Blaine Community Theater’s latest play, “Closer to Home,” is expected to fill Blaine High School’s theater with laughter, while sharing messages of honesty and authenticity during its debut performance Friday, Feb. 20.
The play follows Alice Hansen, a 1940s magazine columnist who has made a name for herself writing about being the ideal housewife in the countryside – except she’s actually a single woman in Brooklyn. Hansen’s career is quickly jeopardized when she’s required to host a World War II veteran for two weeks, requiring her to make up a life and hope others will go along with it.
“I want the audience to see Alice’s struggle with authenticity and maintaining the security that her job brings,” first-time director Faith Den Bleyker said. “That’s something all of us experience. I want the audience to learn with Alice.”
Laura Williams-French, who serves both as playwright and supporting actor in the production, drew inspiration from the 1945 film “Christmas in Connecticut,” a romantic comedy about a magazine columnist who also lies about being a housewife.
At first, Williams-French toyed with the idea as something she could make into a play for students at Lynden Christian School, where she’s a drama director. But as Williams-French’s ideas grew, so did the project, which she eventually molded to fit Blaine’s community theater nonprofit.
Williams-French said it took her four days to draft the script, followed by a year of workshopping the words. Actors auditioned in early January, lines were quickly learned and rehearsals have since filled actors’ evenings three times per week for the past month.
On Friday, the 16-member cast – made of 12 actors, three crew members and one costume designer – will have a chance to share its work for the first time.
“It’s silly. It’s full of shenanigans,” Williams-French said. “It’s important that we get the chance to laugh and to enjoy the experience together. That’s what we need because sometimes the world is crazy, and it’s nice to just escape for a couple of hours.”
Blaine Community Theater has brought laughter to the community since 1999. The nonprofit is known for its Christmas, Halloween and “Pirates of Penzance” shows, in addition to other productions that bring Blaine and other Whatcom County actors together throughout the year.
Williams-French said she wanted this show to have quick-witted humor executed through misconnections and misinterpretations. Actor Sarah Brossow, who plays Alice, focused on bringing that humor to life through Alice’s over-the-top mannerisms while showing her character’s genuine moments, though sometimes few and far between.
“Laugh a ton. Have a good time,” Brossow said. “I hope people enjoy something that’s cheesy but immersive.”
