Ole Olsen Memorial Theater in Peru kicks off 59th season with a comedy

Sep. 27—PERU — A community theater in Peru has recently faced the interesting challenge of modifying a Canadian show for American audiences and trying to find an inoffensive way to mimic nudity on stage.

Ole Olsen Memorial Theater's 59th season is kicking off with "The Crimson Cap Ladies Bare it All."

Shanna Stoll, the director, explained the show is about a group of older women who think they've booked a vacation to a Methodist church resort. When they arrive at the resort, though, the group realizes they've actually booked their stay at a nudist colony — there's also a $1,000 fee for anyone caught wearing clothes.

Despite the plot's main conflict, Stoll said the show is still "family friendly."

The director compared "The Crimson Cap Ladies" to "The Golden Girls." She said audience members can expect lots of laughs and personality.

When Stoll first read the script, she imagined the theater group could use screens and shadows to portray nudity. But when she started preparing for the show, she realized there would be several scenes with naked characters on stage.

A main character dropping their drawers toward the back of the stage was simple enough to figure out — they could use a skin tone bodysuit. The character also keeps their back to the audience for that scene.

Another scene with two naked police officers took a bit more creativity, though. The actors use bodysuits again, but there are also some strategically placed pool floaties and life vests.

"Nobody, clearly, is actually naked on the stage," Stoll said, adding the language and jokes are also inoffensive. "At the very most, a parent might have to explain what the joke meant. And even then, it's not so bad."

Other than kicking off the Ole Olesen's 59th season, the show also marks the first time "The Crimson Cap Ladies" will be performed in the United States. The show was written by a Canadian.

Initially, Stoll explained, Ole Olsen had planned to perform a stage adaptation of "The Twilight Zone." When she reached out to the script's owners, though, it took four weeks to get a response — they said the show wasn't currently available in the United States.

Rushing to find a replacement one week before auditions were scheduled, Stoll brainstormed with longtime Ole Olsen participant Deb Myers. As it turned out, Myers was already in contact with Chris McKerracher, who wrote "The Crimson Cap Ladies."

Ole Olsen's members had already considered the show for the 59th season and McKerracher was quick to give them his blessing to perform and, if needed, modify the show.

Occasionally, one of the performers would ad lib or react to their co-stars. If the unscripted line produced enough laughs, the performer was told to add it to the script. Stoll said every actor has added at least one line to the show.

For the most part, Stoll said, the only changes have been to make the show more relatable to Americans. For example, one line referenced La Senza, a popular Canadian intimate wear company. Stoll changed the line so it referenced Victoria's Secret instead.

"We're in immediate contact with the writer. It was nice that we didn't have to go through any publishing companies or anything like that," Stoll said. "And I'm really excited to give them a little snippet of how the show went."

The director said she hopes the audience leaves the theater having laughed a bit. She's especially hoping for some contagious laughter.

Having seen the comedy several times, keeping an eye on facial expressions and the way performers interact with each other, she added the humor feels unforced. She's told performers to slow down some scenes because she expects to earn a few laughs.

"It's going to be very interesting to see the energy on stage when they do get that laughter because there's going to be a lot of it," Stoll said.

Given the size of Ole Olsen's theater, which fits approximately 50 people, Stoll said the audience should be able to catch every facial expression.

Ella Townsend, a teenager, was cast as one of the Crimson Cap Ladies. The director said Townsend probably had to work the hardest to get into character.

Joking with the other actors who round out the Crimson Cap Ladies, Stoll said, "She's not old like the rest of them."

Despite playing a character who's supposed to be decades older than her, Townsend said she's enjoyed how casual the show is. There aren't any stressful scene changes or quick costume changes.

"There's like a lot of parts of it where I don't feel like I need to be paying attention to where I'm at or where I'm standing because it's just so natural to be on the stage in the scenes," Townsend said. "It's just a really laid back show and we're having a lot of fun with it."

Myers, who was cast as the bossy Crimson Cap Lady Ester, agreed.

"I like that it's a group of ladies and it's very much an ensemble. There's no star, we're just all equal," Myers said. "People are going to come in here and they're not going to know what to expect. ... It's going to surprise everybody how much fun it is."

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.