Imagination on display

The Paradise Center is a place of education and history, but last weekend it was the site of thievery, bribery and even murder. Throw in a ghost and the vivid imagination of a writer, and people had the chance to see the latest play of the Paradise Players.

It’s been two years since the Paradise Players have had the chance to take to the stage and the first time for Kathleen Hubka to direct the troupe with a rendition of “Seven Keys to Baldpate Inn.”

“They were pretty amazing. They were very refreshing,” said Hubka of her 11 cast members last weekend, which had performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and drew just over 120 people. This might have been the first time for Hubka’s direction of a local group, but she’s no stranger to directing. She spent 40 years in the theater in Nebraska, where she worked with high school and college students and directed hundreds of plays.

The play, written in 1913 by George M. Cohan, centers around Billy Magee (Michael Murray), who goes to the Baldpate Inn in the dead of winter, when the inn is closed, to write a 10,000-word novel as part of a bet, but he needs to be alone and without interruption. Inn caretaker Eliza Quimby (Mary Lou Hermes) and her sister, Martha Quimby (Rochelle Lukehart) tells Magee he has the only key, something he discovers is incorrect when others start showing up with their key, including Lou Caprionni (Benjamin Winkler) looking to retrieve a million dollars from the inn safe for the mayor (William Largent). The entourage of visitors continues with the mayor’s fiancé (Deborah Davis), a reporter (Sharon Murray), president of the railroad (Butch Murdock), his assistant, Max, (Hubka), and the police chief (Robert Reece). It becomes a myriad of antics and accusations concerning the missing money. The first person implicated was Nancy the Hermit (Myra Lindborg) who some believed was a ghost. Myra Thornhill, (Susannah Lindsay) shows up with the intention of stealing the money, but is killed by Caprionni and comes back as a ghost. Nancy the Hermit finally admits to burning the money. The railroad president shoots her, but soon there’s a shootout and they all die. The lights dim and when they come back on it’s revealed the whole episode was Magee’s novel.  

The majority of the cast has been with the Paradise Players for several years. Hermes and Hubka selected the play. Initially, Hermes was supposed to direct, as she had done with numerous plays before, but she switched with Hubka. Nora Verpoorten of Plains was supposed to play the hermit, but was injured a week before show time and her sister, Lindborg, who had made Verpoorten‘s costume, took on the role.

Seven Keys to Baldpate Inn saw three new actors — Reece and Lindsay of Plains and Largent of Thompson Falls. Lindsay, 16, was a stagehand in the 2019 play “Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch,” although she and Largent did participate in a handful of plays put on by the Missoula Children’s Theater. “I loved it and want to do this again,” said Lindsay, who recruited Largent, also 16, to play the mayor. Largent is also a member of “Dance Xplosion” in Thompson Falls. “I love entertaining an audience. I like to change things up and play off the audience’s energy,” he said.

The 35-year-old Winkler has been acting since he was about five years old when his mother, the late Ruth Wrinkler, put on plays at Paradise School. Michael Murray has extensive acting experience with about 30 plays in California and has a master’s degree in drama. He has also directed two plays at the Paradise Center. This was the third play for Lukehart. Murdock has been in several Paradise plays and during intermission entertained the crowd by singing “Hello Walls” and “Ballad of the Mean Queen” acapella.

Hermes said she enjoys acting. She missed directing the play, but felt Hubka did a great job. “She’s a breath of fresh air for us because she has big ideas,” said Hermes. “I do enjoy directing plays,” said Hubka. “Every performance is different, because every audience is different. That’s why live theater is so special. The cast really gets energy from the audience,” she added. The Plains resident said she reads a lot of plays looking for something intriguing, keeping in mind the casting set design and technical aspects. She’s thinking about doing another play later this year and has an idea for the next play, which might be an all-girl cast.

“This is a terrific group of people, such great personalities, with terrific work ethic and very generous attitudes. It’s hard to believe that there is a 70-year age gap between our oldest and youngest cast member. I’m very lucky to be involved with Paradise Players,” she added. “This show had tech aspects that we just couldn’t meet. I am unhappy about that, because it would have really enhanced the script. However, the story was good and the characters were a lot of fun, so I am very happy with our efforts.”

Money raised at the play will go to upgrade the light and sound system, which was run by Plains resident Doug Wilkes last weekend. Hubka also put out an appeal for more actors.