With a zany, multi-talented cast, the University’s Mad Duckling Theatre is presenting its most ambitious production ever. “My Emperor’s New Clothes” opens the summer season on Wednesday, July 5, at 11 a.m.
“‘Emperor’ is the best children’s theater script I’ve ever read,” said Jonathan Cole, a Ph.D theater student and director of Mad Duckling Theatre. “Emperor” is a musical tale adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale by Larry Shue, one of contemporary theater’s most accomplished playwrights.
“Shue has transformed the famous original children’s story into a fresh and lively theater piece filled with funny lines, hummable songs and fast-paced action,” Cole said.
“It’s children’s theater, which is a much more personal kind of theater, very interactive,” said Tara Warner, a first year theater student who plays the Princess.
The play, which relies heavily on physical comedy and audience participation, is based on an emperor of a fantasy kingdom. The Emperor, played by junior Giovanni Bliss, holds a contest to see who can craft the most beautiful suit of clothes in the land.
The lovably boo-able villains, Skreech and Clodney — played by sophomores Jocelyn Fultz and Jon Sharpy — win the contest with a suit made of cloth which is “invisible to anyone stupid or unfit for his job.” While parading through town in his royal undergarments and invisible suit, the facade collapses. After a child points out “his Grace has nothing on,” the Emperor realizes the error of his ways.
“We have an absolutely phenomenal group of actors, more talented musically than any group we’ve had before,” Cole said. “We look for the quality of the inner child being really close to the surface and ready to pop out. These guys are like that.”
Fultz, who previously participated in children’s theater at the Enchanted Forest in Salem, is just one of the cast that has made participating in children’s theater a summer routine. The energy and excitement of the young audience, which has reached 300 in number at past productions, is contagious.
The cast of six has practiced five days a week, three hours a day, for the last three weeks in order to prepare for the show.
“There’s an amazing amount of energy and talent in the cast,” said Lindy Anderson, a senior in her second year of theater who plays Pony. “It’s not even like we’re working because we’re having so much fun.”
The finishing touch to the combination of great actors and a hilarious script in the production of the “Emperor” is a versatile, multi-leveled set and wacky costumes.
“We tried to mix and match different periods of clothing to make it timeless and also really goofy to match the play, so the kids can relate,” said costume designer Beth Christenson.
“If you’re going to sweat in a play, this velveteen jacket is the one to do it in,” Bliss said.
“The energy of it, it’s a great opportunity to dork out, and the kids eat it up,” Anderson said.
The Mad Duckling Summer Theatre, which puts on two children’s theater productions each summer, is made possible through the support of the UO Summer Session office. For more information, visit the Mad Duckling Theatre online at http://play.at/duckling or call Guardline 24 hours a day at 485-2000 Ext. 2287.