RLCC performed the One Act Play on January 26th

This year’s one act play is “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” by Don Zolidus. This is an unusual play where the cast plays multiple roles bringing the 209 Grimm’s tales to life in thirty minutes.

The cast of this year’s play is Sydney Melby who is the narrator and Gretel, Tom Nelson who is narrator 2, Cinderella, and Mac the bouncer; Dede Walton who plays the girl; Heather Longtin plays Prince 1, Birds, and Dwarf; Jeremiah Rothsay plays the dirt merchant, Dwarf 1, the Herald; Kara Longtin who plays The Enchantress, the Witch 1 and stepsister 1;  Jade Person who plays The Devil; Britain Arlt who plays Rumpelstiltskin and Prince 2;  Tera Qualley who plays Rapunzel and stepsister 2;  Natalie Aakhus who is our Devil’s Grandma, and the evil stepmother;  Jayden Fore who plays Hansel and Cinderella; David Clifton plays the actor, the doctor and a dwarf. The play is under the direction of Michael Swenson.

The cast traveled to Win-E-Mac to take part in the Section 29 One Act Play Contest on January 26th.   Bagley was first and Clearbrook/Gonvick was second and they went on to the region competition in Warren on Feb. 4th.

The play was about a group of thespians who bring the brothers Grimm stories to life in the 35 minutes of the competition. The two narrators, Sydney Melby and Tom Nelson create a fantastic world for the observer. Miraculously these two bring Rapunzel (Tera Qualley), her mother, the girl (Dede Walton) and the Prince, (Heather Longtin) to meet, are married and have a daughter in 40 seconds and a minute later a trio of magical people such as the Devil (Jade Person), Rumpelstiltskin (Britain Arlt, and the Sorceress (Kara Longtin) each trying to claim seventeen year old Rapunzel as their own. Next the Devil’s Grandmother (Natalie Aakhus and the Devil (Jade Person) realize that life is too short as the grandmother perishes on stage with the doctor David Clifton declaring her death. Sydney Melby changes into Gretel and Jayden Fore plays Hansel as they express the power of peer pressure on the youth.

Of course, Cinderella (Jayden Fore) is the spoiled one wanting her fairy godmother to help her and all she gets is a bird (Heather Longtin), a bird with an attitude. When the caterer’s food is tainted the cast becomes ill and so Narrator Tom Nelson has to dress in a dress to play Cinderella, Mac the one eyed pirate guard, and other parts as he dances with the Prince Britain Arlt. He is playing a very dumb prince with stepmother (Natalie Aakhus) and the two stepsisters (Kara Longtin and Tera Qualley) torturing poor Cinderella. This zany one act play was well received as we presented it to the student body on Tuesday January 31st. “The cast did a marvelous job and covered well as one of the cast was ill,” said their director Michael Swenson.