April 16, 2010

On April 9 and 10, at Kenaston Place, it was all aboard the "H.M.S. Majestic" for the Kenaston Dinner Theatre performance. "Peril on the High Seas" was a riotous melodrama set in the Roaring Twenties! The play was written by Billy St. John and produced by special arrangements with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc. of Engelwood Colorado.

Little did our heroine, the heiress Merry Ann Sweet played by Jenna Zdunich, know that she was the intended victim of the villainous Snively Swine's (Jordan Richardson) kidnapping plot. With his partner, the slinky and exotic Aracnia Webb (Tanya Ringdal), Swine disguises himself as Sir Reginald Rottentot, a British nobleman, in order to gain the confidence of Merry and her flapper friends, Mitzi, Ritzy and Ditzy.

The flappers were played by Stefanie Kerpan, Britney Carlson and Kate Zdunich. Meanwhile, Merry Ann falls for the handsome waiter, Cary De Mille played by Aaron Biberdorf. The ship's entertainment director, Skeet Suiter (Drew Anholt), managed to keep everyone entertained while providing support and advice for the novice waiter. Any proper heiress on her first ocean voyage must be chaperoned and Aunt Bea Goode (Rosemary O'Handley) was up to the task until she became involved with the ship's Captain Barney Kuhl (Allan Kerpan). Hollywood gossip columnist, Hedda Hooper, played by Karinn Lewis took notes throughout the voyage and kept the audience up to date on the latest happenings.

The "perpetually young" and publicity seeking movie star, Mary Pickaxe, was played by Tracey Taylor. Her biggest fan, Wanda Ketchum (Cindy Menzies) turned out to be her worst nightmare. Wanda's detective husband, Willy Ketchum (Gerard Zdunich), was always on the job and does eventually identify Snively Swine bringing the play to a happy ending for all, except for the villains who get what they deserve. 

The play's directors were Melanie Kerpan and Kathy Enns. They also handled the set and the authentic costumes. Gene Pavelich was in charge of lights and sound. Danille Kerpan and Nancy Carlson were the prompters.

We discovered the true meaning of "the show must go on", despite the gale force winds on Friday. When the evening arrived, the cast played to a good crowd and an appreciative audience even though some people were unable to travel to the event. The Saturday performance played to a full house.

A cocktail hour and a fabulous dinner preceded both sellout performances. The Friday dinner was prepared by Well Seasoned and the Saturday dinner was prepared by Zdunich and Company.  

As always our community volunteers were amazing and capably handled marketing, ticket sales, table setup, table dressing, appetizers, dessert preparation, back stage food, waiting tables, bartending, serving support crews and the dishwashing. The Dinner Theatre was a great community success and we are all enjoying the positive comments. 

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