An Irish flavor will be prevalent in the Young Thespian Players’ latest production, conveyed appropriately by its title: “Blather, Blarney and Balderdash.”
The Patrick Dorn-written comedy, opening Thursday at the Emporia Arts Center’s Black Box Theatre, had what director Penni Hansen and assistant director Susie LeGault were looking for in their latest play — among other things, the potential for a cast of dozens. The Young Thespians’ version of “Blather, Blarney and Balderdash” features 41 characters, with some of the actors taking on multiple roles.
“We wanted a (script) that was clever, that had humor in it, that kids would like to come (to) and enjoy,” LeGault said. “And this was one that popped out. We thought, ‘Oh, there’s a lot of opportunity in there to get however many kids will be available for this.’”
The play’s protagonist is Fin O’Grady, a shy, nervous lad trying to marry his true love, Pegeen Flaherty. The catch comes when Mother Flaherty sets a condition: In order to earn her daughter’s hand, Fin must learn the nuances of story-telling.
“Between the mother and the obnoxious brother, they give him a hard time,” LeGault said. “So he has to actually go find out how to tell a story.”
Three leprechauns, Blather, Blarney and Balderdash, find their way into Fin’s life and, by creating three separate tales involving a host of characters, teach him the enduring value of a well-taught story.
The three tales Fin learns are: “The Hunchback of Knockgrafton,” which features a man who benefits from his own gentle nature and a villain who learns a lesson about messing with “little people”; “The Griffin’s Feather,” which features the character Aidan embarking on a journey to pluck a griffin’s feathers to cure a sleeping beauty; and “The Bird, the Mouse and the Cricket,” in which a girl and three animals attempt to help a prince regain his ability to laugh.
LeGault said some of the cast members, taking on multiple roles brought an opportunity to challenge them. Ashley Glover, who plays a different role in two of the three leprechaun tales, is one cast member who’s mindful of what that challenge brings.
“If you’re different characters, you have to distinguish them verbally, but you also have to distinguish the difference between them physically,” Ashley said. “And so that’s hard sometimes. I’m a queen and a landowner — you (need to perform) different walks and different gestures.”
In addition to some of the Thespians playing multiple parts, two of the roles are double-cast. Jamie Schmidt and Drew Surmeier are both cast in the role of Fin because one of them will be gone for the shows on July 12. Tarah Pearson and Baxter Vaz are both cast as Balderdash for the same reason.
Jamie and Drew said the main challenge in playing Fin was that he’s too nervous.
“It’s like we have to have stage fright to be able to play that character,” Jamie said.
As they have gotten to know each other over past performances, LeGault said, many of the veteran Young Thespians have developed a sense of camaraderie that can be felt in this summer’s rehearsals. That’s what LeGault and Hansen are looking for as the group prepares to move its performances to the Granada Theatre next year when its renovation is complete.
“Most of the kids have been together, and that’s what we wanted to do, is create a core group, and then be able to bring in people who really, really want to do shows and are really interested,” she said. “... This is a great group, and they all seem to have come together, and they’re all very vocal. That’s a good thing.”