Seastrand Arts' musicals continue

`Hello, Dolly!' to open at Cheyenne High

In a warehouse on a warm spring day, cast members from the production "Hello, Dolly!" sang and danced while the crew hammered together wooden sets in the background.

The Rosel Seastrand Arts Foundation works where it can, how often it can and with what it has. Everything has been donated or held over from previous years of performing musicals. This way, all proceeds from the performance filter to the James Seastrand Helping Hands of North Las Vegas, a nonprofit troupe of volunteers who drive seniors to doctor's appointments, the grocery store and other errands as well as supply them with household items.

For the first two years, the musicals were directed by Rosel Seastrand, former first lady of North Las Vegas and wife of the Helping Hands chapter's namesake. In Jan. 2001, she died at age 69, leaving the production in the hands of its performers and volunteers.

"When Rosel passed away, I didn't realize what there was to be done until I had to do it," said Mike Winne, president of Helping Hands and producer of the show. "When the stage curtain opens, everything goes the way it's supposed to. It's the wildest thing."

Musicals were the chosen genre because of the large casts, as well as Seastrand's ability to create additional musical numbers for all ages. Most of the time, there were up to 170 people in the cast from all ages.

Every year, the production raises between $5,000 and $8,000, Winne said. In the past, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "The Wizard of Oz" were produced for the benefit.

"She thought it gave people something to do whether you were going to be professional at it or just for fun," Winne said. "We're going to continue the tradition with the plays. We have whole families in this play. This is a thing the family gets to do. (Director Gary Sessa) calls it community theater. I call it family theater."

Keeping it in the family is Margaret Seastrand, daughter-in-law to Rosel, who is playing the lead role of Dolly. It's been 11 years since she performed in a play, and since the company started three years ago, she's watched her children perform under their grandmother's direction.

"They brought me out of the cobwebs," she joked. "Sometimes, when you're a mother, you put things aside. I think I put (performing) aside."

She's a little rusty, trying to remember lines and song lyrics, but it's all coming back with the help of her cast mates, Margaret said.

"You don't have to memorize as much when you're a mother," she said. "When you're a mother, things come naturally. You don't have to remember scripts and dialogues."

Margaret Seastrand has also seen the work Helping Hands has done. In the last few months of Rosel Seastrand's life, volunteers provided their services, lifting the burden off her family. It was done "completely and purely out of the kindness of people's hearts," Margaret said.

"She was put on the list with everybody else. They treat everybody with such kindness," Margaret said. "Having them come and take her to physical therapy a couple times a week was so helpful. She never thought she'd be a recipient of that."

Sessa, drama teacher at Lawrence Middle School, was recruited by his former Las Vegas High School students to direct this year's play. He conducted auditions in February, and rehearsals have been in full effect since March. Three months is typically a long time to memorize the lines, block the movement and sing the songs, but Sessa had to remind himself his cast members had lives other than "Hello, Dolly!"

"I've been dealing with students. When you get to work with people who are older and younger, it's a different dynamic," Sessa said. The cast member's ages range from 2 to 73 and rehearsals are three to four days a week. "They do it because they want to do it. That's true of my middle school and high school students too, but it's an after-school activity. But these are people who have jobs and families and everything else going on. They show up. They rehearse. They do what needs to be done."

Cast member Jill Jensen, 18, has gotten paid for productions before, but there's a different feel to this one.

"You're doing it for people who need it, and that's special to me," Jensen said. "You know everyone is here because they want to. You know they don't need the money because there is no money."

"Hello, Dolly!", a benefit for James Seastrand Helping Hands of North Las Vegas, will run tomorrow through Saturday and June 2-7 at the Cheyenne High School theater, 3200 W. Alexander Road, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, or $36 for a family pack of six.

Those interested can e-mail seastrandarts@aol.com or call 649-7837.


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