On a recent afternoon at the Wright Auditorium, junior Waylon Jones stood at center stage, delivering a monologue as the old, rich gentleman Mr. Horace Vandergelder.
“I wasn’t always free of foolishness as I am now. I was once young, which was foolish,” Jones declared. “I fell in love, which was foolish, and I got married, which was foolish.”
Petersburg High School theater students were rehearsing the beginning scenes of their spring play, “The Matchmaker.” Waylon held a cane in his left hand, thumping it on the ground for emphasis.
“Then my wife died, which was foolish of her,” he announced to the room.
Love is at the core of “The Matchmaker,” a romantic comedy set in 1880s Yonkers, New York. The story follows matchmaker Dolly Levi, who is hired to help find a new wife for Mr. Vandergelder. But Dolly has her own plans to marry him.
You might recognize this as the plot from the musical “Hello Dolly!” which is based on the play.
“This play is about love, but not just love between people, love between ideas,” stage manager Heidi Brantuas explained. “And the difference between loving someone for them, or loving someone because you lost someone and you want something back out of a relationship.”
Senior Chris Calhoun plays Ambrose Kemper, an artist who’s in love with Mr. Vandergelder’s niece. Chris says this year’s production is very large, and that was one of the most enjoyable parts.
“It’s our biggest cast so far since I’ve joined the theater program,” Chris said. “And this is our biggest crew, so it’s really awesome to see how many people are doing it.”
That gives opportunities for beginning actors to take their first steps into the spotlight, like freshman Kaiden Calhoun, who plays a waiter.
“I got a bit scared I was gonna mess up my lines, because I’ve never done this before,” Kaiden explained.
Director and high school theater teacher Elsa Wintersteen said picking a play with beginner-friendly parts was a big consideration.
“This play had a lot of roles and lots of smaller parts, so I felt that would be approachable for students that maybe wanted to try it for the first time,” she said.
“The Matchmaker” is also a major tone shift compared to the fall production, “Dracula.” Wintersteen said that, while the play may be silly at times, it still tackles important themes.
“The writing is so rich and still demands some thought of the audience when they come in,” Wintersteen said. “I never want my students to feel like they’re acting something that causes them to have to lower their reading and analyzing skills.”
Staging the play comes with unique logistical challenges. Junior Quinn Rafferty, who plays Dolly, said there’s a lot happening onstage.
“The complexity makes it very difficult to have everything running at the same time and having it all go smoothly,” Quinn said. “But when it does, it’s so satisfying.”
The theater department is raising funds to go to Scotland this year, to take their production of Dracula to the world’s largest performing arts festival. The theater kids have been fundraising around the community, and Wintersteen says the group has made about half the money they need.
She said the majority of this play’s ticket sales will go toward the Scotland trip.
The group has a goal to sell out at least one performance this year.
Junior Alicia Kittams, who plays eccentric old woman Flora Van Huysen, said “The Matchmaker” is a play for everyone.
“I don’t care if you’re in Petersburg, I don’t care if you’re in Wrangell, I don’t care if you’re a five-year-old. Come watch the play,” she said. “You’ll have something to take away from it.”
You can see “The Matchmaker” on Thursday Feb. 19, Friday, Feb. 20, and Saturday, Feb. 21. Each night has a 7 p.m., and there will be a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased from cast members or at Lee’s Clothing for $10.
