|
|
Thursday, July 23, 2009
|
|
'Star-Spangled' reunion CLC Summer Theatre
For the cast of the Central Lakes College Summer Theatre production of Neil Simon's "The Star-Spangled Girl", the work on the show has been like a reunion. That's not to say the cast is reuniting as individuals (none of the three have worked in a production together before).
But when the cast takes the stage on Thursday for the first of six performances, each will be renewing ties to CLC and the theater program.
The play is one of Simon's earliest efforts, debuting on Broadway in 1966. It tells the tale of Andy and Norman, two college friends who have sunk their post-graduation lives and fortunes into the publication of a political protest magazine.
They live hand-to-mouth between editions, with Andy serving as perpetual escort to their daredevil landlady in exchange for rent, and Norman serving as 12 different authors for all of the magazine's articles. Into the apartment next door moves Sophie, the prototypical all-American girl, complete with a charming Southern accent. Norman immediately and hopelessly falls in love with Sophie, and devises extraordinarily unique and zany ways to court her.
If you go
What: "The Star-Spangled Girl"
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and July 30-Aug. 1
Where: Central Lakes College Dryden Theatre in Brainerd
Cost: $8 general admission seating
Reservations: Available at CLC Theatre box office at 855-8199 or (800) 933-0346 ext. 8199 or e-mail clctheatre@clcmn.edu
|
Unfortunately for him, Sophie is already engaged to a Marine. This doesn't stop Norman from madly pursuing her, much to Andy's dismay since the magazine's next issue is facing an impending deadline. The comic situation becomes more complicated when Sophie discovers, to her amazement, that despite being engaged and despite disagreeing with everything that he stands for, she has romantic feelings for Andy. When Norman discovers this, his friendship with Andy is in jeopardy and the comedic twists become more pronounced.
As Andy, Brainerd native Craig Hostetler returns to CLC theatre from his yearly job as a college supervisory staff at St. Lawrence Seminary in Wisconsin, a boys' boarding school. "I come back to Brainerd for the summer because I have friends and family here," Hostetler explains. "And since I'm here, it's fun to get involved in summer theater." Hostetler has appeared in numerous shows while a 2005-2007 student at CLC, including the summer productions of "The Man Who Came to Dinner" and "Perfect Wedding." He made his CLC stage debut in the production of "Inherit the Wind," playing the defendant in the trial and had roles in "Jesus Christ Superstar," "The Bremen Town 5," "The Madwoman of Chaillot" and "Talk Radio."
Hostetler also played Prince Charming in the musical "Cinderella" produced by the OnStage Community Theatre.
Pat Stenglein's reunion with CLC isn't as a former stage performer. As a Brainerd High School student, Stenglein was enrolled in the beginning acting class taught by the show's director Patrick Spradlin.
"I started doing theater as a whim," Stenglein says. "It just sort of became more and more a passion with each experience."
While a student at BHS he appeared in productions of "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940," "The Dining Room," "You Can't Take it With You," "The Diviners," "The Birds" and "Street Scene."
Now a sophomore at Concordia College, Stenglein kept busy his freshman year as a theater major, acting in productions of "The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek," "The Heidi Chronicles," and "The Madwoman of Chaillot."
Not one to let an idle hour pass that could instead be filled with theater, Stenglein is directing a BHS alumni cast in Jeffrey Hatcher's "Good and Plenty," to be performed Aug. 4-7 in the BHS Little Theatre.
As the actress playing the title role, Heidi Thielen reunites with CLC after being employed for three years as a college lab assistant in the writing lab of the college's ACE Center. At that time she was known as Heidi Stumpf. Now married to Joe, she leads an active life serving as regional manager for Atomic Learning, an educational training software company, and tending to Jackson, her 15-month old son.
This is Thielen's first CLC show, returning to the stage for the first time since attending high school at Pierz. "My biggest role in high school was also a Neil Simon play, 'Fools,'" recalls Thielen. "I played the daughter. I've wanted to get back into acting for a long time, but just couldn't find something that appealed to me."
Thielen contacted director Spradlin via e-mail on a couple of occasions asking if there were any upcoming opportunities.
"I thought of her when I chose this show," says Spradlin. "I'm very glad she was able to work it out with her very busy schedule and with the fact that she drives up from Little Falls to be in the play."
Thielen calls her experience "very enjoyable" but also "exhausting."
"The Star-Spangled Girl" plays at 7:30 p.m. July 23-25 and July 30-Aug. 1 in the Dryden Theatre. Tickets are $8 general admission seating. Reservations can be made by contacting the Central Lakes College Theatre box office at 855-8199 or (800) 933-0346 ext. 8199, or by e-mail at clctheatre@clcmn.edu.
To Subscribe to the Brainerd Dispatch, Click Here.
Note: Comments are not edited and don't represent the views of The Brainerd Dispatch. Please read our posting rules in the terms of service policy. To report a post that may be inappropriate, click the triangle alert icon.
|
|
|
|
|
 Top Commented Articles
Over the last 7 days
Most Recent Comments
|
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
Loading...
|
|
|
Today's Best Classifieds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
