Director’s Note
“Don’t be afraid of death, Winnie. Be afraid of not being truly alive. You don’t need to live forever, you just need to live. Do you understand?” Welcome to Freedom Theatre’s production of Tuck Everlasting, a show where everyone has their chance at the fountain of youth, if they could only find it! This fast paced, folksy musical is centered around a young girl named Winnie Foster who, after running away from home, meets the Tucks, a family with the secret to an immortal life! Now Winnie has to decide between returning to the life she knows and growing up or drinking from a magical spring to live forever with the Tuck family.
The magic of imagination is explored through the ensemble work in this production. While the story follows Winnie and her adventures with the Tuck family, the menacing Man in Yellow who is chasing after the magic of the spring, and Constable Joe and his sidekick following close behind, the ensembles drive the action forward with their performances throughout. The Nature Ensemble represents wind and water, as well as the magic in Treegap Wood where our story takes place and the magic of childlike imagination, while the Street Ensemble tethers us to the real world with more realistic characters. Finally, the Gold Ensemble blends between imagination and the real world, providing a bridge between believing in the mysticism of the spring and the real world dangers that come with the idea of being able to live forever.
This production process has had its share of unique challenges: snow days canceling our rehearsal calls for the first time in years, random fire alarms going off at inopportune times, advancing to a regional competition scheduled mere days before the show, a sound system refresh immediately followed by a light board shut down, and all of the outlets on stage suddenly dying during the first tech rehearsal. But this group of students rose to each challenge with tenacity and passion! The commitment and creativity in this program never ceases to astound me, even in the face of quite a stressful Winter season. I am grateful that theatre arts are alive and well at Freedom High School, and I am incredibly proud of my students for the soul they have put into this musical.
Our musical could not have come together to be the production you are watching tonight without the dedication and spirit of this cast and crew. I am deeply honored to be a part of such a creative and quirky group of young artists, and I would like to express my extreme gratitude for the hard work put into this production. As always, our outstanding parent support provided the backbone for the show to succeed, while the sincere dedication of the actors, musicians, and technicians allowed its grace. We built a giant tree on stage! And that’s just the biggest of the marvels you will see on stage tonight!
Thank you to Sara Prince and Justin Streletz for their music direction, Barrett Disse-Garrison for her choreography guidance, and thank you to Jay Bercher and Barrett for guiding the show’s technical teams. Thank you to Maggie Crumbliss and Isabella Bivin, and their assistant, Calyna Chen, for their leadership and imaginative choreography. Thank you to Marie Knight for her support throughout the production, and finally, to Courtney Davis and Bella Garcia, who between the two of them share at least half of my own brain and lead the process alongside me. It took the commitment and collaboration of every person involved, and I could not be more proud of the work we have created together as an ensemble.
