HARVEY -- Commonweal Theatre

playwright: Mary Chase
director: Alan Bailey
sets: Tom Berger
lights: Jason underferth
sound: Andy Waltzer
costumes: Angela Finnes

This is the classic story of the man and his invisible rabbit, wreaking havoc in a calm little town and their sanitarium.

*****

Well...it's been a few years since I saw this on stage, but I remember I really enjoyed it.  It moved along at a good pace and the acting was quite good.  Adrienne Sweeney as "Veta Louise" was wonderful, and in my opinion, a highlight of the evening.

Eric Bunge as Elwood P. Dowd was charming, though he often seemed to be performing the character as Jimmy Stewart played the character, rather than as a unique character.

One of the best parts of the show was the scene changes.

RUSHFORD-PETERSON SPRING VOCAL CONCERT

directors: Dianna Poppe, Burton Sendsen


HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR:
"Now is the Month of Maying" [Chamber Choir]
"'Adieu,' Said the Rose" [Dale Kor]
"My Boyfriend's Back" [Dale Kor]
"Chapel of Love" [Dale Kor]
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" [Dale Kor]


GRADES 4 AND 5
"Glory Bound" - traditional
"Be Kind to Your Parents" - Harold Rome
"Ching a Ring Chaw and Great Gittin' Up Mornin'"
"Firefly" - Andy Beck
"J'Entends Le Moulin (I Hear the Windmill)" - French Canadian Folk Song


GRADES 1,2, AND 3
"Once Upon a Lily Pad" - Donnelly & Strid



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Another fine concert by the local kids.


I was wonderfully impressed with the talent of the 3rd grades in the playlet. The leading young lady had a remarkable singing voice and did a superb job of being loud and clear with her lines. So often these sketches don't go over too well simply based on the poor speech of the youngsters.


Nearly all of the other performers also did a remarkable job. Many of them really taking the characters to heart.


A fun evening.

TAKE NOTE! SPRING CONCERT -- Rushford Area Society of the Arts

Rushford-Peterson High School Theatre
Featured Soloists: Moreen Bosch and Erin Hendricks
Director/Pianist: Judy Myers
Sopranos: Mary Ann Enns, Mary Gudmundson, Brenda Heimgartner, Joyce Iverson, Letitia Kopperud, Connie Koza, Irene Overland, Laurel Rusert, Rosemary Scott, Nancy Svendsen
Altos: Melanie Brand, Donna Ciangiola, Kristin Ekern, Siby; Floyd, nancy Gardner, Danette Grimsrud, Sandy Hanson, Kelly Peter
Tenors: David Gardner, Burton Svendsen
Basses: Peter Enns, Dan Mann, Shelby Westby

An assortment of showtunes.

"A Wonderful Day Like Today" -- The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd
"Love Makes the World Go 'Round" -- Carnival
"Selections from 'Oliver!'" -- Oliver!
"Hold On" -- The Secret Garden (solo by Bosch)
"Meadowlark" -- The Baker's Wife (solo by Hendricks)
"Selections frm 'Wicked'"
"What is This Feeling?"
"For Good"
--Wicked
"All That Jazz" -- Chicago
"I, Don Quixote" -- Man of La Mancha (solo by Bosch)
"I Believe" -- Miss Saigon (duet by Bosch and Hendricks)
"Try to Remember" -- The Fantasticks
"I Remember it Well" -- Gigi
"Sunrise, Sunset" -- Fiddler on the Roof
"Old Devil Moon" -- Finian's Rainbow
"Theme from the Motion Picture 'New York, New York'"

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All in all, this was a delightful evening of music.

The selections were well mixed and balanced, and the choir did a fine job of projecting the intended emotions along with the lyrics. Even the distracting youth that talked through good portions of the songs couldn't faze the choir.

The men need a little more help to round out the sound, but I think that finding male voices for a choir is often a difficult task.

Moreen Bosch had an asbolutely beautiful voice and was a real pleasure to listen to.

Miss Hendricks had a nice voice, on key, but was just nasal-ly enough in pitch to be a bit irritating.

