‘Tapestry’ hits the stage at Newton High School

Curtains open at 7 p.m. Friday for the Newton High School play “Tapestry.” Performances both Friday and Saturday begin a 7 p.m. for the seven “thread” production written by Craig Sodaro.

“It’s seven international style fairy tales. If a child comes to see it, they are going to get something out of it and like it; and if an adult, they are going to get the adult message. Each one has a really good moral for today’s society,” said Melinda Worthington, play director.

The play opens with a king, grieving over the death of his son, arresting the man who owns the land and the fence that his son died on. Both men are sentenced to death, but before execution takes place the wife of the fence builder must create a tapestry to provide the king comfort. The weaver begins, telling stories as she goes to help prolong all of their lives.

The first thread tells the story of young woman who must learn about herself and her appearance through meeting different people. The second thread concerns two farmers who have a chance at a tremendous fortune, but it may cost them everything and the decision they make about that chance. The third thread is about three sisters who set out with a magic map from their mother to find what their hearts desire and what they eventually found.

The fourth thread is about a man who has no self confidence but upon a chance meeting receives a stone to give him confidence. He goes on to find the woman he loves but before they will happily ever after, she tests him in his love for her.

A comedy, the fifth tread is about a wolf who doesn’t eat meat and is kicked out of her pack. While her pack is trying to take down a troll, the wolf helps the troll get away. After a famine, the wolf pack has to head north to the land of the trolls where the fates of all the wolves are decided.

The sixth tread tells a story of a queen who has to go on a journey and has a test to find who will watch over the kingdom while she is gone. She places stones and watches to see what all of the people will to do get around them choosing who will oversee by the actions they take.

On a more serious note, during seventh thread, the woman weaves the story of a mother who loses her daughter and almost succumbs to her own grief. Upon completion of the tapestry, the King must decide whether he has found consolation and peace and the fates of the men and the weaver are decided.

A total of 38 performers will be on stage throughout the night with an additional seven behind the scenes in the crew.

“This is a really busy time of year, high school kids are always busy. The play is really nice because each scene is self contained. If you are in that scene you aren’t in any other scenes. It works out really nice because I can make this big master schedule and the kids give me their conflicts and that is how we run practice,” Worthington said. “The performers have done an excellent job in it. They have really embraced their roles, they are cooperative and they work together as a team as well.”

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at
641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or
jpierson@newtondailynews.com.