Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
Members of the first production of Montana Actors’ Theatre’s first show of the season said that, after what could have been a very bumpy start, its first shows were phenomenal. “It was fantastic, very very good,” said Samantha Pollington, who is acting in “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” by Alan Ball and co-directing the play with fellow actress Tylyn Carmean. “ It was one of the best audiences I’ve ever performed in front of.” The play experienced a relatively minor delay it started Friday instead of Wednesday, as originally planned when it had to find a replacement actress. A member of the cast had to leave a week before the show was scheduled to start. Tashia Gates was recruited to fill the slot, and arrived the Friday before the show started. “We opened on her seventh rehearsal,” Carmean said. “It was a great show. I think everybody was so happy with their performance.” M. A.T. President Jay Pyette, who has helped with the set and tech crew for the play, said the people who attended seemed to enjoy the show. “The feedback has been really good,” he said. And that is from a near capacity crowd. “Both nights we had over 100 people,” Carmean said. “They loved it, they laughed the whole time. We couldn’t be more pleased.” The show, a dark comedy showing six people from a wedding party “holed up and holed out” following the wedding, examines some serious issues, Carmean and Pollington said. It has some adult situations and dialogue and is not recommended for children. Writer Ball is known for “American Beauty” and the HBO series “Six Feet Under.” The play runs again Wednesday through Saturday, starting at 8 p. m. in the theater located on the west end of Cowan Hall at the Montana State University- Northern campus. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and admission is free for Northern students with a valid student ID card. The backstage lounge, located just inside Cowan in the basement next to the theater, opens at 7:30 p. m.
