News
BCT to present "Paint Your Wagon"
Scott Wagar
02/14/2012
With the oil boom in North Dakota, and all it is bringing to the state, Tim Davis has chosen the perfect production for this year’s community play with “Paint Your Wagon.”
“I picked this play because it is a fun story, a musical comedy with some great plot lines to it,” said Davis, who is directing the play. “And, when you think about the plot, it is kind of like the man camps in our state today.”
The plot of the show takes place in 1850s during the Gold Rush era of California. Gold prospector, Ben Rumson (played by Luther Olson), and his daughter, Jennifer (Nicole Bunn), are searching for gold as the play opens and when they come upon it, a town of two people becomes a town of hundreds of people practically overnight.
Even though the miners are making money and the town is growing, there is a major problem, of the hundreds of men in the town of Rumson there is only one woman, that of Jennifer. With just one woman in town, and her father keeping a close eye on her, the men start making plans to bring the “Fandango Dancing Girls” to Rumson. Which when they arrive, takes the plot of the show down a road of laughter, romance and a whole lot more.
Adding the story line is Julio Valveras (Paden Bedlion), a miner who falls in love with Jennifer at the disapproval of her father, which takes an unforeseen path for the couple. Then, there’s Jacob Woodling (Gary Wendel), a Mormon with two wives, Elizabeth (Chole Smith) and Sarah (Susan Anderson), which has the men of the town asking for some rather quirky requests.
Frederick Loewe and Alan Lerner are the creation behind “Paint Your Wagon” with Loewe scripting the play and music and Lerner producing the lyrics of the show.
With the talents of Loewe and Lerner, audience members at the Holwell Auditorium will be given the opportunity to hear some great one liners and a number of incredible songs like “I Talk to Trees,” “Wand’rin’ Star,” “They Call the Wind Mariah” and “Hand me Down that can O’Beans,”
Along with the music scores, community theater member, Kim Schoenborn, brings a spectrum of dance routines under the stage lights as the production’s choreographer.
“Another reason I chose “Paint Your Wagon” is because I like the music and the show had familiar tunes to it,” Davis said. “And Kim has done a great job with the choreography, which I feel the people who are going to take in the play are going to enjoy seeing.”
The cast, itself, is a combination of young and old actors, which Davis feels bring a unique stage presence filled with many gifts.
“There is mixture of new and old cast members this year, who I feel are some wonderful actors,” Davis said. “An interesting fact to the play is that about half of the cast is high school and college age, and even though they are young, they are doing a great job.”
“Paint Your Wagon” will be presented at the Holwell Auditorium Feb. 23 to 26. The Thursday, Friday and Saturday productions will start at 7:30 p.m., while the Sunday production will be a matinee at 2:30 p.m. No reservations are being taken for the show.