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ELY - The Ely Community Theatre will perform, “A Tiny Miracle with a Fiberoptic Unicorn,” as an early Christmas present for area residents.
Director Greg Mann described “Tiny Miracle” as …
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ELY - The Ely Community Theatre will perform, “A Tiny Miracle with a Fiberoptic Unicorn,” as an early Christmas present for area residents.
Director Greg Mann described “Tiny Miracle” as a humorous look at family life in the1980s. ‘We present a play filled with laughs and nostalgia, as well as poignant moments and some tears,” he said. “It also contains some PG-13 level adult content, so parental discretion is advised.”
“Tiny Miracle,” written by Don Zolidis, is set in December 1986, and recounts a Christmas week that Louis, the story’s central character, describes as “the worst week of his life, and also the best,” according to Mann.
Louis (Shane Geiger) is a normal 13-year-old navigating through life with his dysfunctional family including his jokester father (Todd Crego), control-freak mother (Andrea Strom) and intolerant older sister (Courtney Brittingham).
Louis is determined to win over Carolyn (Hanna Littler), “the hottest girl in the eighth grade’s gifted and talented class,” but finds that his plans aren’t so easily accomplished, especially with the arrival of his Grandma Jacobs (Tom Bennett) and Grandma Skolowski (Morgan Sauls). The entire story is told as seen through the eyes of present-day Louis (Adam Dykes),” Mann said.
Period costuming by costumer Laurie Kess, including huge shoulder pads, leggings, jogging suits and “mall hair,” brings the nostalgia alive, and some memorable 1980s boom box music sets the tone for this throwback to a time before computers and cell phones.
“A Tiny Miracle with a Fiberoptic Unicorn” will open on Thursday, Nov. 29 and will be presented over two weekends, on Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 4, 7 and 8 at 7 p.m., with a special matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2, at the Vermilion Community College Fine Arts Theater.
Tickets are $10 and can either be purchased at the door or online at brownpapertickets.com. This play is sponsored by the Northern Lakes Arts Association and made possible, in part, by a grant from the Donald G. Gardner Trust.
Who is Don Zolidis?
Don Zolidis is a playwright, novelist, and former middle and high school teacher. He writes comedies and dramas, but is mostly known for his comedies. He has published near 100 plays which have been produced over 10,500 times in 61 countries. “You might also have seen my work on the forensics circuit, where I am as popular as grilled cheese sandwiches,” he writes in his biography on his website, www.donzolidis.com.
Professionally, his work has appeared at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Phoenix Theatre, The Bloomington Playwrights Project, Dallas HUB Theatre, The Purple Rose Theatre, The Victory Theatre Center, Mirror Stage Ensemble, and many other places.
His first novel, The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig (A Love Story), will be published by Disney-Hyperion by the end of 2018.