The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Anyone who has lived in Flin Flon knows all about northern charm, but over the weekend, residents also got a taste of some of that unique southern charisma. Hapnot Collegiate presented its Dinner Theatre production of Hankerin' Hillbillies, a good-humoured take on country bumpkins complete with the deep drawl and lack of fashion sense. "I thought the students really put on a solid performance," said Lisa Aune, the Hapnot teacher who produced and directed the musical. See 'Audience' P.# Con't from P.# From the opening scene to the final curtain, more than 400 audience members spread out over Friday and Saturday were captivated by the young talent on display. The plot concerns the lovable Hereford sisters and their quest to land men to call their own. In plainer terms, they really want to get hitched. The lone exception is Charlemaine (played by Jacquelyn Spence), who seems too caught up in her books to think about marriage. But that changes when Marcus Slidell (David Vandergucht), a businesslike government worker, appears to try and buy land from the Herefords. A hootin' and hollerin' good time ensues when it's learned the Herefords have for decades been feuding over the land with their neighbours, the Guernseys. The students spent months rehearsing their colourful characters, who appeared to come straight from the set of a certain classic TV series starring the Clampetts. They spoke in a deep, somewhat comical southern drawl. The ladies didn't see anything wrong with wearing clunky running shoes with their dresses. And there was Pa (Julian Kolt) with his trusty ol' rifle in hand. "This was the first time I think we ever put so much effort into accents," said Aune, who has been involved with Dinner Theatre for more than a decade. "It was a challenge because the students had to speak with an accent but still be slow and annunciate enough so they could be understood." Aune was pleased to see a downward trend in Dinner Theatre attendance come to an end, with one night sold out and just under 200 people attending the other. "People were saying that they had forgotten how good the Dinner Theatres were," she said, adding that the school sincerely appreciates the community support. Not only did the evening satisfy the public's hankerin' for entertainment, it also appeased their hunger. A number of students served a five-course meal that was as well-received as the performance.
