New players on the scene

A new local theater company — with a lot of familiar faces — will debut its first show next weekend.

Treefort Theatre will stage its own adaptation of Kenneth Graham’s “The Wind in the Willows,” written and directed by founder Joe Spady with music design by Cori McKay.

The production will run at Christ Lutheran Church in Soldotna starting Friday, Aug. 25 — running three weekends.

A treefort, the group wrote on Facebook, represents “limitless possibilities,” a place where “childlike imagination comes alive.” Spady wrote that since he returned to Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula in 2017, he’s once again made theater a priority in his life — since becoming a frequent collaborator of both the Kenai Performers and the Triumvirate Theatre.

Spady wrote that Treefort Theatre is a new creative entity in the local community with a focus on paying artists for their work. He said that he had ideas and “dream shows” that didn’t fit with either of the existing local companies, and began to find room for another option when Treefort started to take form in the last year.

Putting on “The Wind in the Willows” as their first show was always the plan. Spady said he started writing his own script for the show around three years ago.

“It’s one of my favorite shows,” Spady said Sunday. “So cute and timeless.”

Spady plays Mr. Toad in the show, and said his history with “The Wind in the Willows” goes back nearly 20 years, to a production of the show by the Kenai Performers — in which he also played Mr. Toad.

That production was “so impactful,” he said — sticking with him until he decided to write and direct his own version. It was later he realized he would also have to reprise the role of Mr. Toad. He said he was too attached to his own vision of the character.

“The more I wrote it the more I was thinking how I would direct Toad,” he said. “I would just be awful — I guess I’m gonna have to cast myself as Toad, which I’m not upset about.”

Filling out other roles in the show are Tina Hamlin as Mole, Hayley Vest as Rat, Ken Duff as Badger and Chris Pepper as Otter. Ian McEwan portrays the Troubadour, something of a narrator guiding the unfolding tale.

Performing at the church, Hamlin said, is different from performing in a space designed specifically for theater. She said it’s been “fun” and a “bit of a whirlwind” to see the production come together in the space they have to work with.

At the actors’ backs are big windows that open up into the forest. Spady said he first envisioned his adaptation of “The Wind in the Willows” as an outdoor show — but the unpredictability of the weather led him to reconsider. In those windows, some of those same natural aesthetics can still be felt.

The cast is small, and Vest said they’d each known each other before — many have worked together in other local productions. She said that familiarity makes for a more intimate production — and has given them the flexibility to keep iterating with “living changes” even as the show’s debut rapidly approaches.

Part of that living evolution is, of course, in the delivery of lines. “The Wind in the Willows” is funny, Spady said, and even lines he wrote — lines he’s heard delivered “a hundred times” — are still taking on new life and sparking new laughter by fresh spin delivered on any given day.

Beyond the visuals and the acting, music plays a major role in the production.

Spady said he always wanted a strong musical presence in the show. He also knew that musical development was “not my strength,” and that he would need a partner from the community to bring that element to life. A few years after he started writing the script, he had a chance encounter with McKay that further shaped the production.

The two ran into one another at a bar. Spady said he told her about the finished script, and they discussed plans over coffee.

“The next week, she sent me a clip of ‘Westphalia Waltz,’ like ‘is this kind of the vibe you’re going for?’” he said. “That is the main theme of the show … when I hear it, I will think of the riverfolk.”

When the play finally comes before an audience next week, McKay will lead a small band of musicians live beside the stage. She’s joined by Pepper, Sue Biggs, Jack Will and Becky Weaver.

In addition to performing fiddle throughout, McKay still finds time to make a couple of acting appearances within the show.

For many, Treefort’s adaptation of “The Wind in the Willows” will be the first time they’ve engaged with Mr. Toad and the rest of the riverfolk in many years. Spady said that the Kenai Performers’ production of the show, 20 years ago, was the last time the characters have seen the stage on the Kenai Peninsula. He said it’s likely many local folks only recognize the characters from a 1949 Disney animated feature or its supplemental Disneyland attraction “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.”

“I’m excited for people to really see this tale in its entirety,” Spady said. “Bring these characters back to people’s imagination.”

Treefort Theatre’s “The Wind in the Willows” will run at the Christ Lutheran Church Aug. 25-26, Sept. 1-2 and 8-9. On Friday and Saturday the show will play at 7 p.m., but there will be an additional “pay what you can” matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The company says these opportunities will allow more folks to experience the show without financial barriers. At those showings, cash can be collected anonymously or payment can be made through Venmo.

Tickets can be purchased at treeforttheatre.ticketleap.com, priced at $20.

For more information about Treefort Theatre, visit facebook.com/treeforttheatre.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.