News
Bottineau Community Theater to present play
Scott Wagar
07/02/2013
The Bottineau Community Theater will be presenting the Gay 90s Melodrama, “Dirty Work at the Crossroad or Tempted, Tried and True” at the Davis Playhouse next week and will be bringing drama with a capital “D” to its stage for the theatergoers to enjoy.
“I choose this Gay 90s melodrama because I thought it would be fun and entertaining and it makes for a great summer style theater production,” said Tim Davis, the director. “I also did this play back in the 1970s, it was one of the first plays I did at the Sawmill Playhouse, and I just liked it so much I thought I would do it again.”
When melodramas come up in conversation, many images come to mind, like that of a villain from the 1800s doing dastardly deeds to a beautiful leading lady on a movie screen in a theater; actors exaggerating their parts and plots of the show; a pianist accompany the movie; and the projection reels squeaking loudly throughout the show comes to mind.
For Davis’ production of “Dirty Work at the Crossroad or Tempted, Tried and True,” the movie screen and the squeaky reels will not be there, but a live stage of characters will be and they will have people laughing in their sits hysterically.
“This is a great cast,” Davis said. “There are some veteran actors on stage, along with some newer actors and they are all doing well.”
“Dirty Work at the Crossroad or Tempted, Tried and True,” is about a railroad coming to a local town, and across the property of Widow Lovelace (played by Kathleen Kittleson) and her daughter Nellie Lovelace (Chloe Smith). With money to be made, the handsome villain Munro Murgatroyed (Paul Schuster) enters into the picture with the intention of getting Nellie to marry him and granting the rights of the Lovelaces’ property to him, along with all the cash he will get when he sells the land to the railroad.
Of course, being a villain he also has some dark, deep seeded intention for Nellie and her mother.
As the plot thickens, other characters enter into the scheme of things. There is Adam Oakhart (Zach Lee) who Murgatroyed deceives so badly he becomes a drunk and runs away attempting to soothe his broken heart from the love of his life, Nellie.
There is also Ida Rhinegold (Kim Schoenborn), the wife of Murgatroyed who has just been released from an asylum (placed in their by her husband) who is just as devious as Murgatroyed and gets involved in her husband’s conspiracy against Nellie.
And then, there is acquaintance of Ida, the wealthy Mrs. Upson Asterbilt (Lori Erickson), her daughter Leonie (Codi Rybchinski), and their French maid, Fleurette (Kodi Bullinger). As the Murgatroyeds go after the Asterbilt in another ruse, Upson makes an attempt to keep a secret Ida has about her a secret forever in her own upper-class way.
With the plots running every which way in the play, audience goers will be thoroughly entertained in the old fashion way of early stage melodrama productions.
“Dirty Work at the Crossroad or Tempted, Tried and True”, which was written by Bill Johnson and released by Samuel French, is a must see classical piece that will entertain the audience in true dramatic way.
“Dirty Work at the Crossroad or Tempted, Tried and True” will be at the Davis Playhouse July 12, 13 and 14 with the curtain going up at 7:30 p.m. The show is by reservation only, which can be made by calling 228-2748.