Eastlake dramatizes home life during war
November 18, 2008
By Christopher Huber
It’s not often you will see a full-scale high school theater production that casts only seven actors. You will if you go see “The Cover of Life” this weekend at Eastlake High School.
Eastlake’s Kaitlin Saunders (Kate Miller) and Alex Truewin (Tommy Clifford) rehearse a scene in “The Cover of Life” Nov. 13 at Eastlake High School. Contributed
And you’ll only see one role played by a male.
The Eastlake Drama Club will be performing its fall play Nov. 20-22, starting each night at 7:30 p.m. and with a special matinee showing Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Eastlake High School theater.
“It’s a relevant play for right now,” said drama club advisor Silas Lindenstein. “There’s people in Sammamish going through kind of what people in the play are.”
Lindenstein, who is directing the play, said “The Cover of Life” is a good fit for the drama club because traditionally, many plays offer only one or two female leading roles.
“I decided to bring a play that I had already directed,” he said. “I thought it would be a good play for them to give a lot of opportunities for the girls there.”
Eastlake senior Kaitlin Saunders plays Kate Miller, a reporter who travels to the South to write a wartime story about the Clifford family.
“It’s a really great story about self-discovery and liberation,” Saunders said. “It’s a subject that appeals to everybody.”
“The Cover of Life” is set in the small town of Sterlington, La., in 1943.
Kate, a journalist for Life Magazine, sets out for the South to write a story about life on the home front.
She follows the Clifford family, whose three sons leave their wives at home to go to war.
It’s a story of women struggling to find a sense of self-worth through humor, anger and frustration.
It’s comedic at first, then it turns serious about halfway through. But overall, it’s a good slice-of life play, Lindenstein said.
The club, which is separate from the school’s theater class, has about 30 regular members and meets every Tuesday after school.
The seven cast members, along with close to 30 production crew members, have been rehearsing 16 hours per week since the beginning of October, said Jenni Nadler, who is club co-president and plays Tood in the play.
Saunders said people might learn something from the play.
“It’s like the idea that things can really take you by surprise,” Saunders said. “When you least expect it, the most valuable lesson could be right in front of you.”
Tickets will be available at the door and cost $8-$12.
If You Go
What: “The Cover of Life”
When: 7:30 p.m. Nov 20, 21 and 22 and 2 p.m. Nov. 22
Where: Eastlake Performing Arts Center
Cost: $8-$12 tickets available at the door
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or at chuber@isspress.com.
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It’s a great performance by the entire cast. Great weekend enterntainment that’s affordable and close to home!