MASON CITY – Mason City High School will present “THE MATCHMAKER” by Thornton Wilder at the Mohawk Performance Hall on Friday, November10, through Sunday, November 12, 2017. Performances are at 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday, with a 2:00 pm matinee on Sunday, November 12. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students, and are available at the High School office or at the District Administration Offices starting October 30. Tickets will also be available at the door prior to each performance. Handicap accessibility is easiest from the north entrance.
Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” is enjoying a renewed appreciation due to the Broadway revival of its musical counterpart, “Hello Dolly” last year. The comic farce “The Matchmaker” debuted in 1954 at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland under the direction of Tyrone Guthrie. It eventually went on to London’s West End and Broadway where it enjoyed 486 performances, earning Guthrie a Tony award for Best Director. Ruth Gordon earned a Tony nomination in the title role of the show’s centerpiece, Dolly Gallagher Levi. The action takes place in Yonkers, New York at the turn of the 20th century. A prosperous local merchant, Horace Vandergelder, has hired the widow, Dolly Levi, to find him a wife. The comedy grows into slapstick situations involving mistaken identities, secret meetings and separated lovers; but in the end, everyone is paired with a perfect match.
Members of the senior class lead the ensemble of actors: Dolly Levi is played by Sarah Dodd and Dakota Lee plays the owner of the hat shop, Mrs. Malloy. Senior, Maddi McChesney, plays Miss Flora Van Huysen. Horace Vandergelder is portrayed by Daniel Stephenson, and the clerks in his store, Cornelius and Barnaby, are played by Marcus Buttweiler and Ethan Walthall. Hannah Brown and Caleb Lillquist play young lovers, Ermengarde and Ambrose. Keira Nobis is Minnie Fay, the assistant in Mrs. Malloy’s Hat Shop. Beau Lapointe plays Malachi Stack and Jayden Smith plays Mick O’Rourke. Mia Godfrey is Cookie and Courtney Smith is Gertrude. Lucas Bartholomew and Jason Davis are Rudolph and August, waiters at the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant. Patrons of the restaurant are Erin Foss, Maya Jalukar, Kasia Jarvis, Madelin Judkins and Madyson Penn. Handling the technical responsibilities for the production are seniors, Nick Angell and Skyler Lee. Additional stage crew are Olivia Bull, Justyce Hull, Maya Jalukar, Brandilee Joyner, Brynn Meyer, Madyson Penn, Ivey Overbeck, Meredith Shaffer, and Baylea Starkey. Kira Meyer is Assistant Director.
Art Director is Janet Kostka and Lighting/Set Director is Tim Slaven. The MCHS Drama Director is Mary Alexander.
