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‘Ring Round the Moon’ signals a return to live theater for Nevada Conservatory Theatre

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From left: Frannie Maas, Greg Prusiewicz, Luke Halferty and Carmen Maher
Photo: Richard Brusky / Courtesy

After the seeming eternity of the pandemic lockdown, UNLV’s Nevada Conservatory Theatre returns to live performances with a celebratory season that includes Little Shop of Horrors and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But first, viewers will enjoy a feel-good farce, Ring Round the Moon.

“It’s the perfect show to remind people about the joy of live theater,” says play director and UNLV acting professor Kymberly Mellen. “Three hundred people laughing together is very different than bingeing Netflix at home on your tiny screen.”

Ring Round the Moon is a Downton Abbey-esque story of love and mistaken identity. Set in a pre-war Paris château’s “winter garden,” the plot revolves around the love lives of twin brothers Frederic and Hugo (both played by graduate student Luke Halferty). One brother is sweet, the other cynical. The complicating characters include a rich matriarch, an heiress and a ballet dancer disguised as an heiress.

As with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it’s no spoiler to say that the characters end up finding their perfect matches. The fun’s in how they get there.

“It’s everything that your typical theatergoer wants to see in live theater,” Mellen says. “It’s a gorgeous set [with] beautiful costumes. It’s funny. It’s a rom-com. There’s stage combat. There’s waltzes and two steps and a little vaudeville act. There’s lush orchestration. There’s kinetic Three Stooges bits and really outlandish, intense characters. [It’s] very, very fast paced.”

While not quite as old as Shakespeare’s plays, Ring Round the Moon dates back to 1947, when it was written by French playwright Jean Anouilh. Christopher Fry adapted the play to English in 1950.

Perhaps due to its era, Ring Round the Moon has the feel of a family classic. Mellen compares it to a “good Disney movie” that will appeal to every generation—but for different reasons. “You all will just laugh, laugh, laugh and want to fall in love again. And then go out for ice cream afterwards,” Mellen says. “It’s a really fun show.”

Just don’t call the play escapist. “Escapism sounds too intellectual,” says Norma Saldivar, NCT’s executive director. “This is about celebration. It’s about looking at the foibles of individuals, looking at our idiosyncrasies. It’s about how we handle crises, how we move through change, but it’s done in a way that audiences can relate to.”

One of the joys of Nevada Conservatory Theatre is its connection to UNLV. Shows are multidisciplinary endeavors, with professors, students and visiting experts coming together to put on professional productions. UNLV Dance professor Cathy Allen is choreographing Ring Round the Moon. UNLV acting professor Sean Boyd is guiding the show’s stage combat. And, of course, Mellen brings talent and know-how to her role as director.

“First of all, she’s a terrific actress, and she has years of experience working at places like the Utah Shakespeare Festival that are renowned for their work with period plays,” Saldivar says. “And she has a great sense of the style and genre of the piece.”

As for Mellen, she asks readers to “just come see the show! I think we’re desperate to have an audience, as I hope that the audience is desperate to join in supporting the actors onstage,” Mellen says. “I’ve missed that full-bodied vicarious experience so much as an audience member.”

RING ROUND THE MOON Through October 17; Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; $25. UNLV’s Judy Bayley Theatre, 702-895-2787.

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