'Egos Altar-ed'

The Malta High School Drama Department concluded their two-night run of the play Altar Egos in which a young couple gets engaged and then begins their quest to plan a wedding with the (unsolicited) help of their parents.

The final performance was held on Tuesday night and preceded the MHS Culinary Arts Class dinner served to the nice-sized crowd. Alter Egos was the school's final play of the year and the next opportunity for live theatre in Phillips County will be Shakespeare in the Parks on June 28 at the Phillips County Courthouse when production of Othello comes to town. As for Tuesday night's play, as the actors readied to take the stage, director Anna LaBrie asked the audience how many in the auditorium are married and about half of the room raised a hand.

"Okay, how many of you remember putting together the wedding," she asked. Though the number shrank, still some raised their hands. "This is a story about two people who are in love with each other and all they want is a simple wedding, but nothing is ever simple."

The couple, tightly-wound Coleen McMasters and deer in the headlights Mark Frobisher (played wonderfully by Kaycee Bond and Keith Epperson) get engaged at the outset of the play but their excitement about the wedding is fleeting as parents and family barge their way into the planning of the event including Coleen's father, Carl (Adam Mummey), making not-so-subtle promises of cash in exchange for canceling the event altogether. Collen's mother, Diana (Dawn Jenkins) wants to be helpful in the planning of her daughter's big day, but she soon clashes with the groom's parents, the snooty Lew and Vera Frobishers (Travis Epperson and Bonnie Jones.) Throw in an exuberant sports announcer, referee and wispy tailor (all played by Turk Salsbery), a hippy-dippy Uncle Josh and wild ring-announcer (Adessa Judd), an entitled teen sister (Izzie Hallenberg), baffled Maria (Bella Rich) and part-time consultant and fulltime mother (Emma Harms) and the audience was treated to many belly laughs and a comical look at the institution of marriage.

The backdrop of the evening was a cream colored wooden structure which split the stage into two sections, the McMaster abode in the country and the Frobishers' upscale loft somewhere in the city. The set was put together by Brian Benton's Wood Shop class and the stage crew consisted of Clay Hallenberg on lights and Brenda Roozendaal on sound.