Pajamas are off, ‘Holiday Flare’ is in
By Amy Silva
A play by theatre director Dr. David Allan Kuester will premiere onstage at IVCC, replacing the announced spring production of "Pajama Game."
Auditions had already been held for "Pajama Game" when problems developed and the play had to be canceled, Kuester said.
"We were having a hard time finding musicians that could learn the music accompaniments, and at the same time there was a very low enrollment in chorus," the director explained. "Without a chorus, we can’t very well have a musical."
He continued: "We had a good cast with great potential, and ‘Holiday Flare,’ a play I had written in 1996 came into mind."
‘Holiday Flare’ focuses on mental illness and touches on the issues of alcohol abuse, sexual molestation and homosexuality. The central character, Nora, is trapped in her own world of self-medicated alcohol and is haunted by images of the past. She lives with the ghosts of her dead husband, dead mother and the flawless images of her children.
"If we can view mental illness and give it a human face then we get closer to accepting those people in our culture," Kuester said. "The other reason I wrote this play is because it shows the devastating chain of abuse, silence, non-treatment and denial that happen to so many families. And, if we’re going to start solving problems or healing families, we’ve got to start talking about it."
In 1996, the play won honorable mention in the Southern Illinois University Contest, and the University of Houston produced a stage reading for a Phi Kappa Phi celebration in 1997.
The play will be directed by Kuester with the help of student assistant director Erin Peters and assistant-director and acting coach George Ferroni.
The cast is headed by Karry Baracani-Halbleib playing Nora Allen, Ed Vasquez playing Carl Allen, Mary Shute playing Ruth Carlson, Nick Frig playing Ted Miles, and Jessica Blumenshine playing Mary Wills. The older Donna North is played by Larissa Deshinsky and the younger Donna by Sarah Heitman. The older Don Allen is played by Jason Wertz and the younger Don by Nathan Holmes.
Technical coordinator is Matt McNally. Jeremy Caldera and Keith Moritz are technical support.
The show will be produced Feb. 24, 25 and 26 at 8 p.m. and on Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. in the Cultural Centre. Tickets, available in the bookstore and at the door, are free to IVCC students and staff and $3 for the general public.