BEMIDJI — After three years in dry dock, the schooner Hispaniola is finally ready to set sail in downtown Bemidji.
The Bemidji Community Theater’s production of Robert Louis Stevenson's “Treasure Island” opens a six-day run on Friday, March 24, at the BCT Performing Arts Center, 316 Beltrami Ave. NW. Performances will be at 7 p.m. on March 24, 25, 31 and April 1, and at 2 p.m. on March 26 and April 2.
Director Mary Knox-Johnson and the 25 cast members were ready to open the play at the Chief Theater in the spring of 2020 when COVID-19 shut everything down. The set was built, the cast was ready, tickets were sold.
The BCT considered rescheduling for later in 2020, but with the ongoing pandemic, the show was shelved. Meanwhile, the Community Theater acquired its own building next door and began an extensive remodeling effort.
“No one knew how long (the pandemic) was going to last, so we left everything up at the Chief until the middle of July that year,” Knox-Johnson said. “Still there was no sign of anything loosening up, so we packed everything away and hauled it over to this building.”
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The first play at the BCT Performing Arts Center was “The Music Man,” and others have been staged since then.
“Finally we said we need to do the (“Treasure Island”) show just to get closure,” Knox-Johnson said. There are only about five to 10 from the original 25 who are in this show, so there was a big turnover in the ensuing years. Some kids stayed, but all of the principal characters are different.”
That includes Aria Robertson and Sophia Hordichok, both of whom were cast in the ensemble in 2020. Robertson plays young Jim Hawkins and Hordichok plays Meg. Other principals are Mary Anderson as Mrs. Hawkins, Paul Conklin as Tom Morgan, Mark Christensen as Captain Smollett, along with Becky Marty, Jaxon Anderson and Tiffany Barta.
“So it’s a brand new show in a brand new space with some diehards from the original cast,” Knox-Johnson said. “It was like doing the show from scratch again.”
The set utilizes much of the space in the former Book World store location. The ship is nearly 60 feet long, and actors will be seen on the catwalk, the loft and the grand staircase.
Tickets may be purchased at Ken K. Thompson Jewelry and McKenzie Place, online at bemidjicommunitytheater.com or at the door pending availability. Tickets cost $6 for children, $12 for seniors and $15 for adults.
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