{"id":16898,"date":"2021-11-03T01:47:01","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T01:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=16898"},"modified":"2021-11-02T19:49:44","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T19:49:44","slug":"unmasking-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/03\/unmasking-theater\/","title":{"rendered":"Unmasking Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"

SV Community School Players to debut \u201cLegally Blonde: The Musical\u201d\u2014the Gen Z \u2018woke\u2019 version<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Eric Valentine<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Sun Valley Community School theater teacher Kevin Wade brings a lighter plotline to the department\u2019s fall show. Photo credit: Ray Gadd<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you tally up the aches and pains suffered across the industries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, education and theater run a close second to\u2014of course\u2014healthcare itself. That means at 7 p.m. on Thursday night when the theater department at Sun Valley Community School kicks off three nights of what could be sold-out musical performances on the private school\u2019s main stage, COVID\u2019s collateral damage will begin to see signs of significant repair.<\/p>\n

And, the performers\u2014all of whom have been staying COVID-free and adhering to strict standard-of-care procedures for mitigating the novel coronavirus\u2014have been cleared by the city to perform on stage mask-free. Audience, crew, and even the actors while backstage are still required to wear face coverings while indoors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Act I\u2014The Show Must \u2026 Get Changed<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Given theater director Kevin Wade\u2019s self-acknowledged penchant for darker material\u2014last year, during the pique of the virus scare, the school produced \u201cLes Miserables\u201d\u2014one would anticipate a musical of similar emotional impact, or at least one that ponders the polarization we see across the politics of this land. Instead, they\u2019ll be applauding \u201cLegally Blonde: The Musical\u201d\u2014an early 2000s rom-com turned franchise (there were two sequels produced by the time the musical was made) that Roger Ebert described as \u201ca featherweight comedy balanced between silliness and charm\u201d and \u201cimpossible to dislike.\u201d It\u2019s hardly in the arena of \u201cLes Miserables\u201d or \u201cHamilton\u201d and that\u2019s a good thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was encouraged, that with everything going on for over a year now, to deliver something light,\u201d explained Wade. \u201cI can go dark in the spring,\u201d the veteran teacher of five years said. <\/span><\/p>\n

While the material is light\u2014and wildly popular as both movie and Broadway musical\u2014producing an in-person show is not, considering everything involved with returning students to in-person schooling, vaccine controversies, and a variety of economic insecurities. And when a two-decades-old story provides negative stereotyped characterizations of, in this case, a character who is gay, heavy lifting is required to make certain revisions that stand up to current-day mores. <\/span><\/p>\n

For the most part, Wade had the students decide what lines and verses had to go. The Community School alum noted a general consciousness of empathy present in Gen Z and a particular emotional intensity in kids who gravitate toward theater and the arts. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a generation that really cares. These are the kids who wear their hearts on their sleeves,\u201d Wade, a graduate of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts and master of fine arts recipient from Harvard University, said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Act II\u2014The Show Must \u2026 Go On<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything seems ratcheted up right now \u2026 so naturally the anxiety level of the students is higher, too. And that has made the process move more slowly at times. \u201cWe\u2019re just out of practice,\u201d Wade acknowledged. \u201cWe all know that it\u2019s the challenging life experiences that help us build our best performances. That\u2019s what we\u2019re hoping for this week.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hoping for and working toward that best performance is junior Rose Bicas-Dolgen, the lead actress who plays Elle Woods from sorority girl to Harvard Law School student. Close to 40 Upper School students are hard at work both on the stage and behind the scenes to bring this award-winning musical production to life. The musical is directed by Kevin Wade who, in addition to teaching theater, is the co-director of the Creative Arts Academy. It is choreographed by Megan Mahoney, a Middle and Elementary School music teacher at the school. <\/span><\/p>\n

Audiences will be treated to the story of Elle Woods, whose perfect life is turned upside down when her boyfriend Warner dumps her to focus on attending Harvard Law School. Determined to get him back, Elle charms her way into the prestigious school. While there, she struggles with peers, professors, and her ex. With the support of some new friends, though, Elle quickly realizes her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Junior Brady Giles plays Warner Huntington III, junior Charlie Coulter is Emmet Forrest, and senior Priya Merchant is Elle\u2019s friend, Paulette. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt first glance, Legally Blonde might look a little like cotton candy, but it is full of great writing, infectious tunes, and layers of substance. You\u2019ll laugh the whole time, but you\u2019ll probably also find yourself tearing up a bit. Oh, and there might be dogs!\u201d Wade said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

LEGALLY BLONDE TICKETS ON SALE<\/b><\/p>\n

Nov. 4, 5, 6 <\/b><\/p>\n

All shows at 7 p.m.<\/b><\/p>\n

Directed by Kevin Wade<\/b><\/p>\n

Elle Woods played by Rose Bicas-Dolgen<\/b><\/p>\n

Sun Valley Community School Main Stage<\/b><\/p>\n

Buy tickets @ tinyurl.com\/wrweekly<\/b><\/p>\n

(Masks + Social Distancing Required)<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SV Community School Players to debut \u201cLegally Blonde: The Musical\u201d\u2014the Gen Z \u2018woke\u2019 version By Eric Valentine When you tally up the aches and pains suffered across the industries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, education and theater run a close second to\u2014of course\u2014healthcare itself. That means at 7 p.m. on Thursday night when the theater […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,4,18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-art","8":"category-entertainment","9":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16898"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16907,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16898\/revisions\/16907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}