By Dawn Hatfield

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Darke County Civic Theater (DCCT) delivered a show with laughter, lessons, and love in their 2023 Family Production, “The Bakers Dozen,” written by Director Christopher Chapa, performed March 11 to 12 at St. Clair Memorial Hall.

Although a fun and fresh comedy, Chapa’s “The Bakers Dozen” is truly about the importance of love and acceptance. As lifelong rivals, the Bakers and Johnstons don’t see eye to eye on anything, not the size of a perfect family, nor cookout menus, and not even on the appropriate height of a lawn or amount of necessary holiday lights. When the mild-mannered Jeremy Johnston and the family-centric Noelle Baker fall for each other, they risk inciting a “hurricane” level of hatred between their families. Through the many hilarious antics that befall a household of 13 children, the audience watches as communication, soul-searching, and a new perspective just might lead to some unanticipated outcomes.

The sounds of laughter peppered throughout Memorial Hall and the collective sighs that escaped from the audience each time heartstrings got tugged were evidence that “The Bakers Dozen” touched on some of the most important and relatable themes of life. As a first-time writer of a full-stage family production, Chapa would appear to be batting a thousand.

Following the close of the show, Chapa posted to Facebook, “I could talk for days (and probably will) about how proud I am of this cast and crew. As the writer of this production, it was so neat to see these characters that I put on paper come to life on the stage. Each cast member brought their character to life and made them stand out in ways that I couldn’t even imagine. As the director, my crew worked their tails off to support the cast in everything that they needed to make the show a success. Theater is about so much more than that, though. Theater is about learning to respect one another, learning responsibility, learning to work as a team, and learning to put our best effort forward at all times. These things are what I am most proud of with this cast and crew. They always treated each other with kindness and truly lived the message of this show: ‘Kindness means something in this world.’”

“The Bakers Dozen”

CAST

Thomas: Andrew Costa; Lisa: Kianna Dishman; Noelle: Elizabeth Moss; Zoe: Rylee McMahan; Jeremy: Connor Jones; Jason: Marcella Marlett; Jessica: Bella Enicks; Andrew: Stella Roebuck; Charlie: Sam Costa; Andi: Isa Costa; Maddie: Sofia Harsh; Mia: Adeline Rairden; Avery: Chloe Rieman; Grace: Ciara Eversman; Peyton: Kennedy Guillozet; Parker: Parker Francis; Emma: Liliray Stewart; Emily: Emma Laughead; Janelle: Gemma

UNDERSTUDIES

Malcolm Drees: Maddie, Mia, Charlie; Michelle Drees: Lisa, Jessica; Lucy Driscoll: Parker, Peyton; Jessica Setser: Noelle, Zoe; Amelia Zimmer: Emma, Emily, Janelle; Remaining Characters: Jeremy, Andrew, Andi, Avery, Grace

CREW

Director: Christopher Chapa; Cast Asst. Director: Mariah Edwards; Crew Asst. Director: Kari Thompson; Director’s Assistant: Livy Wetzel; Lead Stage Manager: Kylie Voisard; Stage Managers: Sarah Crumrine, Rachel Francis, Georgia Wetzel; Youth Advisor/Lead Parent: Andrew Costa; Marketing: Sam Ploch, Melissa Rhodes, Kari Thompson, Kylie Voisard, Livy Wetzel; Costumes/Hair/Makeup: Amy Gessler, Paisley Roebuck, Melissa Rhoades, Laura Shafer; Sets/Props: Connie DeSchepper, Jeff Francis, Autumn Gessler, Maggie Hammaker; Lights and Sound: Olivia Leeper

Catch DCCT on stage July 28 to 30 for their 2023 Annie Oakley Melodrama, “Cheat for a Sweet Treat.” Auditions will be held May 21 for this upcoming production. Visit darkecountycivictheater.org for more information or to sign up.

Reach Daily Advocate Reporter Dawn Hatfield at [email protected] or 937-569-0066.