Shakespearean, Wild West worlds to collide in play

Members of the Act Out Theater group raise their voices in song during a dress rehearsal on Friday for the upcoming musical "Shakespeare Comes to Calamity Creek."

The worlds of Shakespearean theater and the Wild West will collide during an upcoming presentation by Mountain Home Junior High School's Act Out Theater group.

"Shakespeare Comes To Calamity Creek" debuts at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28 at the junior high school commons area with additional curtain calls at 7 p.m. Saturday and again March 7 and 8.

Based on the book by Tim Kelly, tickets for the two-act musical comedy are available at the door and cost $5 for adults and $3 for children and senior citizens.

The western tale takes place in the Old West when Arizona was still a territory. The opening act begins as a group of Shakespearean actors arrive by train to the small sagebrush town of Calamity Creek.

Their goal is to bring some culture and entertainment to the local townsfolk, said teacher Pam Zielke, who oversees the junior high school theater department. But unknown to the intrepid band of traveling entertainers, they've brought with them a bank of thieves ready to rob the city blind.

Hot on the trail of these desperados is hero Johnny Lasso, played by Josh Baldridge. With the help of his friend Raspy, the two of them not only capture these outlaws but a couple of other despicable villains as well.

The theater group includes dozens of students in seventh to ninth grade. This week's performance marks the first time Baldridge and a number of the other performers will appear on stage.

The teen was drawn to the world of acting after he saw last year's performance and enjoyed seeing all the behind-the-scenes activity, he said.

Among the other students involved in the production is Elisabeth Stephens, who portrays Agness Snipes. Stephens describes her character as the city's "queen of gossip."

Others involved in the production are veterans of the stage. Show producer Joey Vogl has been involved in live theater since his first play in fifth grade.

Now a sophomore at Mountain Home High School, this marks the fifth time he's been involved in the junior high school theater group.

"This time, I get see what happens behind the scenes and how everything all comes together," Vogl said.