By JOHN BILLINGER
Tiger Media Network
The Hays Community Theater will be hosting performances of “Moon Over Buffalo” on Wednesday, and Friday through Sunday. The regular showtimes will be 7 pm, with Sunday having a matinee show at 2 pm. The play’s synopsis is as follows: “George and Charlotte Hay, a husband-and-wife team of actors, struggle to perform Cyrano de Bergerac and Private Lives in repertory while dealing with family crises and the possibility of a Hollywood director’s visit.”
Newcomer to Hays, Paul English is the director of this play. He has been playing roles in productions for the Community Theater since October of last year, and this will be the first one where he is in the director’s chair.
“I’ve sort of taken the baptism by fire,” English said. “We were very ambitious about the space that we have. We’ve made the biggest set that we’ve ever had in this building.”
The set in question spans from one corner of the room to the other, has five doors for a “Scooby Doo” type chase scene, and is adorned with various period props relevant to the early 1950s setting. The set was designed by Jerrett Leiker, who incidentally plays George Hay in the production.
“About anything that needs built or done I try, best I can to put it together,” he said.
Leiker also said everyone on the production is working hard on the play – two and half hours each night, Sunday-Thursday.While that sounds like a heavy load, he said that everyone is having a blast working with each other.
This is a sentiment shared by Dana Stanton, who plays Charlotte Hay.
“This is probably the hardest play I’ve ever been in, but probably also the most fun. The cast is just outstanding,” Stanton said. “Every rehearsal, we find something new to bring out. Some new little gag. Some new little nuisance to their character. One of the best acting experiences I’ve ever had.”
English also complimented the actors for their dedication.
“The play is an intensely physical comedy”, English said. “Every time I try to pull back on their performance, they’re like ‘let me do more. Let me fall off the stage, let me make this even funnier.’ They want to do the physical stuff more. It’s hard, but they’re going above and beyond.”
This might be a lot for a small production, but for English, it is worth it.
“I found theater in high school. For so many people, this is an opportunity to just live through that,” he said. “And for audiences, it’s an opportunity to interact with the entertainment genre. You get to experience something as it’s happening in a way that movies and television have become distanced from. The theater in general provides that.”
Moon Over Buffalo” was written by Ken Ludwig. It was first performed on Broadway in 1995 and featured the return of Carol Burnett to the stage after 30 years. Tickets can be purchased on Hays Community Theatre’s website.
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