Friday was a night filled with laughter as the Clearwater Cast of Characters performed Fools, a play by Neil Simon at the Driftwood Golf & Event Center.
It was opening night, and the laughter began with the very first conversation between the characters.
Fools is a story about a man, Leon Steponovich Tolchinsky, who travels to a small town to become its school teacher.
Little does he know that the population of the town has a strange affliction, and there are loads of laughs as he encounters each character throughout the play.
Nolan Cameron plays the lead role, and his expressions during his interactions with the other characters are as hilarious as any lines he has to speak.
Other performers include Shane Polack, Suesan Betzler, Hunter Goldsmith, Claire Lentsch, Jen Campbell, Dan Braun, Trysha Tellers, Amber Samson and Rick Johnson.
Members of the production crew are: Andrew Kinzer, Donna Stai, Randy Maanum, Jackie Keller, Sara Tellers, Bill Hoeft, Claire Lentsch, Db Cole, Orlando Villareal Jr., Joey Fischer and Wayne Kruchten.
Before the opening scene, Angie Hoeft and Suesan Betzler entertained the crowd with music, playing guitar and singing songs with a “fools” theme.
Fools is the 15th play for the Clearwater Dinner Theatre. And it is the directorial debut for Andrew Kinzer, who had a role on stage in last year’s production of Scrambled.
After the performance, Kinzer addressed the crowd.
“Thank you for coming and supporting the Clearwater cast of characters. We had a wonderful, awesome, three months of rehearsal and they did fantastic tonight,” he said. “This is my first time directing and I can’t believe how many people showed up to see something we all made.”
Fools continues with shows this weekend and wraps up April 5 & 6.
There may still be seats available. Contact Gary Phelps at 320-290-1899 for information.
