One Act season just finished and the MAHS One-Act team brought the story of a lifetime to the stage.

Achieving second at Sections in Redwood Falls, the team was close to moving on to State. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane was a play to be remembered for many years. Aside from competitions, the cast was also able to share their journey with the Morris Area 3rd graders, who had just finished reading the book, and put on a few public performances as well. The play is based on the book written by Kate DiCamillo. The story takes the audience on a journey through the life of a china rabbit in the 1930s; during the journey, Edward must learn how to love. The rabbit, Edward Tulane, was played by none other than Zach Dietz, who brought physicality to the character. Abilene, Edward’s original owner, was played by Allison Albrecht, who did a fantastic job depicting childhood innocence. Other characters in the rabbit’s life include Grandmother Pellegrina, Nellie, and an older doll, played by the fabulous Greta Conroy, who always brings her characters to life in the most authentic ways and draws audiences into the story. Greta was also the show’s costume designer. She spent many long hours caring for the costumes and using her creativity to bring the 1930s into the show. The narrator of the show was played by the marvelous Kaia Anderson, our senior this year. Kaia did an outstanding job as she always does, and kept the audience drawn into the story as she led them on the journey of Edward’s life. The magnificent Joshua Price played Abilene’s father, Lawrence, Bull, and Bryce. We are very proud of Josh because this was his first year on our One Act team, and he learned the ropes very well. Bull’s dog, Lucy, played by the talented Zach Zimmel, always brought smiles to the audience’s faces. Sara Ruth was played by the spectacular Anna Demetriou, who managed to die the saddest death and opened the audience’s hearts. The doll mender, a watchman, and Nellie and Lawrence’s daughter, Lolly, were played with a good variation of emotions by the wonderful Aria Chatters. Aria is also our skilled set painter and helped to bring the show to life with detailed wood grain and wainscoting on parts of the set. Neal, the diner owner, was played by Nathaniel Hansen, who did an amazing job. One of our talented students, Angela Albrecht, played Marlene the diner waitress, as well as older Abilene, but also spent hours sewing and creating the six Edward Tulane rabbit dolls the cast used in the production. Belle Morris and Avery Wiese did a lovely job playing ensemble roles in the show and crew included tech professionals Thea Kolden, Truett Richards, Abi Alcantar, Kirstin Zaske, and Kayla Howe. From the cast to the crew, this show was a perfect example of where determination and love can lead you.

This spring, prepare for a murder mystery with no hiccups, prop malfunctions, or unconscious actors. MAHS Theater Department presents The Play That Goes Wrong to you. After a successful run with the One-Act play, The Play That Goes Wrong will be a nice intro into the spring and summer performances since the theater had to make the difficult decision to cancel the spring musical, The Wizard of Oz. However, this allows the spring play to get a head start on its preparations.

The Play That Goes Wrong follows Cornley University Drama Society and their newest production: The Murder at Haversham Manor. However, things don’t go as planned. Set issues, actor fights, and everything in between; this show defines the old theatre adage, “If anything can go wrong, it will.” Audience members will be laughing from the moment they enter the theatre.

Auditions for the play took place on February 26 and 27, and we have our actors!

Chris/Inspector Carter, played by Tysen Daughetry; Sandra/Florence Colleymoore, played by Greta Conroy; Max/Cecil Haversham/Arthur, played by Zach Dietz; Dennis/Perkins, played by Josh Price; Robert/Thomas Colleymoore, played by Wesley Richards; Annie played by Kaia Anderson; Jonathan/Charles Haversham, played by Jahvon Johnson; and Tracy(Trevor), played by Anne Marie Schneider.

The MAHS Theater Department can’t wait to show the world what happens when a play doesn’t go as planned. “The show must go on!”