Fenton putting on seven plays in one

None of the new fall television shows excite you? Then you sound like the perfect audience member for Fenton High School's fall performance of "Zap!"

The school's drama department will perform "Zap!" at 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday at Fenton's Lewis-Huffman Auditorium, 1000 W. Green Street in Bensenville.

Department sponsor and social studies teacher George Mussman said the play, written by award-winning author Paul Fleishman, was chosen this year for one reason.

"It's very funny," he said. "Everyone will enjoy it."

As for the plot, Mussman said "hilarity ensues, as they say" when a drama group decides to compete with television by presenting seven different plays at once.

"The entire performance is done as if the audience has a remote control in their hand and can change the channel to another play when they get bored," he said.

The audience will be flipping through Shakespeare's Richard III, an English murder mystery, a Beckett-style "theater of the absurd" piece, a Russian drama, a Southern comi-tragedy, a Simon-esque New York comedy, and a performance art piece.

"While the audience is channel surfing, characters come out of character, forget which play they're in and all other types of mishaps occur," Mussman said.

The weekend performance will feature a cast of 43 Fenton students, many more than any other production.

"Most fall plays only have a cast of seven to 12 but we have a huge ensemble that allowed more students to participate," Mussman said. "Really 'Zap!' is more typical of a musical in that way but don't worry; there's plenty of dancing but no singing."

Tickets are $5 each and may be purchased at the door or by calling the theater box office at (630) 860-4928.