Each year, the Chesterton High School theatre club puts on two productions for the community, one of which they dedicate to children and families in the area. Chesterton Family Theatre has entertained families for countless years, bringing stories to life with humor, talent, and dedication that not only enthralls but inspires the audience of adults and children alike. This spring’s production of Bedtime Stories (As Told By Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up) by Ed Monk upheld this tradition in all the most important aspects, as well as exhibiting its own unique charm that could only be experienced at one of the showings the last week of April.
Bedtime Stories (As Told By Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up), has a fairly self-explanatory title; two young children coerce their father into reading them a handful of stories before bed, which he (being the dad) misconstrues a little bit. The kids, Katie (Eva Solmos, 9) and Ashley (Stacy Clark, 11), refuse to go to bed without a bedtime story. Their exhausted father (Giacomo DePasquale, 10) surrenders despite his own sleep schedule to spare his pregnant wife from being woken up by the rowdy children. Once the girls finally settle down, they adventure through three confused yet hilarious fantasy worlds, where classic fairy tales undertake the interpretations of two creative children and their very tired father, who recalls the fables as best he can.
The first tale, per Ashley’s request, is somewhat of the “Princess and the Pea.” Dad keeps the elements of royalty and vegetables in his version, but slightly embellishes the motives of the characters, as well as the serving size of peas. The Queen (Heidi Nittner, 12) longs to have her son replace her as top monarch, but he cannot do so without a wife ruling alongside him. The disagreeable Prince (Logan Arthur, 12) rejects all the local singles, leading the Queen and the Prime Minister (Destiny Williams-Najzer, 12) to their last resort: palace maid Mindy (Taylor Layman, 12) who exhibits more princess-like qualities than any other royal prospect. Next, per Katie’s request, is a story none know but will all come to love, “The Girl Who Cried Dinosaur.” Bo Peep (Sybilla Vargas, 10) must protect her sheep from nonchalant Horace (Solmos), a friendly but hungry dinosaur all by herself, for when she reports her Jurassic encounter the townsfolk write her off as psychologically unstable. Bo Peep tries to fend off as well as expose Horace while simultaneously forming a friendship with him.
When both stories are resolved with their respective happily ever afters, Ashley and Katie’s father naively assumes the night is over. Not so fast, Dad–no one sleeps until someone recites the story of the first financial exploitation: “Rumplestiltskin.” A poor old woman (Nittner) sells her daughter (Williams-Najzer) to the Prince (Arthur) in order to keep her and her precious cattle together and out of debt. Unsatisfied with the girl but impressed with the cattle, the old woman claims that her daughter can turn gold into straw to convince the Prince. Her pitch was just confusing enough to work, and the Prince took the girl back to his castle and put her to work, turning blocks of solid gold into straw. Powerless, the girl is relieved when con artist Rumplestiltskin (Rosemary Hundt, 9) appears and seemingly has the powers she does not. She closes her eyes as Rumplestiltskin switches out the bars of gold for straw, and they perform some dance until all gold in the palace turns to straw. Cluelessly grateful, the girl promises Rumplestiltskin her first born child, a gift he should have been careful to wish for.
Despite it being possibly the most distorted fairy tale of all, Dad manages to resolve “Rumplestiltskin” happily enough that Katie and Ashley finally relent and agree to go to sleep (eventually). This hilarious compilation of fairy tales appeals to anyone with a sense of humor and heart. The good intentions of the dad fight for dominance over his poor recollection of the stories, and the morals derived from his efforts as well as those of the characters in his stories concocted the perfect play for Chesterton Theatre to perform in front of their broadest audience. Although the story itself is full of potential for a successful performance, the show would not be so full of life as it was without the efforts made by all participants.
The crew began working on Bedtime Stories in late winter, slightly later than usual, but not noticeably so. All four performances reflected the months of time and energy that the theatre program dedicated to the formation of their performance. Since the characters in the play outnumbered the actors, many had to juggle multiple rolls, which entails the memorization of heaps and heaps of lines, but each word spoken on stage seemed to flow naturally from the actors. This aspect of the show, along with all others that sailed smoothly and made for another phenomenal addition to the Family Theatre’s history, cannot be attributed to anything so tangible as the script each actor was assigned and how well they performed it, but rather to the exciting and inviting community found within the theatre program. Freshman Eva Solmos, who played Horace and Katie in Bedtime Stories, reports that during her first experience with a high school production, rehearsals encapsulated all her favorite aspects of theatre, especially the friendships and inside jokes formed along the way. After spending months with each other, good team comradery was reflected heavily in the play’s spirit and success.
“Everyone was nice to each other, and I felt like that really brought together and increased actor chemistry on stage, so it looked and sounded more sincere. It just came together faster and better,” says Solmos.
Despite Bedtime Stories being his first directorial jaunt with Chesterton Family Theatre, director Robert Morris, English teacher at Westchester Middle School, preserved the enthusiasm and passion reflected in all past performances. A welcoming and fun environment is crucial to the functionality of anything, especially something as delicate as the art of theatre. Chesterton art programs have always been known for their tightly-knit and enriching atmosphere, and even under new direction, the theatre club is no exception.
Between Morris’ wisdom for theatre and the students habit of always putting their best foot forward, a subpar performance is simply unprecedented. Bedtime Stories (As Told By Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up) is a wonderful installment in Chesterton Family Theatres’ history that reflects the past, present, and future talent of the program. Enjoyed by adults and kids alike, the show was a roaring success on all four nights, and given the consistently positive feedback from the community, the next upcoming performance by Chesterton’s favorite thespians is sure to live up to Bedtime Stories’ idyllic example.
