Glen Ellen’s Dunbar School to rebuild community stage

Beloved annual production must start from scratch.|

Talk about rising from the ashes!

Glen Ellen’s Dunbar Elementary School itself was saved from the October inferno, but the blaze took the school garden, the outbuildings, and the treasured Haver outdoor stage, the site of the beloved fifth-grade play - a rite of passage for 10-year-old Dunbarians. This year’s production must start from scratch because the stage, all props, costumes, and most of the sound bits were lost to the fire.

Twenty-six years ago, Squire and Suzy Fridell wanted to participate in their daughter’s school. So the Fridells, with their backgrounds in theater and TV, wrote and produced two melodramas. A stage was built. Costumes were made. Props were acquired. Who knew that children would take to melodrama with wild enthusiasm, but the Dunbar kids embraced the project and “the fifth-grade play” was born. This year’s production is “Deadwood Desperado, or A Mother’s Grief.”

Much of the energy for the show comes from the magnificent Kate Kennedy, director and chief encourager of shy kids. The dynamic, pixie-like Kate has assembled a “dream team” of parents, with Sarah Teves, Alissa Pearce and Shannon Lee as parent leaders, setting the rebirth of the event in motion. Parent-led rehearsals are already happening at school as students get used to the rules of rehearsals, and understanding their role in the story. Kate takes over working with the students on Feb. 20. Adult volunteers are solicited for any rehearsal being held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sign up in the front office as a volunteer if you want to join this lively crowd.

Old West costume items - boots, vests, Stetson hats, square-dance skirts - are being collected both at Dunbar and at Republic of Thrift in Boyes. In addition, the Republic of Thrift folks have a seamstress who is adapting cowboy clothes to youngsters.

A community stage re-build day is being organized. Stay tuned for that event as local muscle will be needed, and satisfaction will be gained. Will it be renamed the Phoenix Outdoor Stage? New gravel paths have been donated by Sonoma Materials and Trinity Road quarry. The set panels survived the fire but need sprucing up, so there’s plenty of work to do.

It’s a tradition for Glen Ellen kids. Maybe you were Lilly Blossom, Molly Loveless or Blackie Redburn in “The Deadwood Desperado.” Or maybe you were part of the Rawlins Gang: Rawhide Rawlins, Bad Bruce, Ringo, Laredo, Doc, Sleepy or Dopey. Maybe you were our hero Sheriff Crutchwaffle or sweet Bambi Phingerdoo. Were you in the Sound Squad providing whack-and-booing sound effects for the bang-bang antics of the players? A highpoint is watching the after-show during the ovations, when middle-aged Dunbarians stand up in the audience looking positively adult, and proudly announce, “I was the Barkeep in Gopher’s Breath 1994,” or “I was in the Sound Squad in Deadwood 2010.” It’s enough to bring a tear to the eye.

This tradition happens every Memorial Day weekend under the oaks beyond the main campus of Dunbar Elementary School. A basket picnic dinner is appropriate and enjoyed by the audience, the players concentrate on their clever lines, and a great time is had by all.

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