The season in which the play is set is timely for Christmas.
This is why Mount Carmel School Theater Club is presenting a musical adaptation of the play.
The director is Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero and it will feature performances from Saipan Southern High School’s Manta Band, and The Wise Men
They have been preparing for this particular production for years, Deleon Guerrero said.
“I say that because this is the first time we are performing with Saipan Southern High School’s band. Mr. William DeWitt and I have longed talked about doing a joint production. So over the years we have taken small steps toward that. And this is the consummation of our efforts,” he said.
Now a volunteer adviser at Mt. Carmel School, Deleon Guerrero started the Theater Club.
This is the club’s 25th production, said the former high school principal and currently a Board of Education member.
Of the 37 plays that Shakespeare wrote, this is his personal favorite.
“This is one of his few plays where there is redemption for the main characters. It is one of his tragedies in which the main characters realize their faults just in time. The epiphany is there and that sense of redemption really appeals to me,” Deleon Guerrero said.
When asked why this work was chosen to be interpreted on stage, he said: “We’ve done a lot of cultures. We’ve done Cyrano de Bergerac, a lot of local plays some written by students and some adapted so we don’t limit ourselves to Shakespeare. But in particular we like Shakespeare. It is one of the rare holiday tales and it is rare to find one that takes place in the winter.”
The play was planned around July and auditions were held in August and they have been rehearsing ever since.
“It was very competitive. When we started the Theatre Club we used to beg people to show up for auditions. Now we have so many people competing for the roles that we have understudies. It was a very difficult decision but I think we put together a very good cast,” Deleon Guerrero said.
The students who are participating in the play are from different grade levels.
“They are from third to 12th grades. The younger ones tend to be the extras and they do a lot of dancing because this is a musical adaptation. The older ones take on the lead roles,” Deleon Guerrero said.
Around 120 students are involved from the cast to the production crew, including the band members.
“Winter’s Tale” will be staged on Dec. 4 as a dinner show, starting at 7 p.m.
The regular show is scheduled for Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Hibiscus Hall of the Fiesta Resort & Spa.
For more information, call 234-6184 or visit http://mcstheatreclub.blogspot.com.
