'Dear Edwina JR.' is coming to Pellston: Here's what you need to know about the play
PELLSTON — With the semester end approaching, Pellston Drama Club is preparing for the performance of their district musical.
Students between 5th and 10th grade have been preparing for their production of “Dear Edwina JR.” since August. The play tells the story of Edwina Spoonapple, a child from Paw Paw, Michigan who offers advice to the neighborhood children when they need help.
The performances will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, and 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4 at the middle/high school auditorium. Tickets to the show are $10 for adults and $5 for students. A Mexican dinner will be offered before the show Saturday, hosted by the Pellston Middle School football team. Dinner and the show is $16 for adults and $8 for students.
Lisa Kruzel, the director and drama teacher, said she chose this play last spring because she liked how many roles there were for children to take on. She said there are very few main character roles, giving a lot of children the opportunity to participate.
“It's not like one big star, and it's not like one or two major parts,” she said. “There's lots of parts and lots of kids singing different parts. That's what we look for it for something to showcase a lot more students than just one or two.”
Kruzel said none of the students had heard of the play when she first presented it to the kids. She said as they’ve worked on the play longer, they’ve really come to enjoy it.
“As they've been working on it, they become more and more excited about it because it's such a unique play with so many different parts,” she said.
Nearly six months since presenting the play to the students, the club is about to meet Kruzel’s favorite part: Seeing the students' efforts pay off.
“My favorite part is starting in August when they don't know anything, and seeing how far they travel, and how far they get it,” she said. “I've been doing this for a few years now and that's my favorite part.”
Last May, the district’s sinking fund millage renewal was approved by voters. Money from that fund is being used to improve the school’s auditorium. The sound booth is being updated with a new sound and light board, and eventually the surface of the stage will be refinished. New steps and carpeting will be put in as well.
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“Dear Edwina JR.” will be the first performance since the changes were put in. Kruzel said the district is working to get the “space to look and sound like an auditorium should.”
She said she’s been working with the school for about 20 years, and she usually finds herself in tears at the end of the show because she’s so excited for the students.
“I love seeing what they have done, and how hard they've worked, and the effort they've put in,” Kruzel said. “It's really a truly an amazing thing to see every year.”
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Kruzel, who retired from Pellston Public Schools three years ago, continues to help with these productions because she loves to see how excited the kids get about each show.
“I tell them all the time, ‘You guys are doing things I would not do myself. I can’t get up and dance and sing on stage in front of people,’” she said. “But they amaze me every single year. That's what makes me come back every year. I really do love doing this with them.”
— Contact education reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Pellston Drama Club hosts 'Dear Edwina JR.': What you need to know
