Paul Adams and his son, Eric Adams review their lines in the dressing rooms below Felten-Start Theatre inside Malloy Hall. The show will run at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 13-15, and 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 16.
Brenna Koehler straightens her ponytails in the mirror. She has been in an array of theatre productions with her homeschool group in the past, but this is her first year in a Fort Hays musical. “It’s definitely been a lot more inclusive,” Koehler said. “As I was doing the homeschool musicals and plays, we were already really close, but I’ve definitely gotten a lot closer with some of my cast members.”
Chloe Mosier applies stage makeup before going upstairs to get her microphone. “I grew up in a super small town with a ‘gym-itorium,’ so having a dressing room and all this technology is super fun,” Chloe Mosier “It’s just very different. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of having, and was never allowed to have.”
The pit rehearses sections of the score, led by music director Terry Crull. Promises, Promises (music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David) was first performed on Broadway in 1968. FHSU’s production will follow the 2010 revival with smoother scene changes, and edits to the script and score.
Cameron Brandenburg (left) and David Morones (right) test the cast’s mics and run through sound cues. Dr. Carl Sage, Technical Director of Theatre at Fort Hays, was in charge of set construction, and he will be running the lighting for the show.
The cast warms up together on stage, singing through harmonies in “I’ll Say a Little Prayer for You.” This song, and “A House Is Not a Home,” were added to the show with the 2010 revival.
Stage manager Debbie Berg stands at her post backstage, giving the first sound and lighting cues at the start of the run-through.
Nathan Leiker, playing one of the lead roles as Chuck Baxter, opens the performance with the song “Half as Big as Life.” Not long after, the audience sees that Baxter, a low-level insurance worker, begins to secretly lend out his apartment on the Upper West Side…for the company bosses’ extramarital affairs. He uses this under-the-table advantage to climb the corporate ladder, all in an attempt to woo Fran Kubelik, a waitress in the company cafeteria.
