A FAMILY AFFAIR

Members of "The Pied Piper" cast have been having so much fun with their summer workshop, assistant director Amy Diebold finds herself reminding the kids that what they think is fun is actually work.

"Sometimes you have to tell them that we're not having fun, but that we're working on something relevant to the play," said Diebold, who is assisting Marty Strohmeyer in "The Pied Piper", the culmination of an eight-week workshop sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department.

"Most of my experience in theater has been on stage, so this is something new for me," said Diebold, who is a theater major at Southeast Missouri State. "I like what I'm doing, even though I have to work a little harder at it, because it should help me become a better actress. It gives me a different perspective that will help me grow on stage."

Strohmeyer loves to work with children in theatrical productions. But this summer's production offers something of a new twist. "Normally I hold auditions and pick who I want," he said. "This time everybody who has signed up for the workshop gets to participate. But that hasn't been a problem because they all seem to want to work hard and learn more about their parts and the theater. There's a lot of talent here, too."

"The Pied Piper" performance will take place Friday, Aug. 5, at 6:30 p.m., and Saturday at 11 a.m. at the A.C. Brase Arena Building. Admission is free.

Several cast members working on "The Pied Piper" have brothers and sisters who are participating in "Don't Drink The Water", a production directed by Marty's father Gerry. "Don't Drink The Water" will take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the St. Vincent De Paul Parish Center, 741 Forest, in Cape. Tickets are $3 for Thursday and $5 for Friday and Saturday. The show begins at 8:15 each night.

Gerry Strohmeyer, a veteran director of community theater in Cape and Paducah, Ky., said he couldn't remember a weekend that involved so many members of the same family.

"There are 50 teenagers working on both of the productions," said Gerry Strohmeyer. "That is great because it means a lot of people have something to do during the summer and they're working on something that's fun and worthwhile."

"It's a lot of fun working on both, but it takes awhile to get the black out of my hair in "Don't Drink The Water," said Krissi Cox, who plays the piper in one production and a Japanese woman in another. "I have to learn how to act like a boy in "Pied Piper" and then a woman in "Don't Drink The Water," she said. Although there tends to be some confusion from time to time, Coax says she is enjoying the duality of her summer theatrical experience.

Johnathon Seyer, who plays Mr. Kessler in "The Pied Piper" is using the eight-week theater workshop to meet other kids and to become reunited with others he has already met in other productions.

The "Pied Piper" of Hamelin is a traditional story. The town of Hamelin is infested with rats. The children are scared and the parents are intent on coming up with a solution to the problem. The play opens with a town meeting scene in which all of the townspeople are angry at Mayor Ludwig, played by Ben Roeger.

It seems Mayor Ludwig has ignored the problem. Even his wife, played by Jean Stoverink, calls him a fool. After a frustrating scene, the pied piper appears and offers a solution.

For a thousand guilders the piper agrees to blow his pipe and charm the mice and rats out of town. He accomplishes his goal and the crowds cheer.

But the cheering stops when the mayor refuses to pay the thousand guilders. "It's not fair to go back on a bargain," screams one of the townspeople. But the mayor does exactly this and the townspeople become angry.

The piper calls the children and they all follow him as he pipes his way out of town. The parents attempt to chase their children, but this proves futile. After much grieving the parents meet once again to discuss how to get their children back.

Their prayers are answered when Peter, played by Andrew Essner, a crippled boy who couldn't keep up with the other children and was left behind, begins blowing his pipe.

The townspeople agree that Peter and his Granny, played by Michelle Hency, are the ones to get the children back. Peter and the Granny walk to the edge of the mountain and are able to reunite the children with their parents.

"Don't Drink The Water" is a Woody Allen comedy about a U.S. embassy behind the Iron Curtain. A family of American tourists is chased into the embassy by communists who think members of the family are spies.

It is up to the Ambassador's son, played by Mike Renick, who has a history of failure, to get the tourists out safely.

Among the occupants of the embassy are a zany French chef, played by Danny Strohmeyer, an efficient secretary, played by Sarah Essner, and a crafty priest, played by Matt Strohmeyer.

The tourists also encounter Krojack, played by Adam Cox, a sultan, played by Nick Watts, and many other characters invented to keep the comedy moving at a fast and furious pace.