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A thoughtful comedy is coming to the high school stage this weekend, complete with complex and wacky characters, a hidden fortune, and heart.<\/p>\n
The Montezuma-Cortez High School theater department is producing John Patrick\u2019s \u201cThe Curious Savage\u201d this fall. It\u2019s a unique play \u2013 with elements of a mystery or psychological drama \u2013 but ultimately, it\u2019s about family, said theater director Nicholaus Sandner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about family and it\u2019s about unconventional families,\u201d Sandner said. \u201cAnd building families with people that are around you that care about you. Which is really what our department tries to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The play centers around Ethel P. Savage, a widow whose husband left her $10 million, and who is living in a sanatorium called \u201cThe Cloisters.\u201d Ethel plans to use the money to \u201cfund everybody else\u2019s foolish dreams,\u201d said Liliana Gomez, who portrays the widow.<\/p>\n
However, Gomez said her \u201cmongrels of children\u201d seek the money for themselves \u2013 although their efforts are stymied when Ethel hides it. Throughout the play, the residents of The Cloisters offer a quirky but kindly contrast to the step-children.<\/p>\n
The M-CHS troupe embraced the character-heavy aspects of the play, said stage manager Landin Taylor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took a different approach, this show,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe let the characters direct themselves.\u201d They were given basic blocking, Sandner added, but the characters and their relationship with one another really guided the play.<\/p>\n
For the student-actors taking on the parts of The Cloisters residents, it took not only stepping into their character \u2013 but stepping into their characters\u2019 alternate perceptions of themselves. (One falsely believes himself to be a concert violinist, another that he was severely injured in war, for example.)<\/p>\n
Grace Shepard plays Florence, who thinks a doll she carries is her actual son. Shepard finds the doll a bit creepy, she said, but she\u2019s found a coping mechanism.<\/p>\n
\u201cI pretend that he\u2019s my little brother,\u201d she said. Her actual brother (spoiler alert) makes a cameo at the end of the play, in a scene when the residents\u2019 alternate worldviews are brought to life.<\/p>\n
Mia Parks plays Miss Willie, a nurse at The Cloisters. While her character is \u201cnot crazy,\u201d there are some challenges with figuring out how to interact with the residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding the relationships with the characters is probably my most challenging thing right now,\u201d she said. \u201cJust trying to make sure that my character has a believable relationship with the other characters.\u201d<\/p>\n
But students have grown into their characters and are \u201cstill blossoming,\u201d Taylor said. And they have developed close friendships with one another.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a senior, I wish I\u2019d started earlier, because I absolutely love it,\u201d said Taybree Grider, who portrays one of Ethel Savage\u2019s step-children. This was her first foray into high school theater. \u201cBut what I love most is the bonds that I\u2019ve made with people. And also just exploring your character.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandner said this play pairs well with the another production coming up: \u201cFiddler on the Roof.\u201d They both have comedic elements alongside some harder themes, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey bookend the season nicely because they both have a lot of heart, they\u2019re both about family, they both focus on joy,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd our theme for this season is \u2018To Life.\u2019 And so it\u2019s all about finding life in things, finding the good in things.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis show does a really nice job of that, of showing how people can take hard situations and make the best of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The play opens Friday night. Performances are at 7 p.m. on Nov. 15, 16, 22, and 23, and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 16 and 23.<\/p>\n
Tickets are $10 for adults, $6 for students and seniors, and free for children 5 and younger. They are available at the door or online at the M-CHS drama department website<\/a>.<\/p>\n