The St James Theatre in Gore will host a return of the beloved sitcom Happy Days with a musical adaptation in August.
Gore Musical Theatre will be putting on the production with some younger members of the community this year to portray the iconic teenage cast.
The original television series ran from 1974-84 and presented an idealised vision of the life of American high school students in the 1950s and early 1960s.
The director, Craig Waddell, said one of the reasons he chose this show was to have a cast with a wider variety of ages.
The central character, Fonzie, who in the TV show was memorably played by Henry Winkler, will be portrayed in the musical by Gore newcomer Billy Weeks.
"He just came out of the blue and wowed us," Waddell said.
"He walked in and was the perfect Fonzie."
Invercargill singer Bradley Crowe takes on the role of Richie Cunningham, portrayed on TV by a baby-faced Ron Howard.
The cast also features some more seasoned players. Gore theatre regulars Sean Burke and Kayla Wilcox take on the roles of Richie’s parents, Howard and Marion.
Waddell said the musical had only been done once in New Zealand and many people knew and loved the original TV show.
Even those who were too young to remember watching the sitcom on the box recognised classic characters such as Fonzie and maybe even his younger cousin, Chachi, played by Scott Baio.
"Basically, everyone knows Fonzie," he said.
The production started rehearsals two weeks ago, and rehearsals are planned for three times a week until show time.
Waddell said the many rehearsals were necessary, especially given the amount of dancing, choreographed by Nikoia McKelvie.
Happy Days had a lot of rock‘n’roll dances, which could take longer for community performers to pick up, Waddell said.
And it was not all rock‘n’roll — in the second half, Marion Cunningham and other characters would perform a tap-dancing routine while holding apple pies, he said.
Offstage, behind-the-scenes preparations such as building sets, organising costumes and so forth took a long time, especially with a volunteer crew, the director said.
"Everyone's got day jobs, including myself," he said.
The show runs from August 8-16. Tickets will be available online via iTicket and at the St James.
ella.scott-fleming@alliedpress.co.nz
