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From left, Wendy Carroll, Mary Jo Rudolph and Charlotte DiCicco get into character as Sam, Esther and Emma, respectively, during rehearsals for the upcoming Liberty Lake Community Theatre production of “This Old Haunted House.”

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Visiting ‘This Old Haunted House’
9/29/2014 11:57:27 AM

By Lauren Campbell
Splash Contributor

This Halloween season, Liberty Lake Community Theatre will be presenting "This Old Haunted House," a fun, Scooby-Doo style mystery featuring a ghost, treasure, slapstick comedy and plenty of subplots that all come together for a show the whole family will enjoy.

The performance takes the audience to the set of "This Home Restored," a home improvement program that features renovations of some of the grandest homes in America. The current episode centers on the renovation of an old home that is rumored to be haunted and features a cast of outsize characters. As the show progresses, the local historical society and the former owner's heirs all seem to have a motive for faking a haunting, but plenty of people believe it to be real, including all of the contractors in the area. This leaves the television show with a less-than-competent team, including plumber Snake Rooter and electrician Buzz Anderson. The production combines both slapstick and more subtle comedy to make a show that Director Trudy Rogers says will both entertain kids and have jokes for adults.

The main character in the show is the host of the home-renovation television show, and Rogers chose to cross-cast this role (which the script referred to as "Brad") as a female, played by Wendy Carroll. There are practical reasons for this: In community theater, it can be difficult to find enough male actors to fill the roles. However, Rogers said, it also simply made sense.

"I wasn't thinking about switching the gender, but then Wendy came in to audition, and it just made sense," Rogers said. "In this day and age, you can be a woman and be a general contractor." 

In fact, she switched the gender of a number of the main characters so she could cast them with the best actors she had available without worrying about gender.

Switching things up is nothing new for Rogers. 

"Trudy has a unique ability to bring out hidden talent of all the actors and throw in a twist of two that makes it more fun for the cast as well as the audience," said Jerry Uppinghouse, who plays Spats, a character he describes as a "cowardly gangster." He said he has worked with Rogers on a number of productions.

Uppinghouse added that community theater is a great way to be entertained and support your local community at the same time.

"Liberty Lake is very fortunate to have a local community theater which offers the performing arts experience to all ages and abilities - and for a very affordable price," Uppinghouse said. "I hope the community will come out and support the actors and the theatre in this fun, for-all-ages production."

• • • 

IF YOU GO ...
"This Old Haunted House"

Where: Liberty Lake Community Theatre, 22810 E. Appleway Ave.

When: 3 p.m. Oct. 25-26 and Nov. 1-2; 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25, Oct. 30 and Nov. 1

Cost: $12 general admission, $10 for seniors 65 and older, $8 for youth ages 3-12 and free for children 2 and younger. Tickets available at the door. 

Cast: Jerry Uppinghouse, Judy Black, Charlotte DiCicco, Mary Jo Rudolf, Wendy Carroll, Dan DiCicco, Jean Simpson, Erica Smith, Charmaine Peterson, James Maurer, Rodney Duross, Brenda Duross, Jazmine (Jazzy) Hernandez, Daniel Vickrey, Tom Rogers and Sheri Beck

Crew: Trudy Rogers, director; Karen Duross, co-stage manager; Dorene Hodin, co-stage manager; James Sanders, lights/sound tech; Jennifer Ophardt, set designer; Jill Boles, costume designer; Victoria Musengo, back stagehand; Rick Pentland, set construction

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