Glennallen High School Shines on Opening Night
Members of the Silver Belles cast. Photo by Carol Cozzen.
By Anna Somers
On Thursday, December 12, the students of Glennallen High School performed their opening night of "Silver Belles", a drama written by Lauren Grove. Under the direction of high-school theater teacher Misty Rude, these budding actors and actresses presented a heartwarming Christmas show the audience will not soon forget.
Because several of my children have been involved in the GHS plays, "Silver Belles" was at least the ninth show I've seen in the Glennallen auditorium. However, it would not be any stretch of the imagination to call this story my favorite. When my son told me that the winter play was like a Hallmark Christmas movie on stage, I was expecting over-the-top romance, unrelatable characters, and cheesy dialogue. Although there is a romantic subplot to the show, the main story of "Silver Belles" focuses on five senior citizens who are residents of the Silver Meadows Nursing Home.
When you have a cast of five old ladies, it could be easy for the play to turn into a satire about old age. Instead, each of the five elderly residents was given unique character traits, and the roles were both written and performed in such a way that the aging process is celebrated and friendships between senior citizens is praised.
Scene from the Glennallen High School production of Silver Belles. Photo by Carol Cozzen.
From the gruff, grumpy, closeted sweetheart Pearl (played by Ali Woods) to the vivacious and flirty Vivian (Rene Rock-Albert), the character performances were varied enough that it was not hard to remember who was who. Anniyah Stone made the audience laugh in her role as Gertie, who is hard of hearing and has trouble remembering what’s going on, and Mae Scudder played Harriet, who loves her family more than anything.
The most dramatic storyline centers around Clara (Cadence Tubbs), who is dying of cancer and wants to spend her last days surrounded by the staff and residents of Silver Meadows instead of going to a hospital. Throughout the play, we see flashbacks as a young Clara (played by Autumn George) becomes engaged to the love of her life before he leaves for war. The focus on Clara's life story, from her worrying for the safety of her betrothed all the way to her last days of battling cancer, is what makes "Silver Belles" the most touching show the high school has produced in this author's memory.
In addition to the story of the five nursing-home residents, there is a sweet second-chance romance between Silver Meadows’ manager (played by Reese Noble) and Nick (Alvin Albert), whose father wants to tear down the nursing home and build a luxury hotel.
Scene from the Glennallen High School production of Silver Belles. Photo by Carol Cozzen.
Although the theater students had a strong story to work with, opening night forced them to react to some fairly large hurdles, including two students with major roles being unable to perform due to sickness. This forced several last-minute cast changes, with my son Timothy Somers stepping in for Herman Stevens, and Peyton Roslansky playing Clara’s fiancé instead of Cody Miller. Additionally, other students had to fill in for the smaller roles that Timothy and Peyton were scheduled to play, and even more had to help in unrehearsed scene changes in order to make opening night go smoothly.
In spite of these major last-minute curveballs, the show flowed smoothly and all the cast, including those who were brand-new to their roles, did a great job to the point where the changes wouldn’t have been noticed if Mrs. Rude hadn’t announced them before the show.
Fun in the light and sound booth. Photo by Carol Cozzen.
Unfortunately, time and space do not permit me to mention everyone in the cast and crew deserving of recognition, however all the students made their families, school, and community proud with their performance. In addition to Mrs. Rude and the students in her Theater I and Theater II classes, others around the community also assisted with the production. Several graduated theater alumni came to help with hair and makeup. The program also gave thanks to Ahtna, Caribou Grill, Subway, and Sarah Nelson for helping to feed the students during the week of the show. New to You thrift store helped with donations for costumes, and IGA provided food and items to use as props.
“Silver Belles” was performed on December 12, 13, and 16. If you’re sorry to have missed it, be sure to mark your calendar for May 8, 9, and 10, the tentative dates for the GHS spring play.