It will be all on hands on deck for this summer’s co-production between Dewdney Players and Foothills Theatre Company.
The local theatre groups have teamed up to present the pirate adventure classic “Treasure Island” and the show debuts outside at Olde Towne Plaza in Okotoks July 22 and continues its weekend performances through July 31.
Derek Losoncy of the Foothills Theatre Company said he is pleased to be directing the play which will be a fast paced contemporary adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel written by American playwright Ken Ludwig.
“I haven’t read a script this entertaining from cover to cover in along time,” Losoncy said. “A lot of the time, with adaptations, the writers just phone it in. They take the book and just slap it down as a play. But Ludwig really took his time and every character has its own voice right from the time you’re reading it. He’s really captured these classic characters of literature.”
When “Treasure Island” debuts in its outdoor pirate ship set Friday it will be a true showcase of local foothills acting talent.
“There’s a few people out of Calgary but 80 to 85 per cent of the people involved are from Okotoks,” Losoncy said.
The production will feature a relatively new face in local theatre circles. The 18-year-old Okotoks actor James McCarthy has landed the iconic role of Jim Hawkins, a young innkeeper’s son who becomes entangled with a band of pirates led by Long John Silver.
“Jim Hawkins is definitely very interesting to play,” McCarthy said. “He visibly matures throughout the course of the show. It’s also interesting because the monologues are all told by this theoretical future Jim who doesn’t exist within the world of the play itself. It’s very much him reminiscing. Which means the entire play is from his very specific perspective.”
Other key actors in the production include Steve Buoninsegni as the mentally unstable Ben Gunn, Matt Molyneaux as the boisterous drunkard Billy Bones and Jason Schneider as the legendary pirate captain Long John Silver.
The director enlisted award winning Calgary fight coordinator Aaron Conrad to teach his cast the art of swordplay. In one scene 14 performers will be on stage together battling away with cutlasses. Even with all the action Losoncy said it is still a family friendly show with nothing scary or graphically violent on stage.
Shows are running Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Barbecues will be fired up a couple of hours before each performance at Olde Towne Plaza allowing hungry theatre fans to enjoy a burger or hot dog for just a toonie.
Children can get into the spirit of things by signing up for a pre-show pirate camp.
“For seven bucks they get to come on down and learn how to fight like a pirate, sing like a pirate, and talk like a pirate,” Losoncy explained. “We’re going to make some hats, maps and parrots and it’s all run by the actors in costume and in character.”
Each child’s $7 camp fee includes something from the barbecue and their admission to a performance of Treasure Island. Tickets for the show have been set deliberately low at $5 for adults and $2 for everyone under 18.
“It’s our way of thanking the town and our theatre supporters that see our shows during our seasons at those higher ticket prices,” Losoncy said.
Tickets can be purchased at the plaza prior to performances but it is requested children be registered for Pirate Camp in advance at www.foothillstheatre.ca
