The Perry High School Theater Department’s fall play premiers Friday night at 7 p.m., and the public is invited to attend an adaptation of the classic English tale of “Robin Hood.”
With the air full of election-eve politics, “Robin Hood” offers something for everyone. The redistributive principle of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor is a practice near to the hearts of Uncle Bernie and his followers, who love free stuff and long to spend other people’s money.
Similarly, the fate of the Sheriff of Nottingham will appeal to all haters of taxation and of government in general, and even the most slavish followers of Grover Norquist and simple-minded adherents of Libertarian principles will delight in seeing the taxman get his comeuppance.
This is the third production under the direction of Randy Peterson, who supervised last year’s stagings of “Dracula” and “The Dearly Undeparted.” Peterson is in his second year as drama coach and fifth year as the Perry Community School District’s Talented and Gifted (TAG) program faculty director.
PHS senior Jayden Whitney plays the title character. She said she has been working on her husky male voice for the show as well as the four closely choreographed fights with long staffs that she engages in.
This is Whitney’s fourth play at PHS, and she hopes to continue acting in college, “but I know in college it’s a lot harder to get into the actual play,” she said.
With 27 parts, “Robin Hood” assembles the largest cast since the 2017 production of “Peter Pan.” An additional eight student crew members bring the total number of students involved in the fall production to 35.
Kaylynn Bousman as Friar Tuck plays a dual role as both a character in the drama and a narrator of the action, in which she often addresses and sometimes even interacts with the audience in the stage adaptation by Dan Neidermyer.
“Robin Hood” will be performed Friday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Perry Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in the PHS office or at the door the night of the shows.
