Department of Theatre and Dance presents, “Dear Edwina”

This past weekend, Nov. 1st and 2nd, Frostburg’s Department of Theatre and Dance presented, “Dear Edwina”, a family-friendly show based on the book written by Marcy Heisler. The main character, Edwina, a strong-willed top tier advice giver, is trying to put on the best show of her life to impress a scout for the Kalamazoo Advice-a-palooza. With a cast of 9, these students were able to teach important life lessons to the audience members through music and song. 

Set in Papa, Michigan, Edwina wants to finally be able to have a ribbon on the fridge. Her siblings, Myron, Joe and Katie, all have incredible talents that are heavily reflected on the fridge door, but Edwina has no ribbon for giving advice. She wants to finally prove herself to her family by being able to perform at the Advice-a-palooza, but it is extremely competitive. So, when a talent scout is coming to her show, she wants to make sure to perform the best she can. Her show is reading letters from fans asking for advice and answering in song while teaching valuable lessons.

To begin her show, she had a letter asking about being a picky eater but not knowing what to say. The cast responds in song, “Say No Thank You”, easily conveying to the youngsters in the audience to be polite but also stand up for yourself. They continued on to tell the audience, “Don’t Be a Frankguest”, teaching everyone to be polite when you’re a house guest by being respectful and kind to everyone around you. 

There was a brief intermission during Edwina’s show. However, they realized the talent scout was asleep while ‘watching’ the show. They immediately jumped back into action performing, “Hola Lola Hello”, showing the audience that all you need to do to meet new people is say a simple hello! In all languages, saying hello is a guaranteed way to meet other people.

To end her show, Edwina gave advice about saving money, singing, “Put it in The Piggy” and closed the show with a final number. However, throughout the show, Edwina’s friend, Scott, had been trying to get her to read a letter of his own, a love letter to her. Singing a love song and performing with the energy of Danny Zuko to back him, he swept all the ladies off their feet, as well as the scout. Edwina’s show was not offered a spot at the Advice-A-Palooza, however, Scott was asked to sing the national anthem, only accepting when told Ariana Grande and the Jonas Brothers would be with him. 

Edwina was down thinking about not being able to have a ribbon of her own on the fridge, but then her younger sister Katie enters, having run away from math camp after some mean comments from competitors. Edwina gives her a pep talk, telling her to sing her own song and be her own role model. After all, doing what you like is the best advice of all. 

The cast and crew and everyone who helped with this production did an amazing job, being thoroughly entertaining and very funny. “Dear Edwina”, is a show that all age groups can enjoy and laugh with. Thank you to all the performers.

Make sure to keep an eye out for the next production, “Scrooge in Rouge”, Dec. 5th-8th in Lyric Theatre.