Ceillie Simkiss contributed to the written reporting on this story.
“Robin Hood – The Legacy” premiered Thursday, Feb. 26, to a crowd that had been cooped up because of snow for the past few days. Even with the inclement weather, the event had a good turnout with people coming from all over the area to see the performance.
“Robin Hood – The Legacy” is a live radio performance in the style of a 1938 radio production. That means that orchestra, dancers, and performers are all performing on one stage throughout the evening.
The story of “Robin Hood – The Legacy” took the audience on a journey through the past and present,
Andrew Berenfeld was robbed by Robin Hood of everything in the play – even his robes.
Photo by Ceillie Simkiss
telling the story of the mythical Robin Hood, played by Drew Starkey, and his band of Merry Men with the help of a modern day student Will, played by Mason Dellinger as a young man and by Don Connelly as an older man. Will decided to research the true history of Robin Hood for his thesis paper and took a trip to England to further his research.
While in England, he met several people who taught him about Robin Hood including the Abbot, played by Michael Lilly, and Dr. Lytleton, played by Dr. David Evanoff. We also met Little John, Robin Hood’s right-hand man, who was played by Phil Culton, the lovely Marian played by Mary Wiedel.
The audience members seemed to really enjoy the modern day references to cell phones and term papers alongside the discussions of robbing monks.
“I loved it because I didn’t really know the full story of Robin Hood and I thought it was a contemporary way of describing an old times story,” said Nicole Roman, a student who attended the performance.
Photo by Janson Silvers
This kind of production isn’t easy to bring together because it involves over 90 students, faculty, staff and members of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra.
Don Connelly, the writer/producer and actor in the play explained that every section had been compartmentalized before coming together in the week prior to the show to rehearse together.
“It was kind of crazy because we didn’t get to work with the orchestra until this past Tuesday, so we actually only worked with the orchestra twice and to see that all come together in two days was really cool,” said Barrett Boyles, a sound effect operator with the production.
Even with all the snow that hindered the practices of such a complicated performance, in the end it all came together to be an extremely successful radio play.
“The final show was exceptionally smooth, everybody hit their marks both music and acting, and the comments that I have gotten back is that it was pretty much spot on,” said Connelly.
Riding the success of this and the 6 past live radio plays, everyone involved is already looking towards the production for next year. Plays done in the past include “Echoes of the Cotton Club”, “Tarzan of the Apes” and “Planet of the Apes”. Connelly said that he can’t divulge what the next show will be quite yet, but it is sure to be exciting.
If you missed the show, the show has been recorded for future radio broadcasts. Check out a quick recap of “Robin Hood – The Legacy” below!