I did decide that other than the director, I might have been the only person in the room who actually has a recording (CD or LP) of each of the shows represented during the evening ... even The Baker's Wife!

CRAZY FOR YOU -- Wabasha-Kellogg High School

music & lyrics: George and Ira Gershwin
book: Ken Ludwig
director: Cris Medina
choreographer: Laura Flicek
music director: Mary Brelsford
costumer: Cheryl Davidson
cast: Sarah Bignell, Aislin Bright, Jami Fonfara, Jan Jurutka, Panad Phiwbang, Maew Pongsawan, Kerry Powers, Greg Schumacher, Sarah Smith, Ben Buckmaster, Michael Johnson, Gabe Loechler, Brooke Nelson, Rachel Norgrant, Emily Seifert, Patrick Slaughter, Chelsea Smith, Dylan Braun, Ryan Bronner, Vicky Hoff, Jessica Hust, Natasha Irish, Thomas Smit, Sara Straskowski, Jacob Fancher, Becca Garrigan, Shannon Garvin, Don Hoff, Nolan LaRocqueKatie Leisen, Jon Smith, Eli Walgrave, Logan Christenson, Kyle Hemmingsen, Luke Smit, Dylan Thoeny, C.J. Bailey, Dominique Jones, Nic Schmit

"The New Gershwin Musical" featuring some great Gershwin songs.

Hoofer wannabe, Bobby, is sent to Deadrock, Nevada to foreclose on a theatre on behalf of the bank run by his controlling mother. In Deadrock, Bobby falls in love with the theatre's owner, Polly.

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I love this musical. I saw the national tour production in San Francisco and the Broadway production. The musical is just fantastic and the story is simple, as a classic musical should be.

This high school production proved to be VERY well done. The amount of singing and dancing, performed by all was remarkable. That as many young men were cast, all of them singing and dancing, was a real nice treat. Michael Johnson as "Bobby" did a remarkable job. He often struck me as a Jimmy Stewart type.

The male voices definitely carried the show -- unusual for a high school. Only Sarah Bignell as "Polly" had much to sing, but her voice didn't carry as well as most of the men. The female chorus was weak. Fortunately the male chorus had more of the singing.

In typical fashion (for a high school production), there were the students who were totally engaged throughout, but there were also those who didn't seem to understand the idea of staying in character and looked flat-out bored when on stage and not singing or dancing. However, thr over-all production value of the entire show was quite good and the students (and adults who worked on the performance) did a fantastic job.

There is still hope for theatre, judging by these young students.

Kudos.

WILDFLOWERS & WALTZES -- River City Baptist Church

An Evening of Piano Recitals

"Wildflower Waltz"

"Hoppy Toad Hop"

"Red Robin Rag"

"Moonlit Garden Walk"

"Ramblin' Rails"

"Fuzzy Baby Bird"

"Undercover Spy"

"Witty Waltz"

"Adalusian Adventure"

"Minuet"

"Star Wars Theme"

"Prelude & Gigne"

"Fur Elise"

"Can-Can"

"It Is Well"/"Claire de Lune"

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A very nice evening showcasing a variety of piano levels. The "Fur Elise" and "Claire de Lune," played by two of the higher level pianists, were far and away the most delightful performances.

THE YOUNG MUSICIANS FESTIVAL -- Caledonia High School

Minnesota Music Educators Association Presents...
The Young Musicians Festival for Southeast MN
director: Janette Hanson
dance instructor: Barbara DuFresne
accompanist: Sibyl Floyd

4th-5th graders from area schools get together for a short concert and dance festival. Schools participating were:
Mabel-Canton
Lanesboro
Rushford-Peterson
Caledonia

"To Music" - arr by Betty Bertaux
"Firefly" -- Andy Beck
"Goin' to Boston" -- Shirley W. McRue
"John Henry" -- Rollo Dilworth
four folk dances

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We attended this event last year as well, as our son has been invited to the festival each year. It's a short but pleasant opportunity to see talented singers from around the area get together and sing under the directio of someone other than their own school choic director.

This year's performance seemed to go quicker than last year's and I actually wished there had been another song or two.

