Local talent takes center stage

Margaret Plevak | November 17, 2016

It isn't too late to catch local talent on the stage. Productions will be held this weekend at Faith Christian School as well as Williams Bay, Whitewater and Delavan-Darien high schools. Here's a rundown.

Williams Bay High School

“I chose 'Little Women' because I wanted the students of Williams Bay High School to have the opportunity to fall in love with the March family,” said director Hope Wittmus. “This musical is based off Louisa May Alcott's 'Little Women' and allows students to understand life in the late 1800s. It is great to watch the similarities between life in 1865 compared to life in 2016.

“The audience can expect to be taken back to the late 1800s and be enchanted with ballroom dancing, sword fights, big dresses and so much more. The story of Jo March and how she comes to terms with becoming an adult is a fascinating story, and be prepared for heartbreak alongside of lots of laughter. It's a tremendous show and will draw the audience in from the overture to the curtain call.”

Wittmus said among her personal favorite musical numbers are “Five Forever,” which “empowers the siblings to accept others into their tight-knit family,” and “The Weekly Volcano Press,” wherein students act out Jo March's stories for the audience.

“I could go on for hours about how great my cast is this year, from my storybook trolls to my leading men and women,” she said, adding Williams Bay senior Rachel Myers, who plays Jo, is both an extraordinary vocalist and actress, and Gina Digieso, who plays Marmee, or Mrs. March, gives a warm and heartfelt performance.

“This is my second high school show I have directed here at Williams Bay and I am always amazed with how dedicated and great the students involved are,” Wittmus said. “Usually directors get tired of the music that the students rehearse day after day, and at this point last year if I never heard 'Be Our Guest' (from 'Beauty and the Beast') again my life would be complete. This year is the opposite; I am not even close to being tired of it. I am consistently finding new things in each piece for students to connect to and make it more realistic for the audience.”

“Little Women” plays at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, and Saturday, Nov. 19, at Williams Bay High School, 500 W. Geneva St., Williams Bay, 262-245-6224.

Faith Christian School

Faith Christian School high school students also are staging “Little Women,” but director Linda Curry said it's not a competition. The versions differ, so audiences who attend both schools' plays will get very different shows, she said.
Productions will differ, too, with Faith Christian offering a theater in the round, and many of the numbers sung a capella “so the music isn't overshadowing the girls' voices,” Curry said.

“We have quite a number of very good female singers,” Curry said.

“Little Women” runs at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, and Saturday, Nov. 19, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at Faith Christian School, W5525 Wisconsin Highway 67, Williams Bay, 262-245-9404, [email protected]

Whitewater High School

What can audiences expect to see in Whitewater High School Players' production of “Big Fish”?

“Giants, mermaids, witches and a whole lot of larger-than-life characters,” said director Jim McCulloch. “There is lots of fantasy to the story, and some poignancy, but it's grounded in heartfelt emotions. Its message is to dream bigger.”

“Big Fish” got its start as a novel by Daniel Wallace about a man facing his father's death while trying to sift the fiction from fact in his father's life. The book became the 2003 film starring Albert Finney and Ewan McGregor and eventually evolved into a Broadway musical.

Whitewater's version will include great musical elements, with songs like “Be the Hero” and “Stranger,” and a hambone dance routine, McCulloch said. He also credited a great cast, including Mitchell Dalzin, Henry Bresser and Lauren Harkness.

“Big Fish” runs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, through Saturday, Nov. 19, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Whitewater High School auditorium, 534 S. Elizabeth St., Whitewater, 262-472-8600.

Delavan-Darien High School

Delavan-Darien High School is presenting something different this year, said director Nicholas Marsh: three one-act plays.
The first is “The Internet is a distrac .... Oh look a kitten!”

“This is a play about a young girl who is supposed to be writing an essay about 'The Great Gatsby' but keeps getting distracted by the internet and social media,” Marsh said.

Then there's “Harry's Hotter at Twilight,” a parody of different pop cultural books and movies, including but not limited to, “Harry Potter” and “Twilight.”

And there's “Game of Tiaras,” which Marsh said is based on the highly popular “Game of Thrones” but featuring Disney princess characters.

“I picked these particular plays because they are fun, lighthearted and I felt that my cast members would have fun performing them,” Marsh said. “The audience should expect a great deal of laughs and a good time.”

The three, one-act plays will run at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at Delavan-Darien High School, 150 Cummings St., Delavan, 262-728-2642.