By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
For 18 Lake Orion kids, and 60 other children from Oakland and Macomb counties, there is no better summer than one with the Peanut Gallery Players.
Since June 23, a cast of more than 73 kids aged six to 18 have been busy bees rehearsing Once Upon a Mattress, a musical comedy they will perform at Meadow Brooke Theatre in Rochester Hills July 30, 31 and August 1.
Singing, dancing and telling the tale of what you may remember as The Princess and the Pea, Artistic Director and founder of the nonprofit children’s theater Stacey White Cleaveland promises you will be laughing.
‘It’s just a great show. The script is really funny and there will be 73 kids on the stage working their little hearts out,? she said.
Many of the students return to the summer theatre training program year after year.
‘It is a really good learning experience and probably the most professional youth theatre program you could do,? Anna Trzcinski said, her third year at the Summer Musical Conservatory with the Peanut Gallery Players, and an eleventh grade student at Lake Orion High School. ‘Everybody is really nice and I really enjoy it.?
Trzcinski is playing Queen Aggravain, the ‘overbearing? mother of Prince Dauntless who tries his best to capture the heart of Princess Winnifred.
Jason Donovan, who plays Minstrel, and ninth grade student at LOHS, echoes her sentiment.
‘Everyone is so friendly and always comes together as a group to put on a great show,? he said.
Also representing Lake Orion High School is recent graduate Alexis Sargent as Lady Larken.
Other Lake Orion cast members include Kaitlyn Ashman as Lady in Waiting, Kendall Ashman as Lady Mabelle, Brooke Babcock as a Handmaiden, Emily Bell as a Handmaiden, Gabby Brackon as the royal child & the pantomime pea, Megan Brennecke as the royal child, Lauren Brennecke as Sir Luce’s girl, Emily Rachael Brown as Scullery Maid, Jason Donovan as the Minstrel, Hunter Foxlee as Sir Harold & the Pantomime Prince, Marina Kirklin as the Royal Child, Abby Nuss as Servant, and Keileigh O’Haver as the Handmaiden.
Windy Nuss, who has put two of her daughters through the program, looks to the Peanut Gallery Players as a way to give them confidence in a public atmosphere.
‘As a parent the reason I keep coming back to Peanut Gallery Players is because it is a way for my children to express themselves and be confident on stage. They absolutely love being a part of the PGP family and seeing their smiling faces on stage is priceless,? Nuss said. Her daughters Emily and Abby have been doing the program for several years.
Every summer Cleaveland is amazed at how quickly the students pull the show together.
‘They don’t even realize because they’re having fun. I constantly remind them of how much work they are putting in to pull this amazing show off in such little time, and for five weeks and 45 actual hours of rehearsal, they put on literally a Broadway level show.?
The show is not only equipped with several lyrical pieces, who everyone has a small or big part in, but also high quality costumes and a 12-piece-set orchestra.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors and groups of 12 or more should call ahead for group discounts. Tickets are available by calling 248-885-5129, on-line at www.peanutgalleryplayers.org or at the door on performance days two hours before curtain.
Performance times are 7:30 pm on Thursday, July 30 & Friday, July 31 with a 2 pm matinee on Saturday, August 1st.
Meadow Brook Theatre is located on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester Hills.
For additional information on Peanut Gallery Player classes, please visit www.peanutgalleryplayers.org.