Our son really seemed to enjoy the dance portion of the evening and two different people commented on how he really seemed to get into it and had such great rhythm.

A very pleasant evening.

MEDEA -- Winona State University

WSU Performing Arts Center Main Stage
playwright: Robinson Jeffers (Freely adapted from the play by Euripides
director: Vivian Fusillo
cast: Eileen Moeller, Jephthah Peters, Alex Gillett, Mary Montgomery, Kristine Payette, Kathleen Rickerson, Teresa Sigler, Charles Wallace, Paul McIntyre, Ryan Hawkins, Josh Armstrong, Ethan Jensen
set & light design: Ryan Seifert
costume & light design: Peggy Sannerud
costumer: Sue Bratt
theatre technician: Jim Danneker
stage manager: Rachel Ostroot
assistant stage manager: Joe Sarafolean

The classic Greek tale of a woman's madness and vengeance against a cheating husband.

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Ohhhhh. Greek drama can be very difficult to watch -- it's all dialogue, no actual action. This production wasn't helped by the staging of what little action there might have been all done on a small platform, rather than the open stage in front of the set.

The young lady playing Medea was difficult to watch. She had three emotions ... wailing over her children, anger (which was only portrayed by shouting), and the monotone conversation.

The portrayal of the killing of the children (off stage) was wonderfully alluded to with the crimson silk that flowed through the gigantic floating stone upstage (the set was interesting -- the combination between realistic (giant stone doors) and the expressionistic/abstract (floating disk) maybe didn't work as well as hoped. Yes... I caught the addition of the ... clouds? .... near the stone disk.

The chorus, aside from being quite attractive young ladies, was the most interesting part of the performance and I wished they had even more to do.

The wailing by all over the death of the children was incredibly distracting (particularly that of the nurse, downstage of everyone else, and the loudest of all). I think Medea had a speech, but I couldn't tell you what she said.

I want to say that I'm actually glad to have seen Medea (my first time), but I'm not. I couldn't help but sit through the 90 minutes and constantly think about what I would have done differently. Not a good sign.

THE AMERICAN DREAM -- Rushford-Peterson Theater

Rushford-Peterson's 5th Grade Patriotic Production

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A delightful production by a large 5th grade class. Every student had the opportunity to stand out as a historical character.

The singing was well done and the rap song was remarkably good (and obviously enjoyed by the students).

A fun hour.

FIVE FLOWERS -- Lanesboro Community Theatre

St. Mane Theatre, Lanesboro, MN
script: Forrest Musselman
director: Jill Underwood
cast: Maureen Anderson, Nancy Carruthers Huisenga, Peter Torkelson, Karrie Ellingson, Jody Rinn, Ceil Allen, Terry Neneman, Cal Zutz, Tony Streng, Tom Schramm
producer: Rocky Haddorff
scenic design: Eric Knutson
lights: Eric Decker
costumes: Heidi Dybing
sound: Phil Dybing
stage manager/props: Jenna Bolland

WORLD PREMIERE

An older woman moves in to senior housing but discovers, and shows her family, that being elderly doesn't necessarily mean slowing down.

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There's a lot going for this play ... the use of older actors in major roles is excellent. Certainly something that many community theatres could use.

Unfortunately, the script lacks focus. Or is trying to tell too many stories.

Sub-plots are okay, but not when they over-shadow the main plot.

It seems that the main story revolves around Rose and her relatively new life in senior housing. However, this is greatly over-shadowed by the fact that the title, "Five Flowers," refers to the women in the family, each of them named for a flower. Suspiciously, one of them never appears on stage and if she's mentioned, everyone quickly quiets and there is an air of mystery ... a mystery that is NEVER EXPLAINED. Why title it "Five Flowers" if the fifth flower isn't ever going to appear and we're never to learn why?!

And the vagabond son who hasn't been heard from in years. His appearance is as non-chalant as the nurse's. What's up? Why is he back? Why did he leave? What's going to happen now that he's here? Some of this is answered, but ever so casually.

The performance was definitely carried by Nancy Carruthers Huisenga as "Rose." She was energetic and lively and offered the full range of emotions appropriate for the part.

