Maxinkuckee Players to Undertake First Operetta

 
 

The Maxinkuckee Players production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will take to the stage in six performances beginning Friday, July 26 at the Culver Community High School Auditorium.

Maxinkuckee Players member Brian Liechty explained that Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is based on the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. He is sold to be a slave, but because of his ability to interpret dreams, he becomes the right hand man of Pharaoh and saves Egypt from famine.

The production features many local cast members. Zachary West of Argos is playing the role of Joseph and Kathy Overmyer plays the narrator. The brothers are played Brian Liechty, Tom Boys, Eric Burch, Grant Ringenberg and Kevin Mallory of Plymouth; Brad Foster and Tony Hutchinson from Bremen; Doug Nielsen from North Judson; Phillip McFarland of Knox; Austin Saenz from Tippecanoe; and Caleb Dehning from Culver.

Overmyer explained that the entire show is sung, and as the narrator, Overmyer is tasked with singing almost constantly. However, the show features a variety of types of music, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

“It is an operetta, so everything is sung and there are so many different types of music. Brian sings the Calypso number, the Caribbean. We have the country western number. We have a hip-hop number. We have a rock ballad. We have a ’60s disco number. We have the 1950s Elvis number, and kind of like a French song – I think it’s like a tango or something along that line – and then the Calypso, so a lot of different styles of music. Something for everyone,” said Overmyer.

West explained that this is the first operetta the Players have undertaken.

“Compared to other Maxinkuckee shows, this is my second, and this is the first operetta that we’ve ever done. And so this has of course it’s own challenges. I’ve been in some operettas at school, so I’ve done those in the past, but this is the first we’ve done as the Players,” said West.

The show will be presented on Friday, July 26; Sunday, July 28; Wednesday, July 31; Friday, Aug. 2; Saturday, Aug. 3; and Sunday, Aug. 4. The Sunday shows are at 4 p.m. and all other shows begin at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets can be purchased at the door on opening night for $5. Tickets for other showings are $10 for adults and $5 for children.