The evil trio in “Land of Make Believe” is portrayed by Nickolas Sorensen as the troll from under the bridge, Rylee Hammond as the wolf and Sophia Derby as Snow White’s stepmother.
Sara Dowling | NNG
Performing Arts of Churchill County presents the children’s musical “Land of Make Believe” April 3-5 on stage at the Churchill County High School auditorium.
All performances start at 7 p.m. with an additional 1 p.m. matinee on April 5. Tickets are available at paccnv.org/tickets and at the door.
Bruce and his sister Robin can’t visit their nana who lives too far away. When Bruce asks the mirror hanging in their living room for help he is transported to the Land of Make Believe. He and a large cast of classic fairytale characters must work together to solve some strange disappearances.
Tim Wuth wrote the musical and is directing. He is assisted by his wife, Shayne, Noreen Swenson and David Ernst. Wuth said there is also a group of others behind the scenes helping with the show. The soundtrack of 13 songs has some familiar tunes and some original music with lyrics written by Wuth. The “Land of Make Believe” opening theme was repeatedly mentioned by the cast as being a favorite number.
Extensive show choreography by Amanda Souba and Cassidy Mitchell ranges from challenging to beautiful. During dance rehearsals, occasionally a shoe flies off or a minor collision happens causing a chorus of giggles. The performers say that a lot of friendships have been made here, a main reason they come back for show after show. To recapture the attention of the 33 local third through eighth grade students, Wuth says the traditional fairytale giant’s “fee fi” and the group responds with “fo fum.”
Luke Brown who plays Bruce was “very, very shocked” to see that he had gotten a lead role at his first audition, but it’s a responsibility that he takes seriously. He said learning the lines and choreography hasn’t been the hardest part of the role.
“It's the acting that gets me,” Brown said. “It's becoming the character and acting or doing the choreography the way they would. That’s the difficult part.”
“Land of Make Believe” is also JaiLeigh Woods’ first show. She plays Bruce’s sister, Robin, and Little Red Riding Hood.
“My favorite part of doing the show is the dances,” Woods said. “They’re really fun.”
Audiences who saw the previous PACC production of “Gilligan’s Island” will likely recognize Faith Oranebo, who played the Skipper. She’s enjoying her latest role as the Magic Mirror.
“I like the mirror because it's the closest to me in the sense that she's a tad bit sassy,” Oranebo said. “It's a really fun character to play.”
Rylee Hammond, who plays the Wolf, said she can’t wait to perform the show for an audience, but admits it can be scary to be on stage.
“It's hard to do that and I get that,” she said. “But you just got to know that once you do it, you'll get used to it. And as long as you keep doing it, it's overcoming your fears.”
Brown also said he would tell someone to “go for it” if they aren’t sure whether they should audition for a show.
“It's been a wonderful experience and the time has flown by so quickly,” Brown said. “It's kind of crazy, it's amazing, it’s a whole lot of fun. I just love it.”