DISCOVER!

DISCOVER! | JUNE 20, 2015
KATE HARLOW | STAFF WRITER
Playbill | 9
At a Glance:
WHAT: “On Thin Ice”
WHERE: Okoboji Summer Theatre,
2001 Hwy. 71 N., Okoboji, IA.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday,
June 16-20; 4:30 p.m. Saturday,
June 20; 6 p.m. Sunday, June 21.
COST: $18
CONTACT: 712-332-7773
ONLINE: www.stephens.edu/okobojisummertheatre
First Nighters:
Daphne Davis, a summer resident
in Spirit Lake, was the winner
of the First Nighter award for the
Okoboji Summer Theatre production
of “On Thin Ice.”
As the winner of the First Nighter
award, Davis won two tickets to the
opening night of the show, a corsage,
truffles, cookies and a bottle
of wine.
Politics gone way, way awry
OST opens season with world premiere of “On Thin Ice”
If there’s one thing Iowa is familiar
with it’s politicians.
Especially during a campaign
season.
But the plight of the politician
who decides to take his campaign to
Okoboji during Winter Games has a
few more twists and turns than the
normal presidential candidate.
Well, maybe not, but the main character
of Okoboji Summer Theatre’s
opening show of the season, “On
Thin Ice,” seems to face some of the
normal hurdles while running for office
and a whole lot more.
OST officially opened for its 58th
season this week with a farce written
and directed by their very own Dan
Schultz, the OST co-artistic director
for the season.
“On Thin Ice” follows democratic
presidential hopeful Congressman
Henry Masterson as he desperately
tries to eke out an edge in the polls
over Hillary Clinton before the Iowa
caucus.
To accomplish this, he and his
campaign manager are willing to do
just about anything. The ‘anything’ is
where they funny comes in.
In an attempt to “shake things up”
Henry judges the Winter Games Chili
Cook-Off, attends the Wing Ding
and drops he buck for the broomball
tournament. Henry even goes so far as
to consider putting vocal conservative
Dash Beckbaugh on the ticket with
him as his running mate.
All he wants is to go back to being
boring and talking about the issues.
And he wants his wife.
Too bad three wives show up. One
man dressed as a woman, one single
teen mom and then, of course, Henry’s
actual wife.
The antics of a few more characters
add to the number of doors banging
shut as people rush on and off the
stage.
Then add a reporter to the mix and
things really get crazy.
While the play might not read quite
as well in a different locale other than
Okoboji without some tweeks, really
rooting the play in the Iowa Great
Lakes with mentions of local flavor
added to the fun for this Okoboji audience.
But they don’t just rely on the Okoboji
connection to bring the fun.
Farce is one of the hardest things to
do as an actor and these 10 did it very
well.
While the jokes and slapstick comedy
made the audience laugh, what
made them roll in the aisles was the
non-verbal comedy. Facial expressions
and the physical acting really
took this play to a whole new level.
It also featured the triumphant return
of two veterans of the OST stage:
Kyle Groff as Masterson and Rob
Doyen as Dash Beckbaugh.
These two professionals were
matched step-for-step by the Stephens
College students on the stage for great
timing and comedic punch.
Don’t miss this play, I’m sure it is
one that is going to be talked about
for the rest of the summer. F
Okoboji | Iowa
“I think that it’s
hilarious. They did
a great job of
integrating the area
into the story.”
Cast:
Charlie Peterson: Ryan Burke
Ella Peterson: Emily Sukolies
Rachel Lennon: ZZ Moor
Henry Masterson: Kyle Groff
Megan Masterson: Maggie Niven
Dash Beckbaugh: Rob Doyen
Svetlana Beckbaugh: Emily Chatterson
Michael Connolly: Austin Smith
Tina Connolly: Chelcie Abercrombie
Doris Walter: Caitlin Castro