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December 1, 2021
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Ole Olsen Theatre to present ‘The May Queen’ By Michelle Boswell mboswell@thepaperofmiami Ole Olsen Memorial Theatre is taking to the stage for their next production, The May Queen, which will debut Thursday, Dec. 2. Jordan Kenyon, first time director with Ole Olsen, is pleased with how the five-person cast has progressed and prepared for the show. Kenyon plays ‘Dave or David’ depending on who is addressing him in script. “Things are really shaping up and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better cast. They’ve been helping me get everything together being a first-time director. And the camaraderie between all of us has been fantastic to say the least,” said the Converse resident. Kenyon continued, “With this show not only am I directing but acting as well. I’m very excited about this show. I’ve had this script since the summer of 2019. It really struck me. It’s a very different show. It’s not a show Ole is used to which I think it’s good to branch out. The show takes place in a small town in New York. These people work in a small discount insurance firm and their lives, when they’re not working, is gossip. I believe all of us have had to deal with a little he said/she said drama in our lives…dealing with rumors. Our lead character, Jen, played by Alexis Nunn, comes back to her small town but there are a lot or rumors about her going around town…gossip about why she mysteriously disappeared 15 years ago. There’s a lot going on in this show. It’s very different. I love it,” Kenyon said.
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Shanna Stoll, a former director for Ole Olsen, is an actor for this play. She plays “Gail” who “like in real life is the oldest person in the cast,” Stoll jokingly said. “I’ve definitely been the mom, on and off the stage. My character is very quirky. I’m the one who has the real witty stuff. “Nicole,” played by Sarah Bingham, is our manager, and she is just out of college. My character has been working for this company for 18 years and is still just an associate. My character is not happy about it and has nothing nice to say about ‘Nicole.’ There’s about 20 names I call her…very, very creative ones I might add. I really like this character. I actually read this script in 2019 and I got through it, and I thought this is really good! I like it! Then when it got to this “part,” I called him (Kenyon) and said, ‘what the heck’ because it’s just a bam! It hits you in the face! It takes you there and it’s real life. There’s probably nothing in this script that the audience will see on stage that some of them have been through, experienced or witnessed in their lives. It’s in a small town like Peru, Indiana, and everybody knows everyone else’s business,” Stoll explained. Stoll continued, “The emotional spectrum of this show is on complete polar opposites There’s a lot of comedy, laughing, jokes, quips, real witty lines, name calling and then you’ve got the other side of it where there are points in the script where it gives you head-to-toe goosebumps. Even though I had already read the script and I knew what was happening, I knew the lines, it makes your
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Shanna Stoll, left, runs through her lines with Alexis Nunn, right. Jordan Kenyon, director for “The May Queen” is also an actor in this production, seated in the background. Photo by Michelle Boswell
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