Theatre Archive

2021-22

Fall Play - Twisted Tales of Poe

 

Written by Edgar Allen Poe
Adapted by Philip Grecian
Directed by Laura Steenson

October 28-29, November 4-6 at 7pm
October 30 at 2pm

Twisted Tales of Poe is LIVE and IN PERSON!  Based on 4 of Edgar Allan Poe's writings (The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, The Black Cat),  this play within a play showcases a group of 1940s radio performers dramatizing the stories of the inmates in the Leverett Street Jail, complete with live sound effects made right on stage.

 

2020-21

Winter Radio Play - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Written by L. Frank Baum
Adapted by Tim Kelly
Further adapted for radio, with permission, by RHS
Directed by Laura Steenson

January 21-30, on demand

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is based on the classic story and has been adapted into a radio play.  It was recorded with each student in their own home.  Some of the editing, many of the sound effects and all of the art work used was done by students as well!
 

Early Spring Play - Left to Our Own Devices

Written by Flip Kobler, Cindy Marcus, and Finn Kobler
Directed by Laura Steenson

April 15-24, on demand

Left To Our Own Devices is a collection of short stories that examine how technology can help and hinder communication and relationships.  Each student involved was a "one man band," fulfilling the roles of costumer, makeup artist, lighting technician, set dresser, camera operator and actor for their own scenes!  After each student recorded their own parts, the recordings were edited together; through the magic of technology, we were even able to make it appear that actors were in the same space!

 

Late Spring Musical - The Chez l'Aisselle

Music, Lyrics, and Book by Zach Hudson
Directed by Laura Steenson
Musical Direction by Melissa Albert

June 3-12, on demand

The Chez l'Aisselle features hoity-toity D'Oyly Fitzgibbon, restauranteur and lover of the finer things in life.  As he prepares to open his latest restaurant, everything that can go wrong does.  His daughter shows up engaged to someone he can't stand, his sous chef is in love with his daughter, the restaurant critic turns out to be his ex-wife and, to top it all off, all the food has gone bad and his kitchen staff has food poisoning!  With just D'Oyly, his daughter Helena, and Sue the Sous Chef to run the restaurant, will they be able to make magic and impress Grace, the ex-wife turned food critic, who holds their fate in her hands?

 

2019-20

Fall Musical - The Little Mermaid

Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater
Book by Doug Wright
Directed by Laura Steenson
Musical Direction by Rebecca Chelson

November 14-15, 21-23 at 7pm
November 16, 23 at 2pm

See your favorite characters from the Disney animated movie come to life as they sing and dance on our stage!  Watch as Ariel trades her voice away to the sea witch Ursula in exchange for legs so that she can find her soulmate, Prince Eric.  Flip your fins along with the songs you know and love, such as Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl, and be delighted by new songs played by the RHS band and orchestra students.

 

Winter Play - The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon

Written by Don Zolidis
Directed by Laura Steenson

February 20-29

The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are turned on their heads in this fast-paced, rollicking ride as two narrators and several actors attempt to combine all 209 stories ranging from classics like Snow White, Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel to more bizarre, obscure stories like The Devil's Grandmother and The Girl Without Hands. A wild, free-form comedy with lots of audience participation and madcap fun. 

 

2018-19

Fall Musical - Cinderella Live!

Book and Lyrics by Stan Gill
Adapted by RHS Theatre
Music by Cindy Bright
Adapted and Arranged by Travis Freshner and Rebecca Chelson
Directed by Laura Steenson
Musical Direction by Rebecca Chelson

October 25-27, November 1-3 at 7pm
October 27, November 3 at 2pm

Reynolds High School is proud to present Cinderella LIVE! a unique musical that is a fun twist on the traditional Cinderella story. All your favorite characters are there - the Prince, step-sisters, Fairy Godmother - but they're a little different than you remember. Set in a 1960s television studio, this interactive musical is fun for the whole family.

 

Winter Play - I Never Saw Another Butterfly

Written by Celeste Raspanti
Directed by Laura Steenson

February 21-22, 28, March 1-2 at 7pm
February 23 at 2pm

Join us for the powerful story of Raja, one of the 15,000 Jewish children who survived passing through Terezin. She lived through it all, taught children when there was nothing to teach with, helped to give them hope when there was little enough reason for hope, created a little world of laughter, of flowers and butterflies behind the barbed wire, tells the true story of the children. It's her play and it's theirs.

