The Gold Fever Follies are back in Rossland with the first rehearsal beginning Tuesday. The theatre troupe got together at the Miners’ Hall to discuss this year’s play John vs John and to share ideas about the characters.
The Follies are also preparing for a bottle drive this Saturday to raise money for the summer season, which begins June 30.
Lisa Henderson was quite excited about this year’s cast, which includes many new faces, but also some that anyone familiar with the show should recognize.
Henderson explained that the bottle drive serves two purposes: To remind people that the Gold Fever Follies are back in town and also to raise funds to put on the show.
“It shows that we’re still performing and it gives Rossland some assistance recycling,” Henderson said. “Every penny counts.”
This weekend’s bottle drive takes place form 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday, though she mentioned that they appreciate if people drop off their empties prior to 2 p.m., as then they have time to sort them.
Felix LeBlanc was with the Follies last year and returns this year as stage manager.
He said the first read through helps to get the actors into character and is a chance to get input from others on the cast as to which direction they should go.
R.J. Peters, who’s name will be familiar to anyone who also catches the Iron Mountain Theatre plays, is director.
He said that as well as a historical play, it has the usual Follies shenanigans, including action, comedy and a love story, as well as a tightly written script by local Ben Turner.
Peters said that John vs John is the story of duelling lawmen.
“John Kerkop was the lawman around these parts for many years, a very popular character from history,” Peters said. “He gets out of sorts with the mayor and gets fired from his job, and is replaced by John Ingram, who is our villain in the show. It was the battle between the two lawmen.”
Local Rosslander Jill Amantea is also in the play and there are a host of other actors from the West and East Coast. One of the cast members even came from Korea.
Performances take place from June 30 to Aug. 25, with regular showings at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. starting in July, Tuesday through Saturday.