OAKHURST – What do you get when you combine 17th century scenarios with contemporary high school students? Answers will be forthcoming at the new Yosemite High School Theater Arts Department spring play, “The Love of Three Oranges,” presented May 2, 3 and 4, at 7 p.m. in the YHS Theater.
Theater arts teacher Lars Thorson says the “foolish modern fairytale” is based on a scenario by 17th century Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi, and features physical comedy, magic and even some surprises.
“The Love of Three Oranges,” says director Thorson, “follows the son of a wealthy CEO as he overcomes spells put on him by an evil witch. The young man goes from being a sad hypochondriac to an excitable teenager lovesick for three oranges.”
YHS senior Scott Smith leads the production as Truffaldino, a comedian charged with helping a young man find love and laughter in today’s modern world.
“The play is tricky,” admits Smith, “because we are improvising a lot of the action and dialogue and it’s hard to constantly come up with new and funny stuff.”
Senior Stephanie Brown plays the evil witch Fata Morgana.
“I’m so happy to play an evil character,” Brown says, “because we’re trained to be nice in life and it’s fun to play someone who isn’t.”
Juniors Lance Litten and Jacob Caldwell also play critical roles: Litten is the wealthy spell-cast youth and Caldwell is the narrator who “can’t quite seem to stay out of the story,” according to Thorson.
“It’s been a challenge to re-write a fairy tale into modern terms,” says the director, “but the students have had fun working on it and hopefully the audience will laugh at their foolishness.”
Tickets to “The Love of Three Oranges” are $8 for adults and $5 for students. For reservations or information, call 683-4667 ext. 256.
