SAFYPT: “Peril on the San Miguel, A Melodrama!,” 9/24

19 Sep SAFYPT: “Peril on the San Miguel, A Melodrama!,” 9/24

Telluride’s Sheridan Arts Foundation’s Young People’s Theater is proud to present its fourth annual parent/kid play, “Peril on the San Miguel: A Melodrama!” starring eight students grades 3-5 and their parents. The show takes place Sunday, September 24, 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and ALL proceeds benefit Soleil Unternahrer, an 11-year-old Telluride local (and YPT alum) who is battling cancer in Denver. 

Leah Nikula, new artistic director, SAFYPT, presents her first kid-parent production, a benefit for Soleil  Unternahrer.

Step back to the era of melodrama, when a hero, a heroine, a villain, a traveling circus troupe and a bunch of orphans take us on a ragtag, whodunit adventure!

The play kicks off the 2017-2018 YPT school year under the helm of new artistic director Leah Nikula. True to melodrama fashion, “Peril On The San Miguel” will be underscored by a piano, cuing the audience to boo and hiss at the bad guy and cheer the hero.

“Melodrama is such a fun and beloved genre of theater that is always such a hoot for the cast members and audience alike,” Nikula said. “With its audience interaction, over-the-top characters, and fun piano underscoring, I’m so excited to introduce this style of theater to these kids. This being my first parent/kid play, I wanted to choose a style that would get everyone really excited.”

This dazzling play stars Savannah and Traci Baize; Cooper Cantor and Danielle Jenkins; Henry and Ashley Deppen; Livi and Paul Emrick; Lilly and Paul Jones; Zander and Emil Sante; Evan and Sarah Stogner; and Anna and Lynn Ward.

The show will be performed just ONCE on Sunday, September 24, at 7 p.m. at the historic Sheridan Opera House. Tickets are $10 and again, all proceeds benefit Unternahrer’s cancer treatment.

Unternahrer has spent the last nine months in Denver with her mother Jackie, living in Denver’s Ronald McDonald House while she undergoes treatment for osteosarcoma cancer, a cancerous tumor in her right femur bone.

“I honestly don’t know how Solei and I would have made it though the last nine months if it were not for the Ronald McDonald House,” said Jackie Unternahrer. “The love and support and beautiful home they provided to us during this ordeal has been a life saver. I will be forever grateful to the Ronald McDonald House organization and the support they provide for families like us.”

“This is such a special production, as we are honoring Solei and her incredible courage and strength,” Nikula said. “The kids have put so much heart into their roles knowing that this show will benefit Solei and her family.”

Since 1999, the historic Sheridan Opera House has been home to Young People’s Theater, a diverse and flourishing center for young thespians, enrolling more than 200 children between the ages of 3 and 18 each year.