The Princess Knight DDHS

This past weekend, I, along with many of the original cast and crew, got to attend the Delavan Darien High School's performances of the Princess Knight. It was such a wonderful experience returning to the world of the show and seeing it through a whole new set of young actors and actresses. There were many surprises in the newest interpretation that had me smiling so hard my face hurt and laughing to tears a few times! It was a proud moment watching the original cast speak to their counterparts. Seeing the size difference between Sandstones Max and Anthony , the similarities between our Chesters John and Gordon, our princesses, who are already fast friends, Kim and Ashley, our nerdy and uptight Doc Libby meeting the relaxed and groovy Therapist Ryan, Not-so-giant Giants Missa and Bebheann exchanging BOOMS! , the Emperors Tom and Alex telling each other what was more wonderful! And to bring back together many of the first family to meet our newest generation. Kaitlin, our costume designer, asked me if I felt like a proud grandparent, and I suppose I do. I got to sit back and enjoy the show without having to discipline you all this time! :D Ashley Brouwer as Princess Scarlet was so top-notch, I do not doubt that she has a very bright future on the stage. Of course, I don't want to go on and on about the natural potential she clearly has and how impressed I was, because we gotta keep her humble so she maintains that natural poise. So, shhhhh - It'll be our secret for now. Then we can all say "We knew her when". >wink< Ryan Ettner's Therapist as an entirely new interpretation as a peace loving hippie was fantastic. I'm certain myself and the original cast were laughing twice as hard as anyone because of how different it was from Libby's Doc. Ryan made it his own in so many ways. I'm glad I saw the show all three nights, because I was caught so off guard by the new version of The Therapist, I was laughing too hard to hear some of the lines. Anthony Welch's Prince Sandstone may have been half the size of Max, but he owned the role. I particularly enjoyed him getting ALL the girls in the end. Oh, and that mustache was so manly it made him sing down an octave on Saturday! Candace would be insanely proud of the wicked way Toni Seitz carried on the tradition of Vesper. Toni had a high bar to reach, and she did not disappoint. Vesper was a wonderfully loathsome as the original, and Toni took plenty of chances to revel in the evil! I must say that "Love/Hate" was my favorite song each night. Toni and Ryan just nailed it (with the help of Matt and Gordon pantomiming stage center). And Ermegehrd! Speaking of Gordon. What a great introducing to the world of theater. To imagine that this was Gordon's first show! He was definitely the right guy for the role. Chester is meant for that actor who never gets to be the male lead. Chester is meant for those guys who always get supporting roles as sidekicks. From what I have heard, Gordon has come out of his shell and is now at home in the theater world. And not to draw out the antici.....SAY IT!pation, but I did so love the Baron Von Briar Thorn as performed by Matt Iserloth. Another actor who definitely has a future on the stage. Standing up on the chair to yell, the goggles falling on his face, embracing the rock star moments of "A Whole New Baron" - Woo! Matt played the part like a pro, and it was clear how much fun he was having playing it. He even found moments that Nat didn't in the original, and that makes me proud. Sarah Keiffer succeeded in the daunting task of learning the lion's share of dialogue Lily needs to know. Not an easy task. Musicals don't tend to have that many monologues, and Lily has several. Think of it like this, Sarah, you got to do the equivalent of a play and a musical at the same time; it's double the show for a senior about to head out into the college world. I'm thrilled that as Lily, Sarah was able to blow the doors off the place when she finally got her chance to sing! I was told that the last note of her solo was the first note of the very first song she sang as a senior. Our new royalty, Emily Santeler and Alex Koch, wore their crowns well. I wish Rachel had been able to see Emily's Rose Petal, which was pleasantly similar in wonderful ways. And Alex as Prickle was pleasantly different than Tom. Alex's excitement was overflowing, and it was a treat to be sitting in front of Tom and hearing him enjoy at the performance. The Wolf, Giant, and Troll as performed by Aaron, Bebheann, and Jacob made for quite the trio. I'm pleased to see that the bone and Viking hat remained. It wouldn't feel like the Giant without those being wielded about! Continuing tradition as well, Aaron's incredible voice brought tears to my eyes with "The Wolf's Lament". Megan did it to me every time, and Aaron did too. And major congrats to Jacob as the Troll. He only had about a week to truly learn the part, and he was perfect. Liam sword fighting, Adam wielding that butcher's blade, Anya's "Cwick and Novak-like" excitement in every scene, Taylor's ditsy Baker, Mickey losing all his heart containers, Zach's "Oh no he didn't!" Was it Nicole or Caitlin who fell to her knees when Sandstone announces his marriage? (Forgive me, I only just met all of you.) Morgan as the Blue Fairy, Mary's speed with that sword! And to all the parents and families I got to meet this weekend as well. It means so much to me to see your support for the kids and their creativity. That love for the arts will keep the Arts alive. It was so amazing to experience it all again. Thank you, everyone, for your hard work and most of all, for having so much fun doing it. Thank you to Larry for not charging ME by the note this time, Bette and Marisa for still dealing with those costumes. And to Janet Palmer for keeping the Princess Knight alive and thriving. Now, all of you take all those pictures and videos you have from the run and start posting them to the group page!

