Father of the Bride to elate audiences starting this week

Looking to break out of winter's encumbering grasp? Prepare to be elated with light-heartedness March 3rd, as Parkland Theater's production of Father of the Bride by Caroline Francke starts this week. The show itself, which first appeared on Broadway in the 1940's, is a comedy about a father who has a rather independent daughter who decides to get married. The father, who is unhappy about letting his daughter go, has to deal with the fact that wedding planners, florists, dress makers, and pretty much everyone and everything that goes with a wedding are invading his home. To make matters worse, the wedding plans keep getting bigger and more outrageous by the day, but they come with humorous results. The director of the show this year is Randi Collins Hard.

Hard, who is the director of the Educational Theatre program, as well as the Artistic Director at Parkland, has directed over 70 plays and musicals over the years, 40 of which have been done at Parkland. In doing all of these productions, it's easy to imagine that directing would become tiresome. Really, how many shows can you do before it gets repetitive? Hard doesn't look at it that way, she believes that directing can't possibly get old.

"I love directing-it's quite literally my life," said Hard.

Hard chose Father of the Bride for several reasons, one reason being that it's a fantastic play with a great script. Another reason would be that the play has name recognition and people can appreciate a classic. It's also a family show, so people of all ages can enjoy it. Probably the most important reason why she chose the show is because it's a comedy, and she loves to direct comedies.

"It's more than that, though," she said, "people need relief from the dregs of winter-it's just a funny show."

The production itself is fairly large. There are 18 actors in the show, as well as a tech crew, and a beautiful set, modeled to look like a comfortable home. As for sponsorship, the whole show is receiving funding from Michelle's Bridal, and they've even helped with the wardrobe. Since the original show was done in the 40's, there have been some alterations in the script, mostly because some of the phrases were a bit dated, so they made it more of a modern production.

The actors themselves vary, with about half of them being students and the other half community members. According to Hard, it's good to have a diverse cast, mainly because it adds to the performance. Overall though, there are more students that are involved with the show then community members in total, and that's how it typically is for any show at Parkland as the majority of the backstage crew is students.

With a crew that size, it must be hard for everyone to get along, but Hard says that everyone gets along really well, which is good because it's important to have good chemistry with the people involved with the show. With such a good cast, the expectations of the show are rather high.

"We're already selling (tickets) well," said Hard, "everyone's really looking forward to the show, and the people involved with the show are ready to begin."

The show starts Wednesday, March 3, so be sure to check out Father of the Bride during its running. The show dates and times are March 3rd, 5th, 6th, 11th, 12th, and 13th at 7:30 pm, and March 14th at 3 pm. Ticket prices are $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, $10 for youth, and for groups of 15 plus, tickets are $8 per person. Opening night is "pay what you can" night, so you can pay anything from a penny to full ticket price (or even more if you like), and the 11th is half price night. If you attend Friday March 5th, be sure to stick around after the show for the talk-back session with Randi Collins Hard and the cast, it's going to be really fun. All of this information can be found on Parkland's website-just look for the Father of the Bride's press release.

If you're interested in getting involved with the drama program at Parkland, there are open auditions on Sunday, March 7th from 2 to 5 pm for All Out, the student production this year. All members of the community are encouraged to try out, so who knows, if you enjoyed Father of the Bride or any other Parkland productions, maybe you'll want to get into the performing arts yourself. See you at the show!