YORKTON - Paper Bag Players are exhaling this week after months of preparation culminated in a successful weekend run of its dramatized version of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
“I am absolutely thrilled it has been completed,” offered director Teresa Weber Monday, adding all the work was worth it thanks to “a wonderful audience” in attendance.
“Lots of family with kids came out,” said Weber, adding having youth in the audience was a little different for the long-running theatrical troupe, which has generally produced shows for an adult audience.
Weber said they knew they were taking on a bigger project with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which had a core cast of 16, and actually had 30 involved on stage.
“We were coming back to live theatre, (post COVID-19), and we came out with a bang,” she said.
Of course the pandemic was a challenge for Paper Bag Theatre.
“The difficulty was working around COVID,” said Weber, adding the performance was originally intended to take place in February, but was postponed due to the venue being located at a high school that suffered a COVID outbreak.
And even with new dates set for April “there was nervousness if there was going to be another wave,” said Weber.
But, at least by waiting they avoided having to ask for proof of vaccination, or have theatre goers wear masks, although they were available for those who wanted them, said Weber.
As for the performance itself the director was more than pleased.
“Absolutely it was what my vision was to begin with. What people saw on stage was what I had seen in my imagination,” she said.
Weber was also quick to thank not just the cast for helping fulfill her vision, but all the volunteers who helped make it a reality.
“It’s like an iceberg, you only see the top, you don’t see the hard work underneath,” she said.
So would Weber take on another ambitious show like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?
“Right now; no, I need some sleep,” she said, then quickly added the way the show went over in the community, there were 300-plus at Sunday’s matinee, another family friendly show will certainly be discussed.
“Yorkton did come out for this play,” she reiterated.
