Motor scooters will serve as landspeeders and police cruisers in the Blacktip Island Community Players’ production of ‘Lukes of Hazzard’ this weekend. (photo courtesy of Aniket Konkar)
The Blacktip Island Community Players will premier their spring performance, a Star Wars-meets-Dukes of Hazzard original piece titled ‘Lukes of Hazzard,’ at Diddley’s Landing public pier Saturday afternoon, a BICP spokesperson said.
“We strive to stretch ourselves, take unusual risks and celebrate local talent, so when Edwin Chub showed us his original script, we jumped at it,” BICP director Doris Blenny said. “The premise is a young and an old Luke Skywalker time warp into 1980s Kentucky and race around the countryside taking on Boss Hutt and his bounty hunters.
“Their main concern, obviously, is saving Princess Daisy,” Blenny said. “We’re staging it at the public pier so we have a bigger stage to maneuver on, and to allow for a larger audience. We’re using scooters as landspeeders and big cyalume light sticks as lightsabers.”
Cast members say the roles offer new challenges.
“I’m taking two well-established characters and morphing them into something new,” said Payne Hanover, playing Uncle Obi Wan. “It’s tough creating a new character while totally respecting the old characters, but I finally got a handle on it. I know others struggled with the same creative issues.”
Cast members agreed.
“At first it was quite difficult keeping a straight face while delivering lines like, ‘Greedo! Greedo! Git them Luke boys!’” said Lee Helm, playing Sheriff JarJar. “But I immersed myself in the character during rehearsals, and now it flows quite naturally.”
The cast includes:
Hugh Calloway as Young Luke
Peachy Bottoms as Old Luke
Antonio Fletcher as Boss Hutt
Lee Helm as Sheriff JarJar
Jessie Catahoula as Deputy Greedo
Payne Hanover as Uncle Obi Wan
Alison Diesel as Princess Daisy
Cori Anders as Yoda’s Force spirit
Marina DeLow as Tusken Raiders 1 and 2
“Lee wanted to play Princess Daisy, but Alison was the only one who could really make the short-shorts work,” Blenny said. “And spirit-Yoda was a late addition—we needed a character who could talk to the audience to explain events on stage, kind of like the chorus in ancient Greek theater, or an Elizabethan aside.”
Spectators are eager to see the production.
“Doris and them never disappoint with their spring play, and they may have topped even their ‘Nudibrachs’ musical with this one,” Kitty Cottonwick said. “I love Star Wars and I love Dukes of Hazzard, so this touches two special places in my heart. Like a trip back to my childhood. I think most folks feel that way.”
Proceeds from the production will go to the small Caribbean island’s Habitat for Humanity.
The BICP will have auditions next week for their summer musical, ‘Poirots of the Caribbean.’
The Blacktip Times 