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Pella Christian High School’s Theatre Troupe will be tackling a variety of dramatic styles, eras, and technical effects during its 2011-12 season, according to theatre and speech director Marlo Van Peursem. Each of the performances will be held in the Vermeer Auditorium at Pella Christian High School, 300 Eagle Lane.
PCHS’s theatre season opens with Disney’s popular family musical, Beauty and the Beast. Based on the Academy-Award winning animated feature, the stage version of Disney's popular show includes all of the original wonderful songs such as "Be Our Guest," "Human Again," "Belle," and "Gaston." Audiences will be transported to the heart of provincial life in a lovely French town with such loveable characters as the vain Gaston and his bumbling side-kick LeFou. When Maurice becomes lost in the woods on the way to the fair, he seeks shelter in an old castle, filled with such enchanted objects as the candlestick, the clock, and the teapot. There his daughter, Belle, must give up her freedom to save his life. Belle's taming of the unfortunate Beast and his ultimate transformation back into a handsome prince enthralled Broadway audiences for over 13 years. This "tale as old as time" is filled with spectacular costumes and sets and offers a great opportunity for family theatre at its best. The performance will be directed by Marlo Van Peursem with assistance from Tim Van Voorst (music) and Brenna Vogel (choreography). Production dates are October 27-29, 2011 with tickets going on sale October 17.
Pella Christian’s Speech Team will perform the powerful new drama, Charlie Foster: A Play about Swimming and Theatre, for their Large Group one-act entry with the Iowa High School Speech Association. This contemporary piece looks at Charlie Foster, a kid no one noticed or cared about until he accidentally drowned in the river. Then the young students try to remember who he is and their journey will use the emotional tools they understand most: the rules of swimming and improvisation. A powerful play about coming of age and the sensitive nature of walking in someone else's shoes, this one-act is a universal part of all of us that strives to be understood and loved. District competition begins January 21, 2012 with a Home Benefit performance also being held during Pella’s annual City-Wide Speech Festival--being hosted this year at PCHS on January 27, 2012. For three of the last four years, PC's one acts have been selected as one of only eight schools across the State to perform at the All-State Festival on the campus of Iowa State University. Pella Christian’s annual evening for the Individuals Speech Peer Review will be held February 23, 2012. Assisting Van Peursem with PC’s speech program is Helen Luhrs.
One of the most heartwarming studies of American family life yet to reach the stage, I Remember Mama, PCHS's spring production, is a classic drama still popular for high schools today. Based on the fictionalized memoir Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes, the show focuses on the Hansons, a loving family of Norwegian immigrants living in their modest San Francisco home during the 1910s. Mama, with the help of her husband, sees her children through childhood, manages to educate them and even is able to see one of her daughters begin her career as a writer. Mama's sisters and her Uncle Chris furnish much of comedy, intermixed with a little incidental tragedy, while the doings of the children manage to keep everyone in pleasant turmoil. The comedy, under the direction of Van Peursem, will be presented March 23 and 24, 2012 with tickets going on sale March 5.
The Pella Christian High School will close its theatre and speech season in May with a children’s show that the high school drama class produces and takes ‘on tour’ to many of the elementary schools in the area.
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