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The School of Theatre and Dance is proud to present ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ February 15-25 in the Montana Theatre of the PAR/TV Center on campus. In what is perhaps the Bard’s best-known comedy, four young people, plus a ragtag group of workers, stumble headlong into the middle of magica…
Shakespeare meets a 1940s movie set in the spring production of Capital High School’s “Shakespeare in Hollywood,” where celebrities engage in laughable comedy.
Laura Brayko, director, said the play is based on Shakespeare’s comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but where actors travel to 1940s Hollywood.
What: Capital High School production of “Shakespeare in Hollywood”
When: April 18-20 and April 25-27 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Capital High School Auditorium, 100 Valley Drive
Cost: Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for adults and can be purchased online at https://shorturl.at/fhkyA or at the door.
The Royal Shakespeare Company commissioned Ken Ludwig to write the play based on a movie from 1947, Brayko said.
“It’s history meets Shakespeare, but it’s all funny,” the director said.
Throughout the production the cast falls in love with the wrong people due to a magical flower, which the students made themselves along with other props and the costumes.
Rory Lambert-Clark, playing Oberon, and Rachel Drake, playing Puck, rehearse a scene from the upcoming spring production of “Shakespeare in Hollywood” at Capital High School.
The flower is round like a dinner plate and features a mechanism in the middle with a small plush heart that pops out with the push of a button.
Brayko added that a majority of the cast are underclassmen and most are sophomores.
The “easy to understand love story” is filled with complex characters, especially for Capital junior Aaron Heisel, who plays Dick Powell from the 1930s, who in turn plays Lysander within the production.
“It’s so cool to play an actor as an actor who plays a character in Shakespeare,” Heisel said.
He added that the layered aspect makes the production more fun and dynamic for him because in his previous roles they were more focused on a singular character.
Another cast member Savannah Comstock, a senior, plays Louella Parsons, who was a “gossip girl” who hosted her own talk show.
From left, Savannah Comstock, Elliot Ganno and Kaela Burke rehearse a scene from the spring production of “Shakespeare in Hollywood” at Capital High School.
This will be Comstock’s final production in high school since she graduates in June. She said she is excited for college but will miss the productions.
“I was on my way here, trying not to cry because I was driving,” Comstock said.
She added it will be hard to say goodbye, but she is not the only senior who will miss the high school production scene.
Aaron Heisel and June Forsythe rehearse a scene from the upcoming spring production of “Shakespeare in Hollywood” at Capital High School.
Senior Jazmine-Kharma Mudget was head of costumes for the production and said it felt like a “full-circle moment” for her and her high school production career.
She started in costumes her sophomore year, but got back into acting in the fall of her senior year with “The Man Who Came to Dinner.”
Mudget tends to use color coordination between characters and roles. For example, she dresses couples in the same colors and dresses antagonists in red.
“I don’t want to say it’s (the production) been the easiest, but the cast is so nice and easy to work with,” Mudget said.
The production will be shown at the Capital High School Auditorium, 100 Valley Drive, on April 18-20 and April 25-27 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for adults and can be purchased online at https://shorturl.at/fhkyA or at the door.
Members of the cast rehearse a scene from the upcoming production of “Shakespeare in Hollywood” at Capital High School.
Sonny Tapia is a criminal justice and education reporter for the Helena Independent Record.
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The School of Theatre and Dance is proud to present ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ February 15-25 in the Montana Theatre of the PAR/TV Center on …
Rory Lambert-Clark, playing Oberon, and Rachel Drake, playing Puck, rehearse a scene from the upcoming spring production of “Shakespeare in Hollywood” at Capital High School.
Aaron Heisel and June Forsythe rehearse a scene from the upcoming spring production of “Shakespeare in Hollywood” at Capital High School.
From left, Savannah Comstock, Elliot Ganno and Kaela Burke rehearse a scene from the spring production of “Shakespeare in Hollywood” at Capital High School.
Members of the cast rehearse a scene from the upcoming production of “Shakespeare in Hollywood” at Capital High School.
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