Williston's summer children's theater (YES) is the first to present "Eeek! A Mousical" by founder-director Jack Dyville of New York, formally of Williston. Dyville, along with composer and co-lyricist John Stutte of Atlanta, have taken the Aesop fable "The City Mouse and the Country Mouse" and turned it into a clever and fun-filled 90 minutes of music, dance and laughter.
There are three performances, all at 7:30 p.m., on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Old Armory in Williston. Tickets are available at the door and are $4 for students and $8 for adults.
Dyville, co-founder of YES, has been writing youth theater for more than 20 years. He lives in New York and comes to Williston each summer for YES productions. The contrast of New York and Williston reminded him of "The City Mouse and the Country Mouse" fable.
"That theme has intrigued me. The country is not for everyone, the city is not for everyone," he said. The fable is only four pages long, and Dyville said that gave him the leverage to fill in additional scenes. The roles of city mouse, Bara, and country mouse, Clarissa, will be performed by YES alumni Allayna Kalmik Stevens and Kayla Stamp. The city family includes Renae Evenson as the daughter, Breanna; Noah Bentley as the son, Benjamin; and YES alumnus DaeMynn Stevens as husband Brad. The country family includes Paige Wold as the daughter, Caroline; Hope Clark as the son, Clem; and Hailey Bendixson as husband Charles.
Fifteen local third, fourth and fifth-graders will sing and dance to portray the city and country surrounding. The YES alumni have more experience and give other actors the opportunity to work with more seasoned performers, Dyville said.
He will direct and choreograph, with orchestrations arranged by Stutte. B. Michael Quale, co-founder of YES, and Kevin Duttenhefner, Williston High School art teacher, are providing a cartoon-style set. Costumes will be by Oral Johnson, Vivian Kalmik and Lydia Barkie.
He plans to return to New York soon after the "Eeek! The Mousical" production and have his theater company Friends Always Creating Theatre (FACT) perform the musical in January.
"Now, we're trying to get the play published," Dyville said.
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