‘Altar Egos’

PALMER — There’s a wedding about to play out at Palmer High School, and it’s going to be anything but simple.

“Altar Egos: The ‘I Dos’ and Don’ts of an American Wedding,” opens Thursday on the Palmer High stage, starring juniors Cami VanAusdal and Ethan Feaster as the bride and groom to be. As the young Colleen McMasters and Mark Frobisher, VanAusdal and Feaster quickly realize that planning a wedding is a lot of work — especially with overbearing parents who don’t get along particularly well.

Matters are even more complicated by the differing personalities of Mark — whom Feaster said prefers to “go with the flow” — and Colleen — whom VanAusdal labeled an “emotional” 20-something.

“She gets really worked up and stressed out about everything,” VanAusdal said.

Rather than being a tense and awkward show, though, “Altar Egos” writer Pat Cook employs a ringmaster, a referee, a judge and a “couples translator” for comic relief, satirizing certain scenes with these characters throughout the play.

“It takes the reality of planning a wedding to the extreme … but it’s really relatable for the audience, too,” said junior Hannah Embree, who plays Mark’s snooty mother, Vera Frobisher.

Director Stan Harris said the personality of Embree’s character is vastly different from her own, but that she tends to play “sassy” well.

“She’s the only one really capable of projecting the strength needed for those kinds of characters,” Harris said.

“It’s almost like reverse type-casting,” Embree offered.

Harris said he also chose Embree for the role knowing she could mesh well with senior actor Jarrett Hardy, who plays Vera’s wife, Lou.

Hardy said he considered Lou one of the “one percent,” who’s “had a marriage (that) hasn’t gone so well,” and thinks Mark and Colleen are “making a big mistake.”

But that doesn’t stop him from taking advantage of the situation.

“He figures, if his son is getting married, that’s a good excuse for him to buy a car,” Hardy said.

Opposite Embree and Hardy are Linnaea Alverts and Bentley Surdyk — both relatively new to the drama scene — as the bride’s parents, Dinah and Carl McMasters.

Surdyk, who’s new in town and experiencing his first high school play as a senior, said he’s “wanted to be in theater for a while,” but moved around too much to find a home among drama students until now.

“I spend time with these guys more than with my own family, almost,” Surdyk said.

Harris said Surdyk and Alverts have both come “a long way” in the last few weeks. Alverts had previously performed a small role in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (a show most of the “Altar Egos” cast participated in last year), but has taken to the spotlight well, he said.

“I’m just pleased as punch,” Harris said, with her performance in this show. “She just nailed it.”

Freshman Willow Brothers is also new to the stage, and plays Colleen’s whiny kid sister, Jan.

Harris said he read through a few scripts before deciding on “Altar Egos” to kick of the 2016-2017 season at Palmer High, and chose the play for its smaller cast and good parts for some strong, returning actors.

“I really like the interplay between some of the characters in this show, and when I cast it, I had someone in mind for most of them,” he said.

It wasn’t a matter of playing favorites, he said, but a safe bet for the first show of the school year.

“At the beginning of a new year, you don’t have a clue what you’re gonna get,” Harris said.

He said it’s been fun watching his students grow, and that he was anxious to get the show in front of a live audience.

“It’s a funny play,” Harris said. “They know it and I know it, but when you have an audience and people are laughing … it’s a different atmosphere.”

“Altar Egos” opens tonight, Thursday, at 7 p.m. Additional shows are at 7 p.m. this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 14-15, and next weekend, Oct. 20-22. each night. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and students and may be purchased online at www.palmermusicbooster.org or at the door.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.