The Little Rascals are once again getting ready to perform a production that is for all ages with “The Princess and the Pea” by John O’Hara which is set to commence on this weekend.
The production is sponsored by Waseca Community Education and is supported by grants and gifts from the Waseca Area Foundation and the Waseca Drama Department.
Performances will take place on Friday June, 21 at 7 p.m. and on Saturday, June 22 at 2 p.m. in the Waseca Performing Arts Center at Waseca Junior and Senior High School. Tickets will be available for sale at the door and will be $5, with children ages 5 and under are free.
The play is based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson about a King and Queen who are in search of a princess for their son. This is the Little Rascals third time doing the play, with the other times being in 2013 and 2018.
Karen Pfarr Anderson, a language arts teacher for Waseca and the director of the play, stated that the Little Rascals does a rotation of five plays so the kids in the program can get to do each show once. Anderson has been directing productions by Waseca Community Education since 2007.
The Little Rascals is a theater troupe in Waseca and produces shows every year starring students in fifth through ninth grade. They have done the rotation of plays every year since 2010 with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Productions of children’s theater by Waseca Community Education goes all the way back to 2005.
The name of the group is inspired by Waseca native Leroy Shield, who wrote the original music for the Little Rascals shorts in the early 1900s.
The troupe does fairytales with a twist, with Anderson calling them “fractured fairytales.” With the troupe being around since 2010, old performers have been coming to the performances and see the productions that they were in as a kid.
“They really enjoy seeing it come back around again, when they’re graduates of the Little rascals,” Anderson said.
Sadie Schimming, who is the assistant director of the production, was a performer for the troupe and “The Princess and the Pea” was the first production she did as a kid in 2018.
“It’s fun for her to see it come around,” said Anderson about Schimming and the production.
The Little Rascals started rehearsals for the production on June 3, right when school got out for the summer. The troupe had three weeks and 13 days of practice before the June 21 performance.
“We usually have a few more than that, but just because of the way some calendar things fell, we ended up with just 13,” Anderson said about the number of rehearsal days. “They really amaze me with what they pull off because it will be about a 45 minute show when it’s all said and done, so it’s a long one act. Some of these kids memorize a lot of lines in a very short time.”
Upcoming Eighth-grader Keegan Rodriguez, who plays King Pendleton, has been acting in various productions since 2017 and stated that it can be hard to remember some lines due to the short rehearsal time.
“This is my first main role, I just did short lines before, not long lines,” Rodriguez said.
Both Rodriguez and Khloe Nelson, who plays Queen Pandora, plan on performing in the high school theater program. Nelson will be going into ninth grade, with “The Princess and the Pea” being her last Little Rascals production.
Brier Hayes plays the interpreter in the production, and is also going into ninth grade. Since she doesn’t plan on joining the high school theater program due to her commitment to various sports, the Little Rascals productions taking place at the beginning of the summer allows her to participate in theater.
One of the things Anderson is exciting for the audience to see is a dance number. The students have had fun doing it and had a great time memorizing and practicing it.
“This is one of the rare ones that has a full choreographed dance,” Anderson said about the Little Rascals productions.
CAST & CREW CAST: Pete, Prince of Paragonia: Jerimy Bohlmann-Little; King Pendleton, King of Paragonia: Keegan Rodriguez; Queen Pandora, Queen of Paragonia: Khloe Nelson; Granny Primrose, royal matriarch: Olive Scheffert; Jean, Lady-in-waiting of Paragonia: Maddie Halla; Percy, the palace servant: Luke Jeske; Lord Pendragon, major domo of the Palace: Mateo Vasquez; Interpreter, speaks Pzpopalenkish: Brier Hayes; Royal Palace Guard/Dwarf 1: Ezra Hasselquist; Royal Palace Guard/Dwarf 2: Archer Weber’; Royal Palace Guard/Dwarf 3: Brody Gray; Primonetta, the perfect princess/Paris: Mandi Root; Pzpopalenka, the Pzpopalenkish princess/Penelope: Lilly Muff; Politicia, the political princess/Paula: Abby Berge; Priscinda, one of the pretty pair of princesses: Sam Sutton; Prudelle, one of the pretty pair of princesses: Ava Young; Panichelle, the panicky princess: Ligaya Howe; Parthenia, the powerful princess/Magic Mirror: Sophiel Weber; Pawkily, the pedantic perfectionist princess: Addison Monson; Paxine, the peace-loving princess/Dwarf 4: Teagan Neidecker; Princess Philomena, the philanthropic princess: Lilliana Arkadie; Pozzoloni, the pizza-preparing princess: Audrey Gray; Perdecia, the properly proper princess/Snow White: Ayden Baxter; Phillippa, the pliable performing princess/Dwarf 5: Emely Rivera; Palettina, the pink, purple, and plaid-loving princess/Evil Queen: Kynadi Glover; Parnassa, the pleasantly tall princess/Dwarf 7: Addison Anderson; Pymlika, the petite princess/Dwarf 6: Madilyn Brass; Pomburlaine, the pouting princess: Arabella Hardeman. CREW: Director: Karen Pfarr Anderson; Assistant Director: Sadie Schimming; Auditorium Technician: Chuck Pollock; Lights: Madi Larrabee and Jude Adams; Sound: Zoey Gibson; Stage Crew: Carlo Driessen, Shelia Driessen, and Charlie Randall. 66975335-e1dd-4db2-925f-94385ee4c0db
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