On Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 5, Mount Carmel School’s Theatre Club will bring William Shakespeare’s classic holiday play, “Winter’s Tale”, to musical life at Fiesta Spa and Resort’s Hibiscus Hall.
“Winter’s Tale” takes place in the fairytale kingdoms of Sicilia and Bohemia, whose two respective kings, Leontes and Polixenes, are childhood friends who take turns visiting each other each Christmas. Tragedy ensues when King Leontes suspects King Polixenes and Queen Hermione are having an affair and accuses Hermione of carrying the child of Polixenes. Will Leontes and Polixenes be reconciled? What will happen to their kingdoms? What will happen to Hermione and her unborn child? These questions form the conflict for the remainder of the play, reaching a thrilling climax in the play’s final musical performance.
“Winter’s Tale”, the Theatre Club’s 25th production since its inception in 1996, is being directed by Theatre Club founder and advisor, Galvin Deleon Guerrero, known by the club as Mr. G. According to Mr. G, “Winter’s Tale” is his personal favorite play by Shakespeare. “In my opinion, it’s Shakespeare’s best story, and it effectively blends the best elements of both comedy and tragedy. While his comedies are too light and his tragedies are too heavy, this play strikes just the right balance.”
In addition to modernizing parts of the original Elizabethan script, the Theatre Club embedded holiday music throughout the play, most of which will be played by the award-winning Saipan Southern High School Manta Band. Despite a busy schedule as it prepare for its historical performance at Carnegie Hall in the Spring of 2009, the Manta Band found time to learn the show’s music, which ranges from classic Christmas songs such as “Silent Night” to more difficult pieces such as Thomas Newman’s theme music for the 1994 film “Little Women”.
Additional music will be performed by keyboardist Andreau “Andy” Galvez and the band, The Wise Men, which is composed of several Mount Carmel School alumni.
Complementing the music will be choreography by Theatre Club veteran and Mount Carmel School alumnus, Ignacio “Iggy” Benavente (Class of 2003), who recently graduated from Eastern Oregon University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre.
Choreographing the show has been a homecoming of sorts for Iggy. As he put it, “It was great to come and give back to the school of my roots. It was especially fun to put my theatrical experience to good use.” Iggy added, “With the work that everyone has put into the show, it’s going to be wonderful!”
“Winter’s Tale” will be performed on Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 5, at 7:00 p. m. each night in Fiesta Spa and Resort’s Hibiscus Hall. Admission for Friday’s dinner show is $35.00 per person; admission for Saturday’s regular show is $5.00 per person.
Due to limited seating, advance purchase of tickets is strongly recommended. Tickets are available from cast and crew members or at the Mount Carmel School Business Office. For more information, call 234-6184 or visit http://mcstheatreclub.blogspot.com.
“Winter’s Tale” is made possible, in part, with support from IT&E.
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