It may be almost spring but, inside Port Coquitlam's Terry Fox Theatre this week, the scene is set for a Christmas meal.
Charles Harris, the theatre program director at Archbishop Carney regional secondary school, wanted to produce a Christmas play this season and the time of year didn't matter.
He liked the zany script of In-Laws, Outlaws and Other People (Who Should Be Shot) and knew his cast of 16 - made up of Grade 8 to 12 students - could pull it off.
"Think Home Alone meets National Lampoon's Vacation meets Seinfeld," he said. " I really appreciate the humour of it and, if you have inlaws, you'll understand the love and the tension of it especially since it takes place during Christmastime."
Written three years ago by U.S. teacher Steve Franco, the full-length play stars Grade 12 student Toren Dofher, 18, as the father figure.
Dofher was picked for the role because he "perfectly suited the typical 1980s sitcom dad," Harris said with a chuckle. "He's our Alan Thicke."
The daughter is portrayed by Grade 11 student Catherine Queenan, 16, a veteran to the Carney stage with five school productions already under her belt. Grade 12er Sonja Holgersen is cast as the perky aunt in the pink velour sweatsuit while Bryan Kazun, 15, and Aidan Currie, 14, are the tough guys; In-Laws will the first time the pair has peformed in a live play.
In-Laws centres around the Douglas family as they get ready to host a Christmas dinner in their upper-middle class Brooklyn home.
But two robbers ruin their party while trying to hide from police following a liquor store heist.
Instead of lying low, the robbers find themselves wanting to flee from the family's madness.
Harris, who is marking his 10th year at Carney, said the 16 students auditioned last November for the extracurricular program "and they've all worked very hard," he said. "It's been a lot of fun rehearsing because the show so fun."
In-Laws, Outlaws and Other People (Who Should Be Shot) runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. at Terry Fox Theatre (1260 Riverwood Gate, Port Coquitlam). Tickets at $15 for a reserved seat are available by calling Archbishop Carney regional secondary at 604-942-7465 or emailing [email protected].
@jwarrenTC
