"The Giver" comes to community theatre stage weekend of April 17

A Community Posting by Washington County Theatre

Imagine living in a world made up of communities that are all the same. Everyone eats the same food, wears the same clothes, and lives in the same kind of house. A committee of overseers decides what job you’ll have and who your family members will be. Everything is set up so that there will be no wars, no shortages, hardships, or conflicts of any kind.

However, in trying to create a perfect society, its engineers have erased the memories of both good and bad events throughout history and allow very few individual freedoms.  

Children’s author Lois Lowry wrote about such a world in her young-adult novel “The Giver,” winning the prestigious Newbery Medal in 1994, because she wanted to explore the importance of cultural and historical memories. Washington County Theatre (WCT) will bring her story to the stage on Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18, at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, April 19, at 2:30 p.m. at Gary W. Hartsook Hall in Salem with its production of Eric Coble’s adaptation.

Eliot Hein leads the cast as Jonas, a boy just turning 12 who comes to understand that something is very wrong in the way his Community functions. Hein explained, “My character learns that this so-called perfect world is not so perfect for me and the Giver, but it is perfect for everyone else. Me and the Giver think that it’s not perfect for everyone, and that even the bad memories should be shared by everyone.”

The official keeper of the collected memories of the Community is the Giver, played by Mark Carter. The aging Giver is tasked with passing down what he knows to Jonas, who has been chosen as the next keeper of memories. The two form a close bond and, together, form a plan for Jonas to escape the Community, enabling its members to live normal lives, complete with memories and knowledge that they should have.

Directed by Lydia Casey, the WCT production also features Chuck Hedrick as Father, Kara Blake as Mother, Karen Souder as Lily, and Grant Waters as Asher. Evelyn Souder plays Fiona, and Jane and Tom Naugle portray older Community members. The Chief Elder is played by Rebecca McKinley, and Madilyn Russell plays Rosemary. Alex Wilde, Brecklyn Wilde, and Elisha Souder play additional members of the Community. Jacob Dufour is sound engineer, and Heather Souder is operating the lights for the production.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students, available at the door, which opens a half-hour before showtime. Hartsook Hall is located at 405 N. Shelby Street, behind the Church of the Nazarene.

“The Giver” is produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company, Inc., of Woodstock, Illinois. The production is sponsored by Ross Roofing and Construction.