By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
No one’s been killed - yet.
That’s the mood in “Caught in the Act,” a comedy to be performed at 7 p.m. this Friday on the NRHEG stage. The play’s 14 cast and crew members and first-time-at-NRHEG director Colin Zidlicky have been practicing for the past six weeks to bring together the 90-minute, two-act production filled with laugh-out-loud moments. Doors will open at 6:30, with free will admission charged at the door.
Asking any member of the cast what the play is about leads to a few moments of shifting facial expressions followed by, “It’s a play within a play.”
The action opens to a multi-leveled stage set. The audience gradually learns that a small theater is in the process of putting together a production. The dictator-like director played by Shelby Johnston is universally respected and feared; Josie Strom as the aging costume designer doesn’t know what’s wrong with everyone; and stubborn janitor Anton Domeier can’t tell his right hand from…er…stage right.
Things look to proceed as normal, if the word “normal” can be said to apply, until someone new arrives for auditions. Along with newbie Darla Gundlefinger, played by Zoe Wilson, come a wide range of mysteries and possibilities, including an elusive investor and a self-important sergeant who claims there is a killer on the loose.
Suspicions run amok after a string of occurrences seems to lend credence to the sergeant’s claims. No two people have the same prime suspect in mind as tensions mount, and it must be noted that none of the characters show great potential as crime-solving sleuths.
Zidlicky, the band director who started with the district this year, has directed numerous plays while working at other schools, and consented to put together a spring production in response to student requests. He explains that, after seeing the talents and natural inclinations of interested cast members during February auditions, he selected “Caught in the Act” because it seemed to align with the skill sets students showed him.
“Mr. Z.,” as the students call him, says he is impressed with the hard work and dedication cast members have shown to bring the production from auditions to being stage ready in such a short time.
Cast member Tatum Smith Vulcan says she has enjoyed the cooperative, pleasant atmosphere of the rehearsals, and believes audiences will love the finished product. “With this being my last show of high school, I am very glad for the experience,” she says. “I can’t wait for people to see the results of all of our hard work on stage this Friday.”
Fellow senior Anton Domeier echoes some of those thoughts, agreeing that the play helps provide a strong finish as his senior year draws to a close. His part as the grizzly janitor Myron is challenging because he must adopt the hunched posture of an aging man, he explains, but is enjoyable because he can portray that personality.
“I think audiences will really enjoy it,” he says.