The part of Gladys was wonderful comic relief.

A fun show, but needs some re-writes still.

A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION -- Winona State University

The 1, 170th Live Broadcast
McCown Gymnasium at Winona State University
with: Garrison Keillor, The Guy's All-Star Shoe band, Pat Donohue, Gary Raynor, Peter Johnson, Andy Stein, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, Tom Keith, Marcia Ball, Don Bennett, Corey Keller, Andrew Nafziger, Thad Scott, Michael Doucet, Beausoleil, David Doucet, Billy Ware, Tommy Alesi, Jimmy Breaux, Mitch Reed, Simone Perrin.

The famous radio show's live broadcast.

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This is probably the fourth time I've been to a live broadcast of A Priaire Home Companion.  It's always an enjoyable time.  Watching a radio show in production is the treat on one level, but seeing the artists performing live is worth the price of admission in itself.

Usually.

This particular broadcast was a bit less than exciting.  Keillor mentioned, at the top of the show, that he was suffering symptoms of the flu, and I did feel that he was not in top form.  I also didn't feel that the guests were generally top-notch.  Simone Perrin, who was billed as a local (probably was, but I was not familiar with her), tried too hard and generally seemed like college talent.

A bit of a disappointment, but still better than much of the amateur productions I've seen in the area.

GROUCHO -- Viterbo University

Groucho Marx: Frank Ferrante

A one man show featuring Frank Ferrante as Groucho Marx.

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Truly a fantastic show. Frank is so incredibly much like how we remember Groucho from the movies and television appearances that it seems as if Groucho himself is back and live on stage.

As one might expect, the best parts of a performance like this is the off-the-cuff remarks; the responses to things happening around him on the stage and in the theatre.

For me, one of the incredible parts of the evening was when Frank chose my own son to go on to the stage and he put the Groucho make-up on him and taught him the Groucho walk saying to the audience,"Hey I can't do this forever!"

An absolutely wonderful show. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard!

MSHSL 2A STATE ONE ACT PLAY FESTIVAL -- O-Shaunessy Auditorium

The Minnesota State festival for High School One Acts.

Schools must win two different competitions to perform at this level. Competition is broken down to two different categories - 1A and 2A, depending on the size of the school. This year I attended the 2A (larger schools) State One Acts.

Performing were:

"PK Xmas" by David Hawley (North, North St. Paul)
"Wit" by Margaret Edson (Anoka)
"The Romancers" by Edmond Rostrand (Dassel-Cokato)
"The Boys Next Door" by Tom Griffin (Forest Lake)
"Marvin's Room" by Scott McPherson (Minnetonka)
"Doubt: A Parable" by John Patrick Shanley (Eagan)
"Ordinary People" by Nancy Gilsenan (Albert Lea)
"Bits and Pieces" by Corinne Jacker (Moorhead)

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Competing in the 1A competition, it was nice to see some schools unique to me, for a change. However, I didn't see much difference in quality, as I expected. I thought that with the larger schools we'd see more impressive sets or higher quality of acting. It wasn't so.

Most of these plays were heavy dramas, dealing with death and trying to make some sort of sense of this ("Bits and Pieces" "Ordinary People" "Marvin's Room" "Wit").

"The Romancers" stood out as being most unique, and mostly well done, but it did drag somewhat.

"The Boys Next Door" was well done, but lacked a through-line. Was it the cutting?

"Bits and Pieces" was well performed and I enjoyed the presentation. Similarly, "Doubt" was well performed and strong. Many around me seemed to really find the performances of the leads in "Wit" and "Marvin's Room" exceptionally strong. I was not overly impressed.

Still, a great way to spend the day, watching theatre.

