Photo/Eric Marks
Lesson plans
Miss Swamp (Juli Fair) presides over the class in a rehearsal of Miss Nelson is Missing.
Miss Nelson is Missing Attending TheatreWorks’ opening night presentation of Miss Nelson is Missing felt like getting by to swim a little bit in my own childhood. Jessica Santina After all, the book on which the play is based was one of my beloved favorites. As a freshman English teacher at the University of Nevada, Reno and a frequent volunteer in my daughter’s kindergarten classroom, I think this timeless story about the importance of maintaining discipline in theatreWorks of the classroom—and of appreciating good Northern Nevada presents Miss Nelson teachers—still holds up as a classic. So I is Missing, directed by had high hopes that this production would Michelle calhoun, at do it justice. I was not disappointed. the Laxalt auditorium Miss Nelson is a pushover. Played in the University of Nevada, reno’s Nelson by Meredith Martin, she is sweet and Building, 401 W. puzzlingly indulgent with her tyrannical second st. shows are students in Room 207, despite their nameon March 20 and 21 calling, blatant disregard of rules, inability at 7 p.m., and March 15 and 22 at 2 p.m. to add 1 + 1 or spell “spell,” and tendency tickets are $10 for to hold her captive while they take extended general admission and recesses. $8 for students and They include nerdy Raymond (Zach seniors. Golden), the headgear-wearing nervous For tickets, call 284wreck, Phoebe (Veronika Fitzmier), 0789 or visit www. meathead George (Brandon Butler), ditzy twnn.org.
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aspiring supermodel Kimberly (Amy Miecznikowski), the king-wannabe Elvis (Gianna Detomaso), backtalking spitfire Lavita (Hana Altenburg) and the troublemaking tomboy Mavis (Lily Marenghi), who insists on being called “Mouse.” The unruly seven are running Miss Nelson’s classroom, and everyone, including Principal Humleker (Dirk Miller), has noticed. But on Monday, Miss Nelson doesn’t show up for class, and no one seems to know where she is. What’s worse is that the anti-Nelson has taken her place. Miss Viola Swamp (Juli Fair), with her crooked nose and wart, evil laugh, frequent ruler slaps, and obvious delight at giving hundreds of pages of homework, has all but convinced the students she’s a witch. Now they’ll do anything—even study for their upcoming test and hire a private detective—to find Miss Nelson. And they swear to never take her for granted again. Costuming and set design in this production are really lovely, from the little inspirational posters hanging on the
classroom walls and assorted teaching tools on shelves to Miss Swamp’s crazy wig— which looks disturbingly like the book’s illustrations—and Phoebe’s headgear, which, unfortunately, was another thing that transported me to my own childhood. Martin is perfectly cast as the pleasantly clueless Miss Nelson, and Ty Hunt is hilarious as the stupid Detective McSmogg, who couldn’t find a missing person if she bit him. I also admired Fair for employing her deepest, most gravelly voice in the role of Miss Swamp. Though perhaps it was not as imposing as I may have imagined, the children in the audience seemed visibly moved by it. My
own throat had sympathy pains as I watched her. But the real stars here are the teens cast as Miss Nelson’s students, who are consistently and cleverly funny—in particular, Detomaso’s Elvis elicited chuckles from me throughout the show, with her mature sense of comedic timing. Music selections throughout the show add to the tone of certain scenes—take, for instance, the use of the theme from the end credits of Poltergeist as Miss Nelson sits grading papers at her desk and bracing herself for the misery to come when her students arrive. The musical numbers written for the show are a bit awkward, I admit, and the show might be better off without them. However, they are a minor part of the play, and take nothing away from the actors’ performances. In all, it’s a family-friendly show that may just prompt you to thank a teacher. Ω
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OPINION
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NEWS
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GREEN
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FEATURE STORY
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ARTS&CULTURE
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ART OF THE STATE
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FOODFINDS
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FILM
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MUSICBEAT
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THIS WEEK
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MISCELLANY
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MARCH 19, 2015
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RN&R
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