The more things stay the same, the more things change. So New West theatre is excited to revisit Munsch-o-Rama, their annual New Year’s Theatre for Young People exploration of the stories of Robert Munsch.
Jeremy Mason returns to direct the production, which includes popular Munsch stories “50 Below Zero,” “Something Good,” “Pigs” and “Thomas’s Snowsuit,” Dec. 26- Jan 5 at Casa.
“I wrote this interpretation of Munsch stories,” said Mason, who is excited to work with New West again. He is also directing the next music revue shoe Rockers Gone Country.
“We’ve done these stories before in 2013, but this production feels a lot different. There’s more audience interaction and a lot of additional physical comedy,” he said.
“When it’s live theatre, every show is different,” he said.
After the run is done at Casa, the cast, consisting of Camille Pavlenko, Kelly Malcolm and Ryan Reese are taking the show to local schools.
“ We do that every year,” said New West Artistic Director Sharon Peat.
“It’s always very popular and on a larger level it’s always a lot of fun,” she continued adding working in the schools is a good way to give back to the community. After the show closes, they will be at the General Steward School on Jan. 7.
“Physicaly it’s very different and there is more emphasis on costumes and design in this production,” said Pavlenko, the Lethbridge based actress who now who calls Calgary home.
She has also worked with
Ryan Reese on previous Munsch productions.
“ This production is big, bold, loud and fun, It’s very fast paced,” she enthused.
She is excited to work with Reese and Malcolm again.
“ We’ve worked with each other before, so we are really familiar with each other.So If somebody has a suggestion, we can experiment with it,” she said.
As usual in the Munsch productions, the actors all play a variety of different roles and explore a lot of different accents.
My favourite character is in “Pigs,” she said.
They are excited to be back in Casa.
“ We want t make sure the Sterndale Bennett Theatre is 100 per cent ready,” Peat said.
Mason is excited to experiment and have fun with Munsch stories.
Munsch-o-rama runs at 1 p.m. Dec. 26-29 and Dec. 31 and at 1 p.m., Jan. 2,3 and 5.
