If you didn't read the novel, or didn't catch the movie version on television, you can catch the play version of "Sarah, Plain and Tall" this weekend at the Warsaw Community High School Black Box Theatre.
Show times for the WCHS Select Theatre Class's presentation of "Sarah, Plain and Tall" will be Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5. All proceeds benefit Heartline Pregnancy Center. Additional donations may be made.
"It is for a charity, and one of our times to reach out to the community, and we'd love for people to come," said director Dana McAfee, WCHS drama teacher.
Based on the book by Patricia MacLachlan, and adapted for the stage by Joseph Robinette, the play is set in the early 1900s in Kansas.
In the story, Jacob Witting (Shawn Bianchini), a widowed farmer who is still saddened by the death of his wife several years earlier, finds that the task of taking care of his farm and two children, Anna (Emily Readle) and Caleb (Shay Dixon), is too difficult to handle alone.
Jacob's friend found a wife by mail order, so he encourages Jacob to do the same thing. Jacob writes an ad in the newspaper for a mail-order bride. Sarah (Ashley Skaggs), from Maine, answers his ad and travels out to Kansas to stay with the Wittings for a month on a trial basis.
Both Jacob and Sarah are strong-willed people. Jacob is not used to having a strong-willed woman around, especially during that time period, McAfee said.
"It's just about them getting used to each other and understanding what a family is again," said McAfee.
Sarah and Jacob also are both from different worlds. She's used to living near the ocean, but in Kansas finds rolling prairies.
For the third year in a row, the select theatre class's show is being presented in the Black Box Theatre in the WCHS Performing Arts Center. The Black Box Theatre allows students to get experience working "in the round."
"We just try something different every year" in the theater, said McAfee.
The show is a class project for the select theater class. Students do everything for the show, including building the sets and getting the props.
For the annual show, McAfee has to find a show that has enough roles for the number of students in the class. She also likes to try different styles. "Sarah, Plain and Tall" has more of a message and is more serious, something her students don't always get to do.Also performing in the show this weekend will be Cecilia Southworth as adult Anna; Shanda Fredericks as Rose Nordstrom; Courtney Coffman as Violet Nordstrom; Lawney Francis as Matthew Nordstrom; Montana Plummer as Maggie Nordstrom; Kristen Schwenger as Eppie/Miss Titus; Trey Kempton as William Wheaton; Susan Grothouse as Meg Wheaton; Tara Akers as Howie/Laurey; Molly Lewis as Esther/Hester; and Max Heckert as Judson Moffet.
Running lights for the show are Leonard Gagnon and Caitie Simpson, with sound by Corey Boschet.
