BROOKINGS — For their spring production, the Brookings Community Theatre players bring to the boards at Fishback Studio Theatre in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center for a four-day run a Neil Simon comedy that was later made into a movie with the leads played by the young-at-the-time Robert Redford and Jane Fonda: “Barefoot in the Park.”
Young, uptight and by-the-book lawyer Paul Bratter (Henn Sie) and his newly-wed wife, Corie (Magdalen Eberle), a bit flighty and adventuresome, live in a small New York city apartment that is too expensive and needs a paint job.
Enter Corie’s somewhat wacky mother, Mrs. Banks (Kelcy Nash), for a visit. Corie tries to match her mom up with Victor Velasco (Stu Melby). Let the comedic adventure begin — with all the action taking place in the Bratter apartment
Magdalen (Corie) is making her BCT debut. “I’m from New England,” she explained, by way of background and experience. “I grew up in Connecticut and attended Augustana University in Sioux Falls, where I majored in sign language interpreting and in theater.
“I’ve been doing theater my whole life. I’m always looking for another opportunity to do theater. I thought I’d branch out.” She lives i n Sioux Falls and has been commuting to Brookings for rehearsals. “I love the drive. I just put on a nice album and I sing.”
“I think this is a really exciting play. Magdalen is sort of an optimist and she’s kind of all over the map. I was very excited to take on a project where I could memorize a bunch of lines and work with an ensemble of actors to bring this together. It’s been tons of fun.”
Melby, 73, sees Victor as “a metrosexual European wannabe playboy who doesn’t have any money. For me it’s great because I get to be loud and I get to dye my hair black. It’s an appropriate role for an older, loudmouthed physical actor.”
In the BCT troupe, Melby is sort of man-for-all-seasons, comfortable, good and at home in any role: drama, comedy and musical. He also knows how to size up in simple terms what a play is all about.
“It’s a love story,” he says of Barefoot. “It conveys for newlyweds the stress of two different characters. The guy is an uptight lawyer. They fight a bit; they have different expectations.”
As Mrs. Banks, Kelcy is in her first BCT production but has acted with the Pierre Players. Murdo is her hometown, but she now lives in Arlington.
“Honestly, I knew nothing about the play,” she said. “I’ve never seen the movie. It was the only role in the play that worked for me. I auditioned and here I am. A challenge has been to get the players together, since they don’t all live in Brookings.”
For Brookings native Thomas Thvedt, this is his first time directing a BCT production. A Brookings High School graduate, class of 2019, he then attended “Augustana (University in Sioux Falls) for a couple of years before transferring home to SDSU (South Dakota State University).”
He does have some experience on the BCT boards, having acted in “Mama MIa” shortly after graduation from BHS and then the following summer in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and later in “Willie Wonka.”
Add to that his musical talent, in the pit orchestra playing keyboard in “9 to 5.” He was a music education major and then switched to theatre. He will take some courses this summer and that will be all he needs for his degree from SDSU. In his day job, he’s the librarian at George S. Mickelson Middle School.
He did “direct one full play” when he was a member of a student theatre company at Augustina: “Murder on the Orient Express.”
“It’s been an awesome experience, it’s been a blast,” he said of his director debut at BCT. However, he noted that “It’s been a bit of a struggle to put together a production team for behind-the-scenes work because the production is being staged during SDSU’s spring break. Theatre-major students who might have been available for some of that work won’t be here.
“It’s been tough finding extra help, so I’ve been putting on several extra hats. along the way, helping with costumes and props, whatever I need to do to get the show going. Having a simple set –– all the action takes place in a single room –– has been a big help.
Curtain-up times are: 7 p.m on Thursday, Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m. on Sunday. For ticket prices and where to purchase them, log on to the BCT website.
Contact: [email protected].
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