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Acting troupe gives Christmas performance

Great Pretenders at Negaunee Senior Center

From left, Rosemarie “Buttons” Merrick and Virginia Paulson of the Great Pretenders smile as they wear reindeer antlers while rehearsing for the group’s annual Christmas play, which they performed at the Negaunee Senior Center Wednesday. The group offers its participants a social and creative outlet while giving them the opportunity to spread the joy of performance to others, organizers said. (Photo courtesy of Pauline Lakanen.)

MARQUETTE — After weeks of preparation, the Great Pretenders acting troupe of the Negaunee Senior Center displayed their talents while spreading holiday cheer during their annual Christmas performance Wednesday afternoon at the senior center.

The group, which began in 2016, performs a different play each Christmas, along with several other performances throughout the year, said Pauline Lakanen, who directs the group. It offers local seniors — regardless of prior acting experience — a chance to get involved in a social and creative activity that gives them the opportunity bring joy to others through their performances, organizers said.

This year, the Christmas play, which featured Scott Collins, Rosemarie “Buttons” Merrick, Virginia Paulson and Olivia Sleeman, told the story of a senior center’s social committee preparing for their annual Christmas Coffee event.

The play, entitled “The Christmas Coffee” and written by Ann Pugh, was performed with special permission from ArtAge Publications’ Senior Theatre Resource Center and featured a myriad of props, humor, and music that showcased the talents of the performers, organizers said.

“As bossy chairwoman Ruby fusses, Sandra, an easily intimated worker, and Lucy, a fashionable snob, hastily prepare for a special performance by a madrigal choir,” a release about the play states. “To everyone’s surprise, a hip-hop rapper appears onstage, secretly hired by a vindictive employee.”

Olivia Sleeman of the Negaunee Senior Center’s Great Pretenders acting troupe performs in a historical review of the city of Negaunee during Pioneer Days. (Photo courtesy of Pauline Lakanen.)

Members of the group said they enjoyed working together on “The Christmas Coffee,” as well as past performances, which have given them an opportunity to pursue their love of acting while sharing the joy of theater with fellow Negaunee Seniors.

“It’s been fun,” Sleeman said, adding she has been grateful for the opportunity to work with Lakanen and the group members.

For Paulson, who has also been with the group since it started, the Great Pretenders has been an enjoyable way to build upon her previous performance experience.

“For myself, I’ve always been involved in some kind of performance, I’ve done clowning for many years when I worked at the intermediate school district, I did clown ministry at church and I’ve done the Wizard of Oz, I played the lion,” she said, noting many of her previous performance experience prior to the Great Pretenders had been church and school-oriented.

The group is grateful for Lakanen’s guidance, they said, as she brings a wealth of directing and theater experience to the group, with her 47 years of teaching at theaters, schools, and colleges across the nation, including directing with PAAC in Negaunee.

From left, Rosemarie “Buttons” Merrick and Scott Collins of the Great Pretenders read from their scripts while rehearsing for the Christmas play the group performed Wednesday. The Great Pretenders have performed several times a year since the group began in 2016 and meet weekly to practice under the guidance of director Pauline Lakanen. (Photo courtesy of Pauline Lakanen.)

“She’s been the best thing for us, we’re all showmakers in our hearts and heads, but we need her,” Sleeman said.

Though Lakanen had many years of experience working with almost every age group in a theater setting, the Great Pretenders gave her an opportunity to try something new.

“I always wanted to work with seniors, I worked with every other age group,” she said.

The group looks forward to continuing to practice and hold performances, they said. Furthermore, they hope to perform again during Negaunee’s Pioneer Days this coming summer, as they performed their first original act during Negaunee’s 2018 Pioneer Days Celebration. The play, which was written by Collins, used performance, historic slides and music to tell the story Negaunee’s history.

“That was fun and people loved it,” Sleeman said. “And we raised $200 to $300, we did half to the (Negaunee) Senior Center and half to the (Negaunee Historical Society) Museum.”

Organizers encourage anyone to participate, regardless of previous acting or performance experience — the only requirement is a willingness to have fun, they said. The Great Pretenders typically meet at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Negaunee Senior Center to practice, brainstorm ideas and prepare for the performances.

For more information on the Great Pretenders or the Negaunee Senior Center, visit cityofnegaunee.com/residents/senior-citizens-center/ or call the center at 906-475-6266.

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