Oak Ridge Today

ORHS Masquers to present Southern comedy ‘Dearly Departed’ this week

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Senior Lilly Laverdure is pictured above as Lucille Turpin fussing at her husband, Ray Bud Turpin, portrayed by junior Dillon Nowatchik, in the Oak Ridge High School Masquers' production of the Southern comedy "Dearly Department." (Submitted photo)

Senior Lilly Laverdure is pictured above as Lucille Turpin fussing at her husband, Ray Bud Turpin, portrayed by junior Dillon Nowatchik, in the Oak Ridge High School Masquers’ production of the Southern comedy “Dearly Department.” (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present David Bottrell and Jessie Jones’ Southern comedy “Dearly Departed” for three performances this week.

The performances are scheduled for Thursday, November 9, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, November 11, at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, November 12, at 2 p.m., at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center.

“Dearly Departed” is the story of the dysfunctional Turpins’ struggle with the death of the family patriarch, a press release said. Ray-Bud starts drinking as the funeral costs keep rising, Junior tries balancing his terrible children, finances, and marriage, and Delightful buries herself in food as the siblings prepare to bury their father. Turning to their neighbors in this time of need, eccentrics and misfits appear ready to help, but rarely successfully. This southern-fried comedy is sure to please as the Turpins try to honor a man whose wife wants the words “Mean and Surly” inscribed on the grave marker. [Read more…]

Reminder: ORHS Masquers present a comedy, ‘Dearly Beloved,’ this weekend

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Dearly Beloved

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Jones, Hope, and Wooten’s Texas-sized comedy “Dearly Beloved” for three performances in November. Pictured above are the Futrelle Sisters, from left to right, Twink (Sarah Hepler), Frankie (Mary Kemp), and Honey Raye (Arianna Walker). (Submitted photo)

 

By Ben Fowler

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Jones, Hope, and Wooten’s Texas-sized comedy “Dearly Beloved” for three performances in November.

The performances are scheduled for Thursday, November 10, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, November 12 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, November 13, at 2 p.m., at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center, or ORPAC, at Oak Ridge High School.

“Dearly Beloved” is the story of the Frankie, Honey Rae, and Twink as they prepare to throw a wedding for Frankie’s daughter. The Futrelle Sisters try to stay ahead of the Fayro, Texas, rumor mill, but with Frankie’s repeated conversations with her dead mother, Honey Rae’s many trips to the marriage chapel, and Twink’s desperate attempts to get her long-time boyfriend down the aisle for the first time, the odds are against them. Add in their personal tensions of who broke up the Futrelle Sisters’ gospel group, The Sermonettes, and laughter ensues. This southern comedy, filled with crazy family, odd ball love interests, and a nosy neighbor or two, is sure to delight. [Read more…]

ORHS Masquers present a comedy, ‘Dearly Beloved,’ this week

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Dearly Beloved

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Jones, Hope, and Wooten’s Texas-sized comedy “Dearly Beloved” for three performances in November. Pictured above are the Futrelle Sisters, from left to right, Twink (Sarah Hepler), Frankie (Mary Kemp), and Honey Raye (Arianna Walker). (Submitted photo)

 

By Ben Fowler

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Jones, Hope, and Wooten’s Texas-sized comedy “Dearly Beloved” for three performances in November.

The performances are scheduled for Thursday, November 10, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, November 12 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, November 13, at 2 p.m., at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center, or ORPAC, at Oak Ridge High School.

“Dearly Beloved” is the story of the Frankie, Honey Rae, and Twink as they prepare to throw a wedding for Frankie’s daughter. The Futrelle Sisters try to stay ahead of the Fayro, Texas, rumor mill, but with Frankie’s repeated conversations with her dead mother, Honey Rae’s many trips to the marriage chapel, and Twink’s desperate attempts to get her long-time boyfriend down the aisle for the first time, the odds are against them. Add in their personal tensions of who broke up the Futrelle Sisters’ gospel group, The Sermonettes, and laughter ensues. This southern comedy, filled with crazy family, odd ball love interests, and a nosy neighbor or two, is sure to delight. [Read more…]

ORHS Masquers presents ‘Harvey,’ a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, in November

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ORHS Masquers "Harvey"

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Harvey” in three performances in November. (Photo courtesy ORHS Masquers)

 

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Harvey” in three performances in November.

“Harvey” is the story of Elwood P. Dowd and his invisible, six-foot-tall rabbit named Harvey. When Elwood’s sister Veta tries to have him committed to the local mental hospital, the doctors commit Veta instead and mad-capped hilarity ensues. Come “see” the best dressed rabbit in town and a fantastic cast of student actors, a press release said.

The Masquers performances will be at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center (ORPAC) on:

  • Thursday, November 12, at 7 p.m.;
  • Saturday, November 14, at 7 p.m.; and
  • Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m.

[Read more…]

Masquers’ fall play: ‘Murder in the Magnolias’

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ORHS Masquers Murder in the Magnolias

By Benjamin Fowler

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present “Murder in the Magnolias,” an ensemble comedy, in three performances this month.

The performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, November 13, and Saturday, November 15, and 2 p.m. Sunday, November 16, at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center. The ensemble comedy blends Southern plays with a dollop of Tara Plantation, delightfully madcap characters, and a garden full of plants with minds of their own. Colonel Rance Chickenwing III passes away, launching a family frenzy to find his buried fortune. [Read more…]

ORHS Masquers present ‘Emma,’ company’s first English comedy

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ORHS Masquers Jacob Moreno and Meghanne Hill

Pictured above are Jacob Moreno as Mr. Knightly in the ORHS Masquers’ production of “Emma” and Meghanne Hill as Emma Woodhouse. (Submitted photo)

By Dianna Williams, ORHS English teacher

The Oak Ridge High School Masquers will present “Emma,” a play adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Emma,” a beloved British novel published in 1815. Emma is the company’s first English comedy.

The play presents the story of Emma Woodhouse, a mischievous young woman bent on matchmaking whose efforts backfire when she sets her mind to finding a husband for her friend, Harriet Smith.
 Junior Meghanne Hill plays the starring role and senior Mackensie Russell will play Jane Austen herself, who comes alive as the narrator of the onstage version of the story.

“My favorite part of this production is that I’m finally getting to prove myself as an actor with as challenging a role as Jane Austen,” Russell said. “It’s hard to make a narrator a noticeable character.” [Read more…]