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EUR. AND TAMARA HUNTER play the part of skunks in t hi United Church of Christ's production of the Chester Mitacle play, “Noye’s Fludde” by Benjamin Britten. (Photos by Diane Kioto)Congregation populates Noah’s flock:9Jr*produces Biblical miracle playBy JEAN GUARINOA flood is coming to Oak Park! This biblical torrent will be concentrated at thfe corner of Scoville and Adams when members of the Oak Park United Church of Christ present “Noye’s Fludde,” a Chester MiraclePlay set to music by Benjamin Britten.The performances in the church sanctuary will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7, 9 and 14 and at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 16.The logistics of coordinating a cast of 70, a 25-piece orchestra, a choir of 30, one cumbersome ark, yards and yards of water-colored taffeta that will simulate water and other special effects does not faze the small congregation which has staged other ambitious productions in the past.‘‘We’ve always enjoyed doing things together and this means finding projects that will include all our members from adults down to the youngest child,” explained Lillian Bioesch, wife of The Rev. Paul Bloesch, pastor of the United Church of Christ.“The principal roles of Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives and the twelve gossips who make fun of them for building the Ark are played by adults, but we also have 50 children who portray the animals,” Mrs. Bloesch said. The larger children will be elephants, giraffes and the like, but we’ll also have the smaller children dressed as mice and kittens,” she said.Susan Fox, who is the wardrobemistress, Is dressing the animals in leotards and tights with a matching tunic.“But the headpice will be the realclue to the identify of the animals,” she said.Richard Tribble is in charge of the drama while his brdifer Glenn Is directing the orchestra.Glenn plans to be as faithful as possible to the original Britten score which calls for such unusual instruments as whip, gong, Chinese blocks, sandpaper, wind machine and slung mugs in addition to the more conventional instruments.Musicians who are not members ofthe congregation have been pressedibiinto service, including members of the Recorder Society of Oak Park and River Forest.The Tribbles are long-time members of the church and both their mother, Grace Tribble, and grandmother, Hilda Anerson, have served as church organist.The communion rail, pulpit and two front pews have been removed from the sanctuary while the superstructure of the ark is being constructed under the direction of Norm Watkins.“The rest of the ark will actually be built by Noah and his sons in front of the audience,” said Mrs. Bloesch.Other special effects being prepared include a rainbow, sun, moon and yards and yards of taffeta, which are being painted with white waves and will be held by two people at each end of the sanctuary who will wave the material to simulate the flood.Noah will be portrayed by Richard Tribble and Christ Geymer will play Noah’s wife. Their sons are Rick Bentz, John Kaltenbach and Craig White and their wives are Jamie Newbery, Jane Blumhorst and Diane Tucker.In presenting a production of thisscope it is necessary to understand the history of the Chester Miracle Plays. In the 16th Century in Chester, England, several small companies of amateur actors began writing biblically-related plays with smatterings of local color and humor to spice the scripts. These small bands performed in churches and gained public acclaim for the meaningful way inwhich biblical stories were presented. Before long the crowds became solarge the productions had to be moved outdoors. Then these small troops of thespians invented huge carts called “pageants” (hence our modern-day meaning of the word pageant) upon which they loaded their sets,n props, and costumes, and moved from town-to-town presenting plays to thousands of people.One of these plays was the story of Noah’s journey upon an ark. In 1956 Benjamin Britten wrote a one-hour,one-act opera of Nove’s Fludde, using the Chester Miracle Play text andformat. His work was premiered the following year in Chester.“Britten died last year apd our performance is also a memorial to his brilliant work,” Mrs. Bioesch said.Tickets for “Noye’s Fludde” must be purchased in advance by calling 345-5709, VI8-5460 or 848-2746. Tickets are $3 for adults and $2 for children under 12.V v/A• ft'. •• . Sts J.' ,'W *w, /A* ‘2■)vANOAH’S FLOCK IS FAST ASLEEP. Leopards Vera Allen am.________________________Hooker and Aimee Knight, skunks Jennifer Kehr and Tamara Hunter, and sheep Karol Rhode and Becky Koth rest while the construction crew finishes building the ark
Newspaper Details
Oak Park World
Oak Park, Illinois, US
Sun, Oct 02, 1977
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Linda C.
NA, 19 Aug 2020
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