MSHSL SECTION ONE ACT PLAY COMPETITION -- Stewartville High School

Performing Arts Center, Stewartville, MN

The top two high school one act plays from the 1-A Region in Minnesota, compete for honors to perform at State. The performing schools were:

Byron
Fillmore Central
Kingsland
Pine Island
Rushford-Peterson
St. Charles
Triton
Wabasha-Kellogg

Plays being performed were:

"The Serpent" by Jean-Claude Van Itallie
"The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon" by Don Zolidis
"LAUGH-IN at History" by Sandra Henning Miller and Cast
"Crisis, Inc" by Daniel Munson
"Employees Must Wash Hands ... Before Murder" by Don Zolidis
"Wiler and the Hairy Man" by Jack Stokes
"Competition Piece" by John S. Wells
"15 Minute Hamlet" by Tom Stoppard

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I'd seen most of these plays either at the Sub-Section competition or at the Conference Competition, but was still impressed with the improvements made by all the directors and casts.

I happen to like off-beat theatre, and Jean Claude van Itallie is definitely off-beat. The kids did an admirable job with this. They were well directed and very precise, which was nice. Unfortunately, the piece itself was probably beyond the ken of the kids, so they really were only aping the movements that the director was giving them, rather than acting feeling any of it themselves.

"The Brothers Grimm..." is one I'd seen twice before, and unfortunately it was probably their weakest performance. I think they actually peaked at their first competition (where they took first place). The play, as directed, relies a lot on one particular performer to make it really sing, and he seemed to be not as involved as they needed him.

"Laugh In..." was one that I did not get to see.

"Crisis, Inc." is another play that I was familiar with. This performance was rushed and lacked passion.

"Employees Must Wash Hands..." is one of those plays that amazes me that it made it this far. The performance was goofy without purpose, and not particularly tight.

I could easily go the rest of my life and not have to watch another performance of "Wiley and the Hairy Man" and be very happy. I'd seen this cast earlier in the season and was very unimpressed, but this performance was spot on! Fantastic. I actually enjoyed the play for the first time! What a delight to see these kids make this leap. This was my pick for first place.

"Competition Piece" was a cheesy bit of a play, but well directed and performed. These kids are a tight unit. My pick for second place.

"15 Minute Hamlet" was just about the most embarassing piece of theatre I've ever seen. Slow-moving, plodding, dull, lifeless, limp. What other adjectives can I think of to describe this?

Surprisingly, to me, "Competition Piece" was the play to come out on top, making this at least the third time in four years for this school (St. Charles). My congratulations to them (though I still think "Wiley..." should have won).

POETRY OUT LOUD -- Rushford-Peterson High School

The Minnesota Arts Board sponsors a Poetry Out Loud competition in Minnesota High Schools. Participants must choose two poems from a given selection, to memorize and recite for competition. Students are judged on a variety of items, from meorization, to difficulty level of the poem, to understanding what the poem means, to appropriate gestures.

This was the first competition of this sort in the R-P School.

Students did an impressive job.

SPELLING BEE -- R-P Elementary/Middle School Students

Rushford-Peterson High School Theatre

A spelling Bee Competition.

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I'd never been to a Spelling Bee before. I decided that I really should check one out, and it was quite exciting. Each class in grades 5-8 had at least two representatives, possibly three.

After a few quick 'outs,' it came down to two students ... a 5th grade boy and an 8th grade girl. It looked like the 8th grade girl had it sewn up, but her spelling of "candidate" sounded as though she said "a" rather than "e" for the final letter (no one doubted she knew the spelling, but she wasn't clear enough), and the battle between the two went a couple more rounds.

The words for this contest were:

clumsiness
xylophone
gazelle
hustle
alamo
denim
contraband
bagel
denture
elite
troika
collage
cobalt
sitzmark
bequeath
cantata
angst
quell
derth
fiery
candidate
vendetta

Only two words made me pause (and I did get them correct on my writing of them): 'troika' and 'sitzmark.' Both caused the elimination of a student. 'Troika' and 'sitzmark'?! What kinds of words are those for a spelling bee?

A fun experience.

MSHSL SUB-SECTION 1A ONE ACT PLAY FESTIVAL -- Rushford-Peterson High School

Five one-act plays, produced and performed by area high schools as part of the Minnesota State High School League One Act Play Festival. The schools are: Chatfield; Fillmore Central; Houston; Rushford-Peterson; Spring Grove.

