A small plane, a toy train, a stuffed cat and the “TOM CRUISE BOX” are just a few of the many props used for the upcoming comedy “Completely Hollywood (abridged).” This silly play put on by the Armstrong High School theater department will hit audiences with quip after quip from April 25 to 27.
“It’s very fast-paced and a lot of funny moments,” Sophie Evenson, assistant stage manager said. “If you were to see it, you gotta go looking for a laugh.”
The play was created by the Reduced Shakespeare Company in 2010, the same people who wrote titles such as “The Complete History of America (abridged),” “The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged),”
“Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (abridged)” and “All The Great Books (abridged).”
Director Joe Lovitt worked with students to update a few of the lines for today’s viewers. References to “Rocky IV” were swapped to references to “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2.”
Evenson said Lovitt made a few edits in advance but throughout rehearsals would stop students to check if they understood each joke. If students didn’t get the reference, the team would capture the spirit of the joke with a new one, keeping the show fresh and relevant.
“Every time my character says ‘oh my god’ I do it in a Jennifer Coolidge accent,” Mack Ernst, lead actor, said, “and I’ll snap myself out of it. That would be one of my favorite bits.”
Pearl Ofori-Som, stage manager said it was “fun having to brainstorm and think of new movies that could go with the same idea.”
Movie buffs will be rewarded for their niche knowledge, as there will be some trivia before each show. The will also be some audience participation.
In one scene, actors challenge the audience to name their favorite film. Then determine if it fits the mold of four basic plots: coming of age, the Jesus story, boy meets girl and fish out of water.
“And there’s a moment where [audience members] become extras in the background of a scene onstage,” Ofori-Som said. “It’s supposed to be the first row of the audience.”
“I get to choose some people,” Ernst said. “So I might be choosing people that I know, might be choosing some random strangers. Just depends on the crowd.”
Actors have many different roles. They’re at times playing themselves, other times playing well-known characters for a short bit.
Micah Smith’s roles include himself, Ernst Blowhard, Tony Montana, the Terminator, Vin Diesel and a doctor.
Smith said he’s enjoyed being able to “jump into pop culture characters.”
“Like Tony Montana,” Smith explained, “I just get to be a bunch of Al Pacino jokes.”
Smith added that he’s enjoyed theater a lot and hopes to audition for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” Armstrong is the first school in Minnesota and one of the first in the country to win the rights to this Harry Potter stage production.
“It’s been very fun,” Smith said. “You get to hang out with all your friends. ... I’ve met all these people that are just really nice people. The director’s really great. And it really just feels like a sort of community you can just spend time with. You get to know people very well and you get to just hang out with people.”
“Completely Hollywood (abridged)” is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26 at Armstrong High School, 10635 36th Avenue North, Plymouth. There’s also a 2 p.m. show on Saturday, April 27.
Tickets are cash only: $5 for students and seniors and $8 for adults.
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