Robbing the rich to entertain the poor

The Wolf River Homeschoolers have resorted to robbing the rich, but they do it with a song on their lips.

The Christian homeschooling group is performing “Robin Hood: Tales of Ye Merry Woode” for its 11th annual musical. The show will debut Thursday at Clintonville High School’s auditorium.

The tale is a musical version of the timeless story of Robin Hood, a bandit who robs the rich with the aid of his Merry Men and gives what he steals to the poor. In this show, audience members will see several instances of Robin’s thievery, including one where he and his crew swipe a roast and all the trimmings from the tyrannical Prince John and replace it with a skunk.

The plot thickens when Prince John and his evil sisters plot to have the prince marry Maid Marian in order to gain her riches and land. The plan is to use the pending nuptials as an opportunity to capture Robin Hood when he tries to rescue Marian.

“Robin Hood: Tales of Ye Merry Woode” was chosen for the homeschoolers’ show for its familiar story and its ability to accommodate a large cast, according to director Char Stuewer. The show boasts a cast of 74 from ages 6-18.

“It has some fun musical numbers, dancing and swordfights,” Stuewer said. “We have a merry band, a widow’s family. We have ladies in waiting, royalty. There’s just a broad range of characters for our students.”

The actors in the swordfighting scenes did not receive any special training for the show, but they have been researching on their own by watching YouTube videos and practicing outside the regular rehearsals.

The home-taught students have gathered once or twice each week since November to prepare for the show, which will be performed free for the public.

Elena Kowalkowski, who plays Maid Marian, has participated in the WRH musicals since the first one. This will be her last year performing with the group as she will get her high school diploma soon and head off to college in pursuit of a business management degree.

“It’s always been a pleasure. I really look forward to it every year,” Kowalkowski said. “I’m definitely going to miss it. I love theater and I’ll always be interested in doing it, but now this is my last year. I’m looking at my horizons and thinking about what I’m going to do with my time.”

Kowalkowski said she might get involved with other Christian theater activities in the future but doesn’t plan to pursue acting professionally. She likes acting because of the opportunity to play a role different from her.

“Sometimes it’s not your personality. I like the challenge of it and performing … something out of the ordinary,” Kowalkowski said.

Ethan Fregien, playing the title role, said acting gives him a high. As the show draws nearer, that feeling is becoming more intense, he said.

“I feel alive when I’m up there,” Fregien said. “I’m very much alive, more so than when I deal with my daily business. I’ve always loved that, and I’m very excited for that now.”

Fregien said that this year’s show is setting a very high bar compared to what has come before. In his third year performing with the homeschoolers, he has acted in “Willow Blues” and “Anne of Green Gables.”

“I’m very excited for what’s going on,” Fregien said. “I think it could very well be the best one this group is ever going to do because the way it’s going to make the audience feel — it’s going to blow them away. We haven’t done something like this with a tree and arrows and a lot more action.”