Roxy brings ‘Fairytale Courtroom’ to life
RUSSELLVILLE — Audience members became the jury during the Franklin County Arts & Humanities Council’s production of “Fairytale Courtroom” last week at the Historic Roxy Theatre in downtown Russellville.
Directed by Leigh Mayer, the production invited audience members to hear testimony from the Big Bad Wolf and the Evil queen/wicked witch before deciding the outcome of each case.
Returning Roxy performer Amanda Mouser portrayed the witch/ queen.
“Playing this role was so opposite to my everyday life as a mom,” Mouser said. “It was a lot of fun to bring this role to life. I loved working with the little kids, and we all had a lot of fun together.”
Recent Russellville High School graduate Maria Gonzalez said she enjoyed the “quirkiness” of her role as Lil Red. “I got the part I wanted,” Gonzalez said. “I loved the cast. Everyone helped each other, and all the adults took the children in as their own. It just turned into one big family.”
Daniel Hill portrayed the bailiff.
“I’ve never had this many lines before,” Hill said. “I got a lot of laughs, and that was a lot of fun. We were so well put together because of the director. We stayed late at rehearsals to get everything right. I enjoyed meeting new people and making friends.”
Leigh Mayer directed the show while her daughter, Reese Mayer, played Dorothy.
“It was a lot of fun,” Reese Mayer said. “Dorothy is one of my favorite characters in ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ I hope everyone enjoyed all the sarcasm.”
The production marked Leigh Mayer’s first time directing at the Roxy.
Originally from Pennsylvania, she directed in college theater and now serves as the JROTC instructor and in-school suspension teacher at Russellville High School.
“I hope people had a great time,” Mayer said. “This cast worked very hard in a very short amount of time to put on the production. We had a lot of first timers. They all went above and beyond and definitely exceeded expectations. Thanks to everyone who participated and all who came to watch the shows.”
