This past weekend, April 9–12, Union University Mainstage performed “Fools,” a comedy written by Neil Simon, in the W.B. Powell Theatre, with multiple opportunities for audiences to attend.
On Friday night, Mainstage performed a late-night show at 10 p.m. following the Student Activities Council’s Bingo event.
English creative writing major Lily Pond, who played the shepherdess, described the energy of the late-night performance.
“The late-night show was amazing. The audience was almost as unhinged as we were, screaming at every other line,” Pond said. “They went crazy, and so obviously that made us have even more fun.”
The comedic nature of the show brought out a playful side of actors and actresses for both the audience and the actors to enjoy and laugh over.
“I like doing silly things with the cast. I was just dancing [backstage], a lot. And people were laughing at me,” said Rebecca Clements, lead actress and psychology major.
Explaining her experience with comedy, she added, “I think I’m more comfortable playing tragedy. Comedy is more fun, but I need to work a lot harder to be creative in my decisions.”
The plot of “Fools” follows a young schoolteacher, Leon Tolchensky, played by Landon Stoub, who moves to a Russian town believed to be cursed with stupidity. Sheep costumes, a shepherdess who forgets her name, an awkwardly gigantic dusty book of curses and a sign labeled “Bootchr” for the butcher’s shop brought waves of laughter from the crowd as the supporting actors filled the theater with action and quirky confusion.
The colorful two-story set helped bring the absurdity and romance of the play to life as Tolchensky climbed to the balcony of his love interest, Sophie Zubritsky, played by Clements.
With previous set-building experience for UU Mainstage, Stoub, a senior PR major, said building the set made the experience more meaningful.
“Being able to climb up the balcony, being a part of the set building process, and getting to see the whole set come together was really my favorite part,” Stoub said.
“Fools” was the final Mainstage performance for Stoub and Amy Degroot, the current president of Mainstage. It was also the debut performance for senior supporting actor Collin Wanswer, who played the town’s doctor and Sophia’s father.