T.C. De Witt

Production Blog Post #40 - Behold!

The release announcement for the Original Cast Recording! Follow THIS LINK to visit Amazon.com and purchase today!

#39 - Production Photos

Please visit the Princess Knight facebook page for a look at many, many photos of the many, many more to come! Costumes! Scenes! and More! Click HERE to head there now...

#38 - The Future

And they all lived happily ever...

Wait a minute!

We've reached the end of our adventure, but the story is not complete. We have so much to look forward to in the coming months. The original cast recording is nearly complete. From what I've heard from Jamison, it sounds wonderful! The iTunes account will be online and ready for visitors in the next weeks. I will be sharing some exclusive tracks that will not be featured on the album. These tracks will lead up to the release of the Original Soundtrack. The DVD is being worked on as well, and it looks spectacular. If things continue as planned, the two will be released simultaneously. The cast will receive the CD, and those who've already ordered the DVD will get that as well. Orders for both will be available soon.  Also, I have literally thousands of photos to sift through. I'm excited to show you all the wonderful moments that were captured by so many cameras over the month of production. So many happy memories.

Now that we are settled back in California, I will have plenty of time to share all of these things with you. We continue on!

And the Princess Knight is going on as well. Janet Palmer has decided to produce the show with her school in the coming year. I would love it if as many of the original cast could reunite and go support these kids on Opening Night. It will be so fun to see what they do with the characters and story we all created - to see what they do the same and what they do differently. I look forward to the reunion!

Though I've tried, I can never thank you all enough for what we've accomplished. It was truly a dream come true. Honestly and truly. I miss you all already, but we will all share the memories. "All good things..." and all that.

So, onward! Hand-in-hand, let's keep dreaming. The story never end... As in life, there is always more to tell. There is always...

to be continued...

#36 - Brush-up Speed Through

Ffrom last night's brush-up rehearsal where we ran the show in an hour and twenty minutes. PHEW!

#35 - OPENING NIGHT

We've done it! Opening Night has happened! Congratulations to everyone in the cast and crew for helping create this adventure. I am so, so, SO proud of all of you. Follow THIS link to view the Opening Night Production Video!

#34 - Clean-up Day

Well, after a ten hour day, the theater is clean, the set and stage painted and spiked, the tent is up, and everything ready for the monster day of Double Run Sunday - Bump-bump-BUMMM! A great turn out today. Thank you for every hand that helped. The clean-up day is notorious for creative excuses, but I'm proud to say that nearly every cast member appeared today. Tomorrow is the longest of days, but with the potluck in the middle, things should stay relatively upbeat. We'll have a small audience tomorrow too with the return appearance of the guys from Firmament Films (the brilliant gents who helped film our commercial, watch it again HERE and spread the word!). My fellow filmmakers are going to begin capturing footage for our forthcoming DVD. It'll be a pleasure having them, if only to give you all a small audience of people who haven't heard the jokes and songs a thousand times. Everyone is really bringing this production together and ready for the public. I appreciate all the hard work and minimal complaining about heat in those costumes. Let's have some fun tomorrow - FOCUS! ENERGY! PROJECT! and SMILE! --T.C.

#33 - The Princess Knight Commercial

The Princess Knight is nearly here! And to help get the word out, I hooked up with my buddies at Firmament Films to create this fancy-dancey commercial. For those of you who need some convincing to come see the show, enjoy this one-minute spot and the spread the word! Tickets are on sale now at www.thehaylofters.com. What are you waiting for? Watch this wonderful commercial and then go get your tickets before they sell out! Come see all the hard work these actors have out into this new show, and come on, how often do you get to see a WORLD PREMIERE?!

#32 - Let's Dance!

Arlene, Missa, and T.C. bug-squishing through the choreography for "Where a Hero Gets Their Start".

#31 - Production Photos

I... am the GIANT!" — with Melissa Rodriguez


"--each day!" - with Candace and Libby



"I'm a MAN!" - with John Kobernick

The Wolf shares her dreams. — with Rachel Oldenburg, Megan Schroeder and Kimberly Lyn Casey

Nat and Candace make sure John is in just long enough to pass out from lack of air.

"I cannot wait!"

"...and Chester defeats Sandstone in hand-to-hand combat, like Spock and Kirk, proving he's the bigger badass!"
"I don't think that's how it goes."
"Maybe he has an older edition of the script?"
"Mine says I end up with the Baker." — with John Joseph Kobernick, Tom Deichsel, Rachel Oldenburg, Kimberly Lyn Casey and Whitney Lynn Spence at Malt House Theatre.

Lily goes for her best attack! - with Julie Patten and Kim Casey

The Baron shows his true colors. - with John, Nathaniel, and Candace

"Weird?!" — with Julie Patten and Kimberly Lyn Casey at Malt House Theatre.

 The lovely townsfolk of the Kingdom of the Roses prepare for the upcoming wedding


Sooooooo dreamy!