MLHS Drama Department to present musical ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’
It is not easy getting the Pontipee brothers hitched, but the Mountain Lake Public High School (MLHS) Drama Department will do so during this spring’s musical production, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” to be presented this Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5, in the Mountain Lake Public School auditorium, with a 8 p.m. curtain time each evening. Ticket prices are $6 for adults and $4 for students. The musical is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
Julie Brugman is directing the play, with Andrea Brinkman, Mountain Lake Public School vocal teacher, the musical director. Kelli Tucholke, Mountain Lake Public Elementary School first-grade teacher, is the choreographer. Directing the orchestra accompanying the production is Mountain Lake Public School instrumental instructor, Kurt Jahnke.
“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” was adapted by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich and Dorothy Kingsley as based on the short story, “The Sobbin’ Women” by Stephen Vincent Benet, which was, in turn, based on an Ancient Roman legend.
Bringing to life the Oregon frontier
The musical play, according to the playbook synopsis, is set in the Oregon frontier in 1850. As the story goes, a backwoodsman named Adam Pontipee goes to town in search of a bride. He and Milly agree to marry – despite knowing each other for just a few hours. After returning to Adam’s cabin in the mountains, Milly is surprised to learn that he is but one of seven brothers all living under the same roof. The brothers are named – alphabetically – from the Old Testament. In birth order, they are Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank (which is short for Frankincense as the Old Testament has no names beginning with the letter “F”) and Gideon.
Milly begins an attempt to teach Adam’s rowdy, ill-behaved younger brothers manners and social skills. She also shows them how to dance. At first, the brothers have a hard time changing from their “mountain man” ways, but eventually each comes to see that the only way he will get a woman of his own is to do things Milly’s way. They test their new manners at a local barn-raising, where they fortunately met six women of their liking – Dorcas, Ruth, Martha, Liza, Sarah and Alice. Even better, the women take a fancy to the brothers.
However, the women already have suitors from town, and the suitors’ jealousy has them trying to taunt the brothers into a fight at the barn-raising. Initially, the brothers remember Milly’s teachings and avoid fighting, but Adam does not want to pushed around by the suitors, seeing them as cowards trying to get the brothers into trouble.
Not getting things their way, the rival suitors go after Adam, which leads his brother, Gideon, to fight back. A brawl follows during which the brothers easily handle the suitors. Even though it was not the brothers who started the fight, they are sent away from the town after taking down the barn during the fight.
When winter blows in – and the six younger brothers are missing the women in town – Adam reads them the story of “Sobbin’ Women” and tells them to stop moping around and do whatever it takes to get the women they like back. With Adam’s help, the brothers kidnap the women and then create an avalanche so that the townspeople cannot follow them. One problem, though – they did not kidnap a preacher to do the marrying.
But, Milly, and the other women, are mad at Adam and the brothers for kidnapping them. Due to her anger, Milly sends the brothers to live in the barn “with the rest of the livestock,” leaving the women to live in the house. Adam, surprised and taken aback by Milly’s reaction, decides to leave and heads to the trapping cabin further up in the mountains for the rest of the winter. Shortly after he leaves, though, Milly realizes that she is pregnant; Adam is the father.
Months go by, and the women vent their frustration and resentment with the brothers by playing pranks – like throwing rock-filled snowballs at them. Eventually, the men fall into line and behave decently. By spring, the women have forgiven the brothers – actually falling in love with them – and allow themselves to be courted.
Milly gives birth to a daughter she names Hannah. Gideon rides to the trapping cabin to tell Adam the news and asks him to come back. Adam refuses, saying that he had said that he would return home only when the snow had melted enough and the pass was open again to traffic. However, thinking about his baby daughter inspires Adam to return home in the spring just as the pass is opening. On his arrival, he and Milly reconcile. Looking at life now as a responsible family man, Adam is aware of the concern the townspeople have for the welfare of the women. He tells his brothers that it was wrong to kidnap the women and that they need to return them to their homes in town.
The brothers do not want to do this.
And the women do not want to return to town, either. They all want to stay at the farm with their “new suitors,” and so they hide so that they cannot be found to be taken back. When Milly discovers that the women are not in the house, Adam tells his brothers to go get them and bring them back.
Meanwhile, the townspeople arrive with plans of taking vengeance on the brothers for the kidnappings. Finding the brothers trying to make the women return, their fathers think they are being assaulted and head to rescue them. Alice’s father – who is a preacher – hears baby Hannah’s cries – and worries that the infant might be the child of one of the women.
Finally the fighting is sorted out – but the fathers and townsmen have rounded up the brothers with intentions of hanging them.
When Alice’s father asks the women whose baby it was he heard crying, they all decide at the same time to say that it was their own. This gives the women and the brothers the opportunity to fulfill their wish, as the townspeople insist that all six couples get married immediately in a “shotgun wedding.”
Musical’s music
The musical includes the songs “Bless Your Beautiful Hide,” “Wonderful, Wonderful Day,” “When You’re In Love,” “Goin’ Courtin’,”Barn Dance,” “Barn Raising,” “Lonesome Polecat,” “Sobbin’ Women,” “Kidnapped and Chase,” “June Bride” and “Spring, Spring, Spring.”
Cast and Crew
The Brides
Milly – Carmen Syverson
Dorcas – Lydia Hildebrandt
Alice – Jenny Wright
Ruth – Rachel Dukes
Lisa – Signey Stoesz
Martha – Jordan Syverson
Sarah – Olivia Hopwood
The Brothers
Adam -Ben Grev
Benjamin – Josh Grev
Gideon – Sam Grev
Caleb – Zach Fredericksen
Daniel – Ethan Karschnik
Ephraim – Ruben Fentanez
Frank – Derek Harder
The Suitors
Nathan – Alex Gerdes
Jeb – Carter Kirk
Luke – Josh Fast
Matt – Andrew Fast
Joel – Aron Fast
Zeke – Regan Syverson
Major Townspeople
Mr. Sanders – Caleb Rempel
Mrs. Sanders – Rebekah Klassen
Mr. Hoallum – Austin Wallert
Mrs. Hoallum – Liana Blomgren
Preacher – Eric Wenner
Townspeople
Brooke Fast, Carly Paulson, Ashley Watkins, Kenna Gardiner, Meredith Suess, Lexia Peters, Kalley Rempel, Jaden Hoek, Laura Dalton and Julian Jung
Lighting
Daniel Harder and Jareya Harder
Orchestra
Piano – Andrea Brinkman
Trombone – Kurt Jahnke
Drum Set – Eric-John Niss
Trumpet – Levi Jahnke
Flute – Caitlin Oeltjenbruns
Clarinet – Anna Engstrom and Karen Soutthivong
* Watch for play photos following this weekend’s presentations.
