Fans of La Porte High School theater productions will have a special opportunity to see this year's one-act play as LPHS hosts the District 21-5A University Interscholastic League competition on Saturday, March 26.
The competition, which includes performances by six schools, begins at 2 p.m. in the Sonja Angelo Theater on the LPHS campus. Admission is $5. La Porte will be the second performance of the event, so those who wish to see the LPHS play should arrive by 2:45 p.m.
The LPHS production is "Is He Dead?," a comedy/farce written by Mark Twain and adapted by David Ives. The play is a fictional story based on a real artist, Jean Francois Millet.
Although Millet is a great painter, he is struggling to sell his works and make ends meet. He and his artist friends, as well as his sweetheart's father, are al l in financial debt to the greedy Bastien Andre. One day Millet's friends come up with a plan to fake his death, because apparently, as one buyer put it, "an artist is worth so much more when he's dead!"
They decide to have Millet "die" of an exotic disease, and he disguises himself as his widowed sister in order to be able to come out of hiding. From there the craziness begins!
Stephen Mabry plays the role of Millet. Other performers include Christian Cisneros as Chicago, Chris Kimball as Bastien Andre, Joseph Redd as Papa Leroux, Ally Oliphint as Cecile Leroux, Kandice Wicke as Marie Leroux, Cameron Regan as O'Shaughnessy, Justin King as Dutchy, Chelsea Bishop as Madame Bathilde, Celest Palacios as Madame Caron, Travis Wright as Basil Thorpe, Corbin Ayres as Claude Riviere, Jacob Rhodes as Charlie/King of France, Alissa Frobenius as Emperor of Russia, and Leigh-Ann Ballard as Sultan of Turkey.
Crew members are Tyler McElroy, Taylor McElroy, Zach Ashworth, Emily Edwards and Chelsea Robinson, and alternates are Ian Moser, Kayla Zaborowski, Kirstin Dunkerson and Reyth Hall.
Additional students who have been working with technical director Steve Regan to prepare for the LPHS competition are Audrey Ladd, Sammi Oliphint, Corey Nelson and Hunter Turlington.
LPHS theater instructors are Kerry Regan, Steve Regan and Kelly Nelson.