 

Spring Black Box - The Tempest

Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Laura Steenson

May 16-17, 23-25 at 7pm
May 25 at 2pm

After being dethroned by her own brother, Antonio, the duchess Prospera and her infant daughter Miranda were cast away in the sea, but fortunately they were brought to the island. Since then, they have been living in the island with two servants: Ariel, the airy spirit, and the monster, Caliban. Come enjoy this Shakespeare classic performed by the students of Reynolds High School!

This performance takes place in our black box theatre.  There is NO late seating, and refunds will not be available for those who arrive late.

 

2017-18

Fall Musical - Once Upon a Mattress

Music by Mary Rogers
Lyrics by Marshall Barer
Book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer
Directed by Laura Steenson
Musical direction by Karen Bohart

October 26-27, November 2-4 at 7pm
​October 28 at 3pm​​

If you thought you knew the story of “The Princess and The Pea,” you may be in for a walloping surprise!  Did you know for instance, that Princess Winnifred actually swam the moat to reach Prince Dauntless the Drab? Or that Lady Larken’s love for Sir Harry provided a rather compelling reason that she reach the bridal altar post haste? Or that it wasn’t the pea at all that caused the princess a sleepless night? Carried on a wave of wonderful songs, by turns hilarious and raucous, romantic and melodic, this rollicking spin on the familiar classic of royal courtship and comeuppance provides for some side-splitting shenanigans. Chances are you’ll never look at fairy tales the same way again.

 

Winter Play - Anne of Green Gables

Based on the Novel by L.M. Montgomery
Adapted by Michelle R. Davis
Directed by Laura Steenson

February 15-16, 22-24 at 7pm​
February 17 at 2pm

Based on the classic novel, Anne of Green Gables follows the life of a young, scrawny, redheaded girl who only dreams of belonging to a family. Her prayers are answered when she goes to live with the Cuthbert siblings who never married or had kids of their own. When she arrives she expects open arms but the Cuthberts were expecting a young boy to work on their farm. Anne tries everything she can to convince them to keep her but her over dramatic personality always seems to get in the way. Anne is a heart warming story filled with themes of community and the love of family, no matter how different.

 

Spring Black Box - The Dining Room

Written by A. R. Gurney
Directed by Laura Steenson

May 10-11, 17-19 at 7pm
May 12, 19 at 2pm

The play is set in the dining room of a typical well-to-do household, the place where the family assembled daily for breakfast and dinner and for any and all special occasions. The action is comprised of a mosaic of interrelated scenes—some funny, some touching, some rueful—which, taken together, create an in-depth portrait of a vanishing species: the upper-middle-class. Dovetailing swiftly and smoothly, the varied scenes wind together, ultimately, into a theatrical experience of exceptional range, compassionate humor and abundant humanity.

 

2016-17

Fall Musical - Big Fish

Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Book by John August
Directed by Laura Steenson
Musical Direction by Karen Bohart
​
November 3-4, 10-12 at 7pm
November 5 at 2pm

 

Winter Play - The Diviners

Written by Jim Leonard, Jr.
Directed by Laura Steenson

February 22-25 at 7pm
February 25 at 2pm

 

Spring Black Box - Hamlet

Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Laura Steenson

May 11-12, 18-20 at 7pm
May 13 at 2pm

Prince Hamlet has been summoned back to Denmark from school in Germany to attend his father’s funeral.  Once there, he is shocked to discover that his mother has already remarried – to his father’s brother, Claudius. Worse still, Claudius has claimed the king’s crown for himself, even though Hamlet was the rightful heir to the throne.  Suspecting foul play, Hamlet takes it upon himself to discover what happened.

Traditionally, a pantomime would precede a play, helping the audience to understand the play that was to come.  Following in this tradition, we performed Tom Stoppard’s The Fifteen Minute Hamlet each night preceding our performance of Hamlet.  The Fifteen Minute Hamlet is produced by special permission with Samuel French.