Left to Right: Chandler Moore and Jacob Martinez rehearse scenes from “Hair Deux,” Jordan Debbrecht plays Bossy Best Friend in the produce in the production of “Tomato Plant Girl.”
Photos by Hunter Fullhart
Hunter Fullhart
Photography and Social Media Editor
As the new semester gets into full swing, the theatre department has already began working on their next two shows. This semester, the first two shows are taking an unusual route this time. Instead of sticking with the typical co-ed cast and both of them being on the stage, the department has decided to toss viewers a curveball.
The department is putting on two plays, “Tomato Plant Girl”, directed by Professor of Theatre and Speech Samuel Sparks, and “Hair Deux” is written and directed by Professor of Theatre and Speech Bob Peterson. “Tomato Plant Girl” is the children’s show for this year and features an all-female cast, including freshman Allison Pieschl, who plays Tomato Plant Girl, and sophomores Jordan Debbrecht, Miranda Kimble and Madisyn Coats. It follows Little Girl (Kimble) who believes that she is best friends with Bossy Best Friend (Debbrecht), which is not the case. Bossy Best Friend is mean and very demanding of Little Girl until one day Tomato Plant Girl (Pieschl) shows up and finally shows Little Girl what true friendship is. The moral of this story is to stand up for yourself and find out who your true friends are.
“My favorite part is getting to be a character that is very childlike and channeling my inner child,” Pieschl said. “In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” I had a very strong and smart character, whereas this role is very unsure and in the process of learning about the world around her.”
“Hair Deux” takes the cake this semester with being different for two reasons. The cast features an all-male consisting of freshmen Seth Knowles and Jacob Martinez and sophomores Chandler Moore, Jose Cruz and Max McGlaun. Secondly, the play will be performed in the “black-box” style, meaning it will be performed in the new dance room in the 700 building with the audience sitting on three sides of the actors performing and the actors will be inches from the audience. It should be very different and exciting for the audience to experience.
This play is in two acts, both of which have different storylines. The first act follows two brothers who are packing up their belongings from their boyhood home, and the second act is about a groom and a hairdresser that bond when the bride is nowhere to be found. Both acts deal with the topic of hair in some way or another.
“You know, I wrote this play,” Peterson said. “I had done this play before and for this time, I wanted to cut it down to the two acts. Each act incorporates the idea of hair and really is just a fun show to put on.”
Moore, who plays Tom Carlson and Jon Alexander, says that these two characters that he plays could pass as cousins because they are similar because they are both sophisticated and well-educated. Martinez plays Gary and Reverend Denny, Knowles plays Mark the Pizza Guy and Ivan the Florist, McGlaun plays Patrik and lastly, Cruz plays the Sheriff.
“Tomato Plant Girl” will run on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m., and “Hair Deux” will run from Tuesday, Feb. 21 through 25 at 7:30 p.m.
