INA, Ill. (Oct. 7, 2014) - Step back into the 15th century at Rend Lake College’s fall play “Hunchback of Notre Dame,†set to take the stage Nov. 6-9. This year’s production will feature 37 of RLC’s theatre students on stage with a handful of others behind the scenes.
Pictured is, FIRST ROW, FROM LEFT, Laci Zeidler (Pinckneyville), Madalyn Hintz (Ewing), Alison Blair (Benton), Barretta Chullen (Thompsonville), Bethaney Brown (Mt. Vernon), Krystal Schuch (Mt. Vernon), Lauren Schaubert (Salem), Lauryn Strom (Sesser), Vonnie Palmer (Johnston City); SECOND ROW, Ashley Zinzilieta (Benton), Joy Edwards (Mt. Vernon), Brooke Mohr (Pinckneyville), Cheyenne Needham (Benton), Tara Bell Janowick (Johnston City), Falyn Vandyke (Mt. Vernon), Shawna Cardwell (Benton), Deborah Loucks (Sesser), Keryn Fitzpatrick (McLeansboro); THIRD ROW, Andrew Lampley (Benton), Tristan Shaw (Mt. Vernon), Brady Suedmeyer (Nashville), Jackson Adams (Mt. Vernon), Payton Vollmer (McLeansboro), James Wiegel (Texico), Tyler Bourland (Ina), John Hunsell (Woodlawn), Jacob Ward (McLeansboro), Yuting Zhang (Dahlgren); FOURTH ROW, Brendan Clark (Thompsonville), Dalton Miller (Mt. Vernon), Quentin Overturf (McLeansboro), Chris Milburn (Mt. Vernon), Leland Ferguson (Mt. Vernon), and Sam Smith (Mt. Vernon). Click on the image for a larger view.
The “Hunchback of Notre Dame†production will bring to life the original novel by Victor Hugo, written and published in 1831, that begins when a young priest named Dom Claude Frollo discovers a tiny infant on the steps of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The villainous Frollo will be portrayed by sophomore Chris Milburn of Mt. Vernon. This will be Milburn’s second year on the RLC stage, having played Captain Obadiah Smollett in last fall’s “Treasure Island†production.
“I am excited for this role because Frollo is a very complex character and I am looking forward to meeting the challenge of representing him,†said Milburn. “I am already amazed at the talent I see in my cast mates and I am looking forward to watching them dance around.â€
Twenty years later, the infant becomes the lovable bell-ringer at the Notre Dame, Quasimodo. During the Festival of Fools, Quasimodo is crowned the “King of Fools.†Quasimodo will be portrayed by Quentin Overturf of McLeansboro. Overturf is a business major who is no stranger to acting, having taken part in productions since his freshman year of high school. Last year, he played Blind Pugh in “Treasure Island†and the Tower Witch in “Flummoxed Fairy Tales.â€
“I honestly didn’t expect to get the role of Quasimodo, but I try not to audition for anything with the expectation of a particular role. It was a very pleasant surprise though, as the Hunchback represents one of my favorite character archetypes and I feel that the play portrays him very realistically,†said Overturf. “I’m looking forward to the play and I think this will be another great production in a long line of great productions.â€
As the storyline develops, Frollo becomes infatuated with the gypsy girl Esmeralda, played by Bethaney Brown of Mt. Vernon. Brown has been performing on stage since she was three years old and has taken part in the last three shows at RLC, as Nightingale Nell in “Treasure Island,†Doo-Wop Girl in “Little Shop of Horrors,†and in “Flummoxed Fairy Tales.â€
“I am very excited to be playing Esmeralda in the show,†said Brown.
In an effort to retrieve Esmeralda for Frollo, Quasimodo is imprisoned by the vain Captain Phoebus, played by Tyler Bourland of Ina. Bourland has been on both sides of the stage, acting in “Flummoxed Fairy Tales†and behind the scenes for “Treasure Island†and as one of the operators of the larger-than-life Audrey II plant in last spring’s “Little Shop of Horrors.â€
“I am thrilled to be portraying Captain Phoebus de Chateaupers in this year’s ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’,†said Bourland. “Although my major is music business, I plan on remaining involved in theatre and I regularly perform comedy improv with the RLC Thespians.â€
By the end of the play, audiences will watch as Quasimodo rescues the innocent Esmeralda from the gallows. The family-friendly play will also include a number of dancing scenes.
RLC Theatre Professor Tracey Webb is the director of the fall play. She said the quality of the actors this year is impressive and she knows they will be able to bring the colorful characters to life.
“I have a fresh new pool of talent this year and I’m absolutely thrilled with their acting skills,†said Webb. “This particular play will require a lot of finesse on stage so I’m relieved to have so many wonderful people in the cast. The actors have enthusiastically embraced their roles and they are already very hard-working, which I greatly appreciate. Whether they are helping behind the scenes or performing up on the stage, I’m enjoying working with all the theatre students. It makes my job very satisfying.â€
In addition to Bourland, Brown, Milburn, and Overturf, there are 33 actors, all of which are expected to help build the set in addition to learning lines and dances:
There are also several crew members and volunteers helping with the play including Patrick Burke (Dix), Jaymi Galloway (Thompsonville), Anthony Mitchell (Benton), Josh Moyer (Mt. Vernon), Shelby Patterson (Waltonville), Danielle Roberts (Mt. Vernon), and Shannon Twitty (Bluford).
Tickets for the play will go on sale today for $12 a ticket. Show times are 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6, through Saturday, Nov. 8; and 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 9. To purchase tickets, contact the Box Office at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1467, from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays or from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Fridays. Tickets can also be purchased on campus during the same times in the North Oasis, Room 134. Visa, MasterCard, and Discover are accepted. Tickets will be available at the Theatre on show night if they are not sold out.