The first main stage show at the Souris Valley Theatre鈥檚 Frehlick Hall this summer is expected to generate lots of laughs for the audience.
Chickens, a musical comedy that features the talents of six performers, will run July 6 to 9 and July 12 to 16. Show times are at 7:30 p.m. each night. There will also be a 2 p.m. matinee on July 14.
The show, which was penned by Alberta playwright Lucia Frangione, tells the story of a rural Prairie couple struggling to keep their farm operating. Their fortunes are changed when they encounter a quarter of lively, exotic fowl.
Felix LeBlanc (Pal) and Jodi Sadowsky (Liza) portray the farm couple. Rebecca Lascue (Street), Ruaridh MacDonald (His Nibs), Munish Sharma (Alphonse) and Amanda Trapp (Butter Ball) have the roles of the chickens.
Trapp said people can expect to hear a lot of jokes involving poultry, and they can look forward to catchy music.
鈥淲e all go home with the songs stuck in our heads, and are singing them in our lunch breaks,鈥� Trapp said in an interview with Lifestyles. 鈥淭here are some fun scenes. There is some romance, some drama and there is possibly a KFC bucket on stage at one point. It鈥檚 just a really fun, comical show.鈥�
The cast is now into their second week of rehearsals. They did a full run-through of the show on June 26, after just one week of practice, which Trapp said is an 鈥渁mazing鈥� feat.
Sharma added the rehearsals have been fun so far, as they have been putting their own spin on the script.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a lovely feeling to wake up and come and do theatre the whole day, and work on it,鈥� said Sharma. 鈥淪o far, rehearsals are going as well as they can for being in our second week, and I鈥檓 excited to see what happens next week.鈥�
He called Chickens a fun and 鈥渒ooky鈥� show that crowds will enjoy, but he also stressed that it has a good message and a lot of heart.
Trapp and Sharma love performing at the theatre each year. It is a bit of a homecoming for Trapp, in part because she cherishes the opportunity to perform at a live theatre in Saskatchewan each year.
She also has connections to the city, as her uncle, Doug, used to live in Estevan.
鈥淚 spent a couple summers as a child here, so it鈥檚 always a treat to come back and get to hang out,鈥� said Trapp. 鈥淜enn (McLeod), our artistic director, puts together a really great group of people, and we鈥檝e been getting to know the locals every year more and more, so I鈥檓 getting to know people in the community.鈥�
Trapp is in her third year of performing at the theatre. She portrayed Marcia Park in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee last year, and she played Cecily Pigeon in the Odd Couple in 2014.
Sharma is making his second appearance in a main stage show at the theatre. He was also part of the cast of The Putnam County Spelling Bee last year, in which he played Mitch Mahoney, and after the success of the show, he wanted to come back this year.
The atmosphere and the area that they have for the performances creates an atmosphere that he compared to a 鈥渟ummer camp.鈥�
鈥淟ast year was just a great experience,鈥� said Sharma. 鈥淚t had a great cast, a wonderful vibe here, and I really enjoyed just hanging out in the valley. People in Estevan聽are nice and it was a great show. I like what they do here.鈥�
Sharma has already been showcased for one of the theatre鈥檚 events this year, as he was part of the entertainment for the Ladies鈥� Night fundraiser on June 25 at the Doug Third Hall. He performed a burlesque routine for the audience.
鈥淚 hope that they do it again, because it was a great idea, and anything that gets the community involved and gets everyone to see what the Souris Valley Theatre is doing here is a phenomenal thing,鈥� said Sharma.
They admit they didn鈥檛 know much about Chickens, which was originally performed in the theatre hotbed Rosebud, Alberta. It can be difficult to get information about Canadian musicals, Trapp said. But now that they鈥檝e read the script, and they have started rehearsals, they are looking forward to performing the show.
