{"id":41984,"date":"2022-02-26T02:02:56","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T02:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/get-ready-for-laughs-with-debut-of-cortez-middle-school-play\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:04:22","slug":"get-ready-for-laughs-with-debut-of-cortez-middle-school-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/get-ready-for-laughs-with-debut-of-cortez-middle-school-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Get ready for laughs with debut of Cortez Middle School play"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez Middle School's performance \u201cBedtime Stories (As Told By Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up)\u201d will come before audiences beginning next week. (Courtesy Mia Jeremiah)<\/span>Courtesy Mia Jeremiah<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The Montezuma-Cortez Middle School theater department continues to deliver comedic and slightly preposterous performances with its latest show: \u201cBedtime Stories (As Told By Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up).\u201d<\/p>\n

The play by Ed Monk makes its debut next week.<\/p>\n

The cast and crew of 51 students is ready to \u201cjust bring in the laughter,\u201d M-CMS Theatre Director Angela Gabardi told The Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve really had a lot of say with this show, and that\u2019s been really magical,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The \u201cslapstick, absurd comedy\u201d will feature renditions of three bedtime favorites: \u201cThe Princess and the Pea,\u201d \u201cThe Boy Who Cried Wolf\u201d and \u201cRumpelstiltskin,\u201d Gabardi said.<\/p>\n

Seventh grader Zarren Clappe, playing a father, attempts to deliver the tales to his three kids, played by sixth graders Costner Hernandez, Grace Noyes and Addalynn Nielson, without waking up their mother.<\/p>\n

He gets a few things wrong, making for enthralling plot twists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids talk a lot about how excited they are to hear the audience laugh,\u201d Gabardi said.<\/p>\n

\n

What the students are saying<\/h4>\n

Olive Gray (sixth grade, playing a sheep and part of the costume team):\u201cI have enjoyed watching all the scenes and how they came together. This show is about how we can all get together and make what we want come true, and this is how we make a new family.\u201dSaylor Martinez (seventh grade, sound and set):\u201cI really enjoyed watching our theater community come together and work together to put together an amazing performance. This show is about a hardworking dad who is trying his hardest to put his three kids to bed so they do not disturb their mom, who is pregnant with the new baby. Dad is trying to tell his kids stories but continues to mess them up. I hope that the audience enjoys the humor in this show and sees how hard the actors and the crew have worked to make this as perfect as it can be.\u201dAmita Crowley (eighth grade, playing the daughter in the Rumpelstiltskin story):\u201cThis show has been one of my favorites so far. I hope the audience enjoys how much work has gone into the sets, props and costumes. Those groups of people have worked for hours on end to make the visual appeal of the show perfect, and I think they should be applauded. This show will be amazing, and I am proud to be a part of it.\u201dDevin Astor (sixth grade, playing a dinosaur):\u201cThis is the most fun I have had this decade.\u201dJosh Yarbrough (eighth grade, playing Rumpelstiltskin)\u201cHi!!! I have enjoyed the funny moments of theater! (Which is every moment) This show is about a few normal bedtime stories, except that Dad may have messed them up. \u2026 I hope that the audience will take away the slapstick comedy and leave with a happy attitude! The message of the show is that it is OK to mess up \u2026 even if it is just a bedtime story.\u201dNyx Poulin (eighth grade, stage manager):\u201cAs a stage manager, my job is to help the directors, make sure that everything is running smoothly, and, most of all, be there for the cast and the crew. Through this, I\u2019ve watched people act, play, fight, create drama (on and off the stage), laugh, and grow. I\u2019ve been in many shows in the past, but I\u2019ve never had as much fun creating a show with such a great group of people. I invite all of you to come and see the show and to laugh with all of us.\u201dElyse VanBuren (eighth grade, stage manager):\u201cThis show has been so much fun. I am so proud of everyone and how far they have come. Theater is going to be one of the things I\u2019ll miss most about middle school. (Angela) Gabardi is an amazing teacher and an even more amazing person. The people here are absolutely amazing.\u201dBri Montoya (seventh grade, playing a princess with allergies):\u201cI have enjoyed working with so many supportive and funny people. I look forward to theater every day after school because I love watching everyone work together and make new connections with new people.\u201dRebecca Story (seventh grade, playing Princess Mindy):\u201cThe show is a comedic story about three kids who love stories and have a loving father who doesn\u2019t exactly know how to tell the stories correctly. I hope the audience enjoys all the comedy and dynamic between the characters.\u201dFrom Gabardi: \u201cThis production feels 100% student created. The kids have really come together to showcase creativity and collaboration. From Day 1, everyone\u2019s voice has been heard, and everyone\u2019s ideas have intertwined to create a hilarious and fun-filled theatrical adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez Middle School's performance 'Bedtime Stories (As Told By Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up)' will come before audiences beginning March 4. (Courtesy Mia Jeremiah)<\/span>Courtesy Mia Jeremiah<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The show will run on March 4 and March 5 at 7 p.m., with an afternoon performance March 5 at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

Saturday, cast and crew will spend a full day setting up the stage in the school\u2019s gymnasium ahead of the show\u2019s premiere.<\/p>\n

Adult tickets are $10, student and senior tickets are $6, and admission is free for M-CMS students and staff \u2013 as well as for children ages two and under.<\/p>\n

Ticket packages can be purchased at mchsdrama.booktix.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The production has been in the works since the start of the second semester, with auditions beginning Jan. 5.<\/p>\n

The middle school\u2019s theater department most recently produced \u201cWilly Wonka Jr.\u201d in November, its biggest production in two years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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