Amberleaf Theater presents the sci-fi musical comedy, Leavenworld

The local Amberleaf Theater presents yet another fun farce this year. This time, the theatrical group is spoofing the recent sci-fi hit, Westworld with Leavenworld. Writer-Director Briar Hoper said the play features plenty of song, dance and comedy. 

“People come to Leavenworld to have the Bavarian experience and all sorts of wacky things happen. They decide they want to live here. Everyone tries to convince them they shouldn’t because everyone is robots. It’s basically an excuse for wackiness,” Hoper said. 

The Amberleaf Theater goes way back, as part of the annual Autumn Leaf Festival. It was traditionally presented during the festival, but Hoper said they decided to move away from that. 

“Since we’ve moved to the Snowy Owl Theater, we can’t always get the weekends we want. We have to take what they give us. It’s so much nicer to be there, we thought it was worth it,” Hoper said. “We weren’t getting very much tourist traffic, even on the festival weekends. The local people were all busy, so it is actually better to not be on a festival weekend.”

The show is Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15-16, at Snowy Owl Theater. Showtimes are at 7 p.m. 

There is a rather large cast of locals, about 25-to-30. 

“We have lots of different groups. We have the main group of all the people who come to all the rehearsals. Then, there are people who pop in for one number. We have about 20 regular cast members. There’s one from the dance studio, and couple people doing one number,” Hoper said. 

The show features plenty of local families. 

“There are two ladies, who each have a pre-teen child. One of each is from Leavenworld and the others are tourists. Suzanne Benson is playing the mom who is visiting. Marlene Farrell is the mom who is from Leavenworld,” Hoper said. “Quentin Farrell, Marlene’s son, is playing one of the kids. Lots of families are in it with parents and kids doing the show together. Very fun.” 

There plenty of song and dance, as you would expect from Hoper, a local dance teacher. The show features filk songs, which are familiar tunes, but with different lyrics. 

After weeks of mostly playful rehearsals, Hoper said they are ready to present the show. 

“We started rehearsing in mid-July. We rehearsed pretty casually, then got serious in mid-August. It’s going really well. We’re putting it all together,” she said. 

Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.