll; Jennifer DeMattei, Ally Dietz; Lucas Gazola; Namy Herr; Allison Jones; Kiara Joubert; Ashlee Marshall; Johanna Pugh; Rebecca Smith; Theresa Totah; Kelsey Vogt and Branden Wiens.
The seven shows were on November 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15, with a matinee on Nov. 15. The PGHS Players' next production will be the musical “Little Shop of Horrors” in April 2009. Auditions for the musical will be on January 21 and 22.
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