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CLEAR LAKE — Clear Lake High School will present the Iowa premiere of Hillary DePiano’s “The Love of Three Oranges” March 5 and 6.

Performances will be 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in E.B. Stillman Auditorium. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens.

“The Love of Three Oranges” is a comedy in three acts, based on a scenario by Carlo Gozzi.

From the dusty annals of theater history and the rich traditions of commedia dell’arte comes a brand new version of a classic story. This story is a wild, raucous slapstick comedy completely reworked, revised, and redone for today’s audiences.

Prince Tartaglia’s life is filled with misery until an evil witch and her equally evil henchmen concoct a plan to kill him by sending him on a quest for three giant oranges. This quest, however, soon proves more fruitful than he could have imagined.

Once he leaves the sheltered world of the castle he finds a friend in a clown, love in an orange, and most of all laughter in everything he meets. Witches, wizards, princesses, a few ferocious inanimate objects, melodramatic monarchs and a wild narrator who isn’t sure how far removed from the story she is, are thrown in to the mix.

“Not only do I have an incredibly talented and dedicated cast, but I have been doubly blessed with visionary faculty and staff to work with on this show,” said director Lindsay Rummel. “We’ve got everything from giant orange costumes to a fairy tale set with multiple pages. This show would not have been possible without the imagination and resourcefulness of the designers.”

The set was designed by Jeff Griffin, Clear Lake band director, and costumes were designed by Julie Vorland, Clear Lake family and consumer science instructor. Music for the show is provided by Sterling Washburn.

“I fell in love with the script the minute I read the cast descriptions,” said Rummel. “This show is hilarious from start to finish.”

“This play will be an edge-of-your-seat, laugh-your-pants-off production,” added junior Ellen Pritchard.

Even with all of the weather interferences with rehearsals, the students are more than ready to perform, according to Rummel.

“This show has been so much fun to prepare,” said senior Anna Phalen.

“This is one of the strongest casts I’ve worked with,” added senior Kourtney Wacker.

The cast:
Narrator, Jordan Crosser; Silvio, the King of Hearts, Josh Pannhoff; Pantalone, advisor to the King, Alyson Vorland; Leandro, First Minister, Jeremy Anderson; Princess Clarice, niece to the King, Ellen Pritchard.
Brighella, a dimwitted minion, Anna Phalen; Prince Tartaglia, Jack of Hearts, J.D. Sidebottom; Truffuldino, famous court Jester, Jacob Vorland.
Smeraldina, a slightly less dimwitted minion, Katie Cash; Fata Morgana, an evil witch, Gracie Bojorquez; Farfarello, a unionized devil, Jeremy Anderson; The Wind God, loyal to Fata Morgana, Katy Furleigh.
A gate, of unspeakable horror, Jeremy Anderson and Ellen Pritchard; A donkey, of unutterable horror, Alyson Vorland; A rope, of horror that cannot possibly be spoken, Katy Furleigh; A cook, of about average horror, Sally Story; Creonta, another evil witch, Anne Tesar.
Princess Ninetta, formerly an orange, Kourtney Wacker; Princess Nicoletta, also formerly an orange, Sarah Stephany; Princess Linetta, yet another former orange, Katie McGowan.
Assistant director is Natalie Rourke. Crew includes Brya Walton, Connor Delaney, Colton Cookman and Stef Danhour.