Pequot Lakes students to stage 'Law & Order: Fairy Tale Unit' March 11-13 in auditorium - Pine and Lakes Echo Journal

PEQUOT LAKES — Roughly 40 Pequot Lakes students will take to the stage Friday, March 11, for the first showing of “Law & Order: Fairy Tale Unit.”

The show follows the well-known style of the popular and long-running “Law & Order” show, but twists the formula into a story that is family-friendly as well as funny.

“It is based on the ‘Law & Order’ TV series, but it is full of fairy tale creatures and characters,” director Maarja Melander said. “In it, we have H.D. and Cindy (Cinderella) who are investigating the destruction of the three little pigs’ houses. It's so funny.”

Melander, in her first full year as an English teacher in the school district, hopes the show will strike a chord with local audiences, especially those for whom these fairy tales are well-worn territory.

“It has a lot of wordplay and jokes about these fairy tales, which I personally really like,” Melander said. “I think adults are going to really enjoy this, because we all grew up with these fairy tales.”

One aspect of the show that drew in Melander is its flexibility in terms of cast size, with accommodations in place for anywhere from 12 to 60 thespians. More than 40 students auditioned in Pequot Lakes, and 10 more are involved backstage.

The cast and crew have been rehearsing for roughly three weeks - beginning shortly after the one-act play season concluded. Melander said the large cast has led to less anxiety in the short amount of rehearsal time than expected, as most cast members are not buried in lines to memorize.

“A lot of the characters only have a few lines or are only in a few scenes,” Melander said. “That is really helpful with learning their lines and not having an overwhelming role.”

This, in part, has led to fairly smooth preparations during a somewhat truncated amount of time to prepare for opening night.

“We just had our first rehearsal that was off-book and, honestly, the kids are coming along well,” Melander said. “I really think that this is going to be a really fun production.”

The large cast is made up primarily of middle- and high-school students, but the youngest cast member in the production is second-grader Alice Johnson.

“Her parents had reached out to me personally to see if she could audition,” Melander said. “I did not really open (auditions) up for the elementary school, but her older sibling was going to be in the show so I said it would be fine. She is playing Dopey, and it is absolutely adorable. I expect her to steal the show because she is so cute.”

As opening night approaches, Melander hopes show goers will find plenty of wit and whimsy as they crack the fairy tale cases along with the cast.

“You should expect to laugh and be blown away by the witty writing of the production but also be engaged with the fun characters and development throughout the show.”

Showtimes for “Law & Order: Fairy Tale Unit” are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13, in the high school auditorium.

“I'm just kind of excited to see how it comes along,” Melander said.

Dan Determan, sports writer/staff writer, may be reached at 218-855-5879 or [email protected]. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Dan.

source: https://www.pineandlakes.com/news/local/pequot-lakes-students-to-stage-law-order-fairy-tale-unit-march-11-13-in-auditorium

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