The plays are:

Happily Never After by T. Kelly
The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon by Don Zolidis
Mother Goosed by Jason Pizzarello
Crisis, Inc. by Daniel Munson
Four Little Words by Edward Finnegan

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Over-all, this was a pretty decent selection of plays.

Happily Never After was a cute fairy tale, suggesting that things DIDN'T end happily after after and perhaps the wrong pairings were made, but when they tried to match up different princes and princesses, it got even worse. The actors did a decent job but the direction lacked timing and build and energy.

I'd seen The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon the previous weekend, when it was outstanding. This production also lacked energy momentum, but held together cohesively.

Mother Goosed was the third fairy-tale type play of the day. The blocking was a bit tired and boring, but the actors hit all the right marks and did a wonderful job. As I described it to my students, "They didn't do anything wrong."

My own show, Crisis, Inc., was probably the best it had ever been. The kids peaked at the right time and hit all the right marks, though there was still room for improvement in places.

Another show that I saw the previous weekend, Four Little Words, did little to improve itself over the week. It did manage to get rid of some of the random up-staging, but vocal screeching and boring line delivery remained constant.

My top three were Crisis, Inc., Mother Goosed, and Brothers Grimm, in that order. Actual results ... 2nd place: Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon; 1st place (Sub-Section Champions): Crisis, Inc.

THREE RIVERS ONE ACT CONFERENCE - Wabasha-Kellogg High School

Wabasha-Kellogg Performing Arts Center

Nine high schools, belonging to the Three Rivers Conference league, perform their one act plays for competition and to receive advice on how to improve to be ready for sub-section competition.

Performing were:
St. Charles High School - Competition Piece by John S. Wells
Kingsland High School - Wiley and the Hairy Man by Jack Stokes
Wabasha-Kellogg High School - Employees Must Wash Hands ... Before Murder by Don Zolidis
Southland High School - No Time by Laurence Klavan
Rushford-Peterson High School - Crisis, Inc. by Daniel Munson
Dover-Eyota High School - Class Action by Brad Straight
Chatfield High School - Four Little Words by Edward Finnegan
Fillmore-Central High School - The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon by Don Zolidis
Lewiston-Altura High School - Oh What a Tangled Web by John R. Carroll

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A long and interesting day of plays.

Competition Piece was moderately well done. The cast did a wonderful job of projecting and staying in character, but the direction was flat, static.

I've seen Wiley and the Hairy Man before and I just can't find the attraction to this piece. Perhaps it's because I've never seen it done well, though this was closer than the last time I saw it. Sadly, the young boy who played "Wiley" came across as VERY gay, and that's about all anyone got out of it.

I missed both Employees Must Wash Hands and No Time, as my cast was preparing for their performance.

My students performed Crisis, Inc. and did a remarkably good job. Probably the best tyhey'd done to that point. It wasn't strong, but there were glimpses of what it could be.

Class Action also showed glimpses of possibility, but as it was, it was disorganized and confused. If the director could get a clearer picture of the whole, and the actors actually talk to each other rather than out to the stage, they will do well.

Four Little Words was just dreadful. Random actions by cast members with nothing to do on stage were a constant distraction. Screaming made dialog unintelligible. Fast, slurry lines from a major character with all the 'one-liners' was embarassing. Probably the worst performance of the day.

The best performance of the day was probably The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. They were energetic and had the audience absolutely adoring them.

Oh What A Tangled Web was another show that had promise but was in too much of a rehearsal stage still to be strong enough to compete. Dropped lines, missing cues, and confusion with the blocking had them suffering some.

Overall, an interesting collection of shows for the day. This was the first time I've attended this event, and it was certainly well worth our time. it was good to be in front of an audience and to hear where the laughs were going to come from.

Awards went to: Fillmore Central, The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon - 1st place. Saint Charles, Competition Piece - 2nd place. Rushford-Peterson, Crisis, Inc. - 3rd place. Wabasha-Kellog, Employees Must Wash Hands Before Murder - 4th place.

