According to Dara Slater, director of the Gerald G. Huesken Middle School play, "Hurricane Smith and the Garden of the Golden Monkey," by Tim Kelly, the show has graced the school stage at least twice before - first in 1999 and again in 2008. Slater has chosen to present the story again because she enjoys the humor and nostalgia associated with the Indiana Jones-style comedy. "It's a really funny plot and a funny premise," shared Slater.
"Hurricane Smith and the Garden of the Golden Monkey" will be staged at the school, 500 Mount Sidney Road, Lancaster, on Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m. each evening. Conestoga Valley School District-area senior citizens who wish to attend may do so for free on Thursday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m.
The play-within-a-play story of Hurricane Smith takes place on a movie set where a film director, played by Richard Zapata, is finishing up directing a film. Gloria Daily, a student and aspiring writer, played by Cora Glacken, arrives with her school drama club in tow and her original script under her arm. Daily's story involves the orphaned Hurricane Smith, a famous explorer, played by Evan Zimmerman, whose parents reportedly died in the Amazon while he was still a child. His father disappeared while searching for the Garden of the Golden Monkey. When Hurricane is given a golden monkey by a mysterious foreigner, he sets out to discover the fate of his parents with the lovely photojournalist Linda Zest, played by Alison Harner. The duo encounter adventure including plane crashes, parachute jumps, and the Cobra People, led by Cobra Woman, played by Avery Hehnley.
Slater noted that the large cast of nearly 30 students is an energetic and enthusiastic group, which can be challenging. The play calls for staged combat as well, which she said the students are working to learn for the show.
According to Slater, the plot offers audiences a taste of swashbuckling comedy. "It is supposed to be kind of hokey," noted Slater, adding that one of her favorite parts is when Smith and Zest arrive in the Amazon, where they are required to swim rapids and climb mountains. "The way the teenage playwright chooses to depict that is by having them climb ladders and pretend they're swimming through sheets of fabric," she said. "I like the fact that you can capitalize on the corniness of it."
While the presentation focuses on fun and humor, Slater relayed that there is a message. "The reason (Smith) goes back to the Amazon in search of the golden monkey is because no one knows what really happened to his father," she said. "It's presumed that his father's plane crashed, and (his father) died, but Hurricane doesn't really know that (for sure)." In searching for his identity, Smith learns that the evil Cobra Woman has taken over, and she forces the local people to work in the diamond mines. "Hurricane (has the opportunity to) throw her out of power and reinstate his father's wife to restore justice to the village," said Slater.
Slater hopes area residents will come to enjoy the fun. "It's a show that is good for the whole family," she noted.
Tickets for the show may be purchased from any cast member, by searching for "Hurricane Smith and the Garden of the Golden Monkey" at http://www.showtix4u.com, or at the door prior to the show. Tickets will be discounted for students.
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