‘I Dream of Genie’ on stage this weekend

The North County High School Drama Club is performing “I Dream of Genie” this weekend.

The play is a modern day Aladdin story about a young man who has to learn to go after what he wants in life, to believe in himself and not let life happen to him.

He does this through his journey of having a genie helping him find his way, and he also learns to stand up to his mother.

The actors will take the stage at North County High School in the auditorium Friday and Saturday with performances at 7 p.m. each evening, and a Sunday performance at 2 p.m.

The play is open to the public and tickets will be sold the day of performances. Adult tickets are $5, students $3 and children $2.

Drama sponsor Heidi Thies said they picked this particular show because it has a small number of roles and has some comedy in it.

“I think it sends a good message to students to believe in themself and that they don’t need to change to please other people,” said Thies.

The cast is made up of 13 members. The lineup includes Olivia Capps who has lead role of Jeannie, Brian Middleton as Aban, Abe Jackson as Kadar, Tiffani Tucker as Queen Uzma, Kalen Kahn as Farizad, Haley Bordelon as Johnson, Hunter Stoup as Ms. Mathis, Logan Shropshire as Harun, Emily Brener as Cantara, Madison Hinson as Barika, Anna Breck as Tsra, Ally Crews as Numa, and Ramsee Johnson as Kayla May.

Capps, playing the lead of Jeannie, said this is her ninth play and she enjoys being able to be somebody else for a change instead of herself for awhile.

“I think everyone of all ages will love this play and may bring back some memories for people who remember ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ from the 60s or 70s with Barbara Eden. It’s like bringing it to life, but with a different story,” said Capps.

Middleton, playing the lead role of Aban, said being a part of the Drama Club gives a good sense of culture and it’s good for social health.

“This particular play has some pretty comedic moments and can appeal to people of all ages. With the smaller cast it’s easier for the audience to connect to the characters,” said Middleton.

Tucker, playing role as Queen Uzma, said she has been in nine or 10 plays and hopes to one day find herself working backstage designing costumes in her career.

“This is an escape, and like a second family, no matter what happens they are there for you. This play is very alive and colorful. Everything is fun and towards the end the scenes are full of dancing. There will be things done with the spotlights that will really draw out the colors,” said Tucker.

In the fall the high school actors had about 600 people attend their play with only two performances. This time they expect to entertain around 500 people or more with three performances.

Jeannie appeared out of the Alley of Darkness startling and quickly confusing Abad and Kadar with her futuristic references of today’s world. The scene is part of the North County High School play being performed this Friday through Sunday.

The cast of “I Dream of Genie” is set to perform this weekend at North County High School in the Auditorium in three performances.

Renee Bronaugh is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-518-3617 or rbronaugh@dailyjournalonline.com