A WINTER CONCERT - Rushford-Peterson Bands 6th-12th

Rushford-Peterson Public Schools Winter Band Concert
Directors: Burton Svendsen and Jacob Olson

6th Grade Band
"Jingle Bells"
"The Dragons of Komodo"
"Away in the Manger"
"Frosty the Snow Man"
"Edmondson"

7th and 8th Grade Band
"Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest"
"Acapulco Holiday"
"Queenwood Overture"
"Jingo Jango"

Senior High Band
"Good King Wenceslas"
"Greensleeves"
"A Christmas Festival"

Combined Band 7th-12th
"A Marshmallow World"
"Christmas Sing-a-Long"

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Once again I've come away from a school concert more impressed than I anticipated. The quality was quite good and the directors seemed to have a very good control of the students.

I noticed that there definitely is a marked difference between the grades which suggests that there is strong instruction during the course of the school year (as there should be).

I believe that one of my first experiences at a local band concert was less than impressive, so my hopes and anticipations are low, but that is changing and I'm soon going to expect much higher quality from this school.

FINAL DRESS REHEARSAL -- Rushford-Peterson Middle School

script: Jack Frakes
director: Forrest Musselman
cast: Freddy Scaife, Alex Kopperud, Amy Bessler, Alex Courrier, Rebecca Munson, Alisa Warnes, Audra Lea, Katie Wolter, Bridgette Volkman, Kyli Torkelson, Annie Scaife, Katie Prinsen
stage manager: Heather Brevig

Possibly the world's worst production of Cinderella is beginning the final dress rehearsal.

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This one act comedy is full of laughs. These young students, mostly seventh and eighth graders, keep the show moving quickly, never dropping the pace.

Director Musselman manages to keep the show interesting to the audience without losing sight of what this is about ... a bad show.

All the actor cameos are well performed.

A fun, one-shot production.

RUSHFORD-PETERSON VOCAL CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

Rushford-Peterson High School and Elementary School Christmas Concert


High School Choir
"A Garland of Carols"
"Christmas Time is Here"
"Girls Rock the Fifties"
"Santa Baby"

(Choir personnel: Bekka Bunke, Laura Elit, Emily Frick, Katie James, Alicia Klungtvedt, Kat Lozano, Hannah Nitecki, Kristen Ostrem, Nikki Otterness, Kaitlyn Peterson, Carina Schiltz, Sawyer Stennes, Hannah Thompson, Tracey Todd, Elsa Van Gorp)


Grades 4 and 5
"Festive Processional" -- Audrey Snyder
"Goin' to Grandma's" -- Catherine Bennett
"The Reindeer Rap" -- Sally Albrecht
"First Footprints" -- Phyllis Wolfe-White & Karen Bodoin
"Merry Christmas to All" -- Arr. Jay Althouse


Grades 1, 2, and 3
"Six Little Snowflakes"
"The Day Before, The Day Before Christmas"
"Bonding"
"Mi Casa, Su Casa"
"Christmas is Music"

cast of characters:
Snowflake 1 - McCoy Hanson
Snowflake 2 - Alexandra Meldahl
Snowflake 3 - Lukas Rasmussen
Snowflake 4 - Adelia Buege
Snowflake 5 - Taige Kruger
Snowflake 6 - Megan Holien
Man - Landon Goree
Lady - Abigail Wieser
Soup - Julianna Malone
Tree - Allison Oian
Blanket - Sydney Boyum
Ham - Hayden Stensgard
Gravy - Ashley Keenan
Homeless People - Melody Paulson, Amanda Doerr, Nathan Wick
Xylophones - Ashley Agrimson, Aaron Munson, Savannah Skalet
Storyteller 1 - Samantha Kryzer
Storyteller 2 - Jordi Markegard
Storyteller 3 - Dalton Johnson
Storyteller 4 - Abigail Sand
Storyteller 5 - Joy Hundorf
Storyteller 6 - Taylor Warnken

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The standard, school Christmas concert with all the typical 'hard-to-understand' acting from the young kids.

What was different and very nice this year was having the high school choir perform (in their new robes!). Also slightly different was having the oldest go first. This prevented the parents and kids getting up and leaving during the concert (which has generally been the case).

Always nice to have the young students perform. A great opportunity, but certainly not recommendation-worthy.