‘Lucky Stiff’ To Be Performed In April

Allison McGuire holds an online practice session for ‘Lucky Stiff’ (photo by Andy McGuire)

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The winter weather has caused its fair share of drama for the people of Iowa. Icy roads, lots of shoveling, and many days of missed school have been a part of it all.

These lost days due to snow have caused a chain reaction not only for the indoor sporting events but also the many other school activities like the school musical.

Allison McGuire is heading the effort for the Oskaloosa High School Theatre again this year, but the lack of practice due to the many lost school days has forced things to become rescheduled.

McGuire said that during the past month, the participants in the musical were only able to meet in person to practice about four times. “As we were drawing closer and closer to the original performance dates of March 1st and 2nd, that would have left us with about 10 in-person rehearsals in the month and a week or so leading up to the performances.”

Trying to meet that original performance date created some unique practices, “I started holding online rehearsals for students, where students would call in, and we’d have audio, and we had video, and I would have a whiteboard behind me and I would draw out the stage and where everyone was during a particular scene and how they would move, and then I’d adjust the camera and I’d show them some chirography and try to have them on their end practicing the steps,” said McGuire. “At least getting a sense of what the scene would be like once they actually got on stage. It’s very different to hear about a scene and to actually do a scene.”

“The longer we went without being able to really rehearse in person, the more it became clear that we would need to reschedule to get the students the best experience possible for the musical,” added McGuire.

The high school performs a musical every other year, and McGuire wants to make the most of the experience for her students.

The new performance dates are scheduled for April 19th and 20th at 7:30 pm inside the George Daily Auditorium, where the production is called ‘Lucky Stiff’.

‘Lucky Stiff’ is a musical farce that is written and composed by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens.

Being a musical farce, the situations in the production are over the top and zany. “It’s very similar to the musicals of the 1920s,” added McGuire.

There is a cast of 18 students, with an additional 20 students working on the production behind the scenes, where they are designing sets, working the lighting, running the sound, as well as the marketing of the production, and fundraising.

For McGuire, the production will mark the end of her first full year of leading the drama department for Oskaloosa Students.

“It’s been exciting,” says McGuire of leading the productions. “It’s been really fun to meet other high school students who are interested in theater that I haven’t’ worked with yet. Then there are other students in the community, who I’ve met through the community performances like ‘George’ or ‘Home Again’ or the youth theater, or the music studio, that it’s fun to get to work with them on a different level.”

The thespians of OHS will be taking part, for the first time, participating in the Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards program, through the Des Moines Performing Arts.

The statewide program has approximately 80 schools participating. “It’s a celebration of everything that high school musical theater entails,” says McGuire.

Adjudicators will come and see Oskaloosa’s performance and will give comments on things that the students do well, as well as things the performance did well. It will then also give areas that can be worked on to improve performances.

In June, the students will travel to the Performing Arts Center in Des Moines for a ‘Tony Awards’ style celebration, where the participants from all the schools will get a chance to perform on the Civic Center stage, working with professionals from New York.

Those professionals will choreograph the medlies that the students will perform.

“We’re excited to have the option to participate in that this year,” added McGuire.