This April, local theatre company Enter Stage Right is bringing the world of Archie Comics to the Peterborough stage in their new original musical Everybody Loves Archie.
Written and directed by Jen Nugent, this is not the dark and twisted version of Archie in the Riverdale TV series currently being shown on The CW network. Instead, it’s the Riverdale we remember from the comic books we read when we were kids, where Archie Andrews couldn’t decide between Betty and Veronica, Moose was trying to keep Reggie away from his girl Midge, and Jughead could be found hiding from Big Ethel at Pop Tate’s Choklit Shoppe eating hamburger after hamburger.
“I’ve been toying of writing an Archie show for a while,” Jen says. “Aesthetically, I love the way Archie looks. It’s colourful and super exciting. I just love to see that on stage. I’ve talked to the cast about Riverdale a lot. The decade is an anomaly. Are they in the ’50s? Are they in 2017? It doesn’t matter really, because when you come to Riverdale everybody is happy.
“In a lot of Archie comics, they cover a lot of serious issues. But at the end of the day, you read Archie comics because there’s something about the people that live there: they are kind and happy. They are dancing at the soda shop. They are pranking a principal in some goofy way. It may seem old hat, but we don’t have a lot of that any more, and it’s okay to be corny sometimes.”
In their fourth year of production, Enter Stage Right was founded by sister and brother duo Jen and Greg Nugent as an alternative for Peterborough-area high school students to have an opportunity to work in musical productions from the ground up.
“I had been working at Kenner and had been doing some theatre there,” explains Jen. “But there wasn’t a spot for me the following year, and a lot of my former theatre kids wanted something.
“In doing some investigation, unless you are in a musical theatre class, there isn’t much in the public school board, and there’s not as much theatre geared explicitly towards high school kids. The few things available are shows where you’ll be surrounded by adults and you’ll probably be a very minor character.”
This year, Jen says that they have a nearly equal representation of students from Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute, Crestwood Secondary School, Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institute, and Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School.
“I don’t want to suggest there aren’t thriving and incredible arts programs at all of the high schools,” Jen clarifies. “There are, and all of the schools are doing what they can to push the arts and get kids involved. I really respect that.
“I just think that, as a teacher, we are busy, there is always something going on, and there are only so many of us. More and more, there are cutbacks to the schools and you can only do so much. You can’t run the musical, and run Sears Drama Festival, and run the art club, and run the choir.
“In being a position where I’ve been bounced around to different schools, I always see kids who want to do stuff. By no fault of their own, there are not always enough hands to make what they want happen. Greg and I thought something like this — where we can train kids, give them a chance to do something they haven’t done before, help them improve in what they are passionate about, and bring all sorts of kids together in that collaborate environment — could help give those kids a chance that they might not be getting elsewhere.”
In Everybody Loves Archie, Jen and Greg have assembled 18 local high school students to make up the world of Riverdale High, as well as additional students to create the technical aspects of the show. However, as Jen explains, it’s not as easy as just coming out to get a part in the show.
“You have to audition so we can determine who gets what spot,” Jen says. “We take pride in everyone having a fair shot. If you were the lead last year, you aren’t necessarily the lead this year. We want people to have the experience of earning their role. But if we see potential and a positive attitude, we’ll try to find you something on stage.”
Greg backs up this sentiment when telling a story about the company’s youngest cast member: 13-year-old Jordan de Groot, who plays the role of Cricket O’Dell.
“We have one girl who is in grade eight and saw our ad in the paper and contacted us,” Greg says. “She misread the ad and didn’t realize we were a high school company. But she was so enthusiastic that we let her come out and we cast her in the show. It takes a lot of guts to audition for people you don’t know at that age. So it was very cool that she and some of her friends were interested in this.”
Having just celebrated its 75th year in publication, Archie Comics has become more prevalent in the media lately with the popularity of the new television series Riverdale, which gives the characters a dark and gritty makeover. However, the original Archie comics resonated with some members of the cast. As Jen explains, when she announced last year that they were going to produce an Archie show, the students were excited.
“Immediately kids were saying ‘I really want to audition for Betty!’ or ‘I really want to be Veronica!’. They knew the characters. They are iconic characters, but not so iconic that we can’t play with them and create our own storylines.”
“I auditioned for Betty,” says Samantha Pickard, who plays Betty Cooper. “I had my heart set on her. I’ve always loved Betty because I feel like I’m a lot like her. I’m the girl-next-door type. I feel like if I were to identify with any of the characters, it would definitely be Betty.”
In the role of Archie Andrews is Kenner student Jacob Howran, who only took the role on a month ago after the production lost its original Archie. Although the rest of the company has had six months to learn the show, Jacob will have only two months to figure out what it is to become Archie.
“I’m imagining Archie as being this player, but he’s so oblivious that he’s a player,” Jacob says. “He just rolls with it. There’s no starting, there’s no stopping. He’s just keeps on going. He’s not paying attention to anyone or anything. The girls like him because he’s so oblivious.”
In the role of Archie’s best friend Jughead is Adam Scott student Thomas Bodrug. Tall and dark haired, Thomas becomes the living embodiment of Jughead Jones — from the trademark crown on his head to the voice he has manufactured that is reminiscent of the Archie cartoon series from the 1960s.
“On the first day I came in I tried different voices to see which one fit,” Tom recalls. “I did that voice and Jen said ‘That’s the one!’.
“I picture Jughead as this very lazy guy. Which might not be nice to say, but he is a very lazy guy. He doesn’t slack off in school, but he gets tired easily. He eats a lot of burgers. He’d say ‘I’m so tired from work, but if I had a hamburger I’d be set!’ I also admire that he can eat so many burgers at once.”
As I watched the company during a rehearsal, it was easy to see the enthusiasm the ensemble has for the production. During my visits with the cast, I really came to love this group of performers. Filled with charisma and energy, the cast of Everybody Loves Archie is a great group of kids who have formed their own little family.
“Last year there was a play at my school that I was in that got cancelled,” Samantha says. “From that experience to this one, it’s been completely different. Coming in and not knowing anyone has been really surreal for me. I’ve met so many people. It just feels really different from having the negative experience in the past, to coming into this group where we all get along.”
Robert McEwen, who plays the role of Mr. Weatherbee, sees Jen at the centre of the success of the production.
“I love Jen,” Rob says. “I love her so much. Jen does it all. She wrote this whole script herself. I think that’s a lot of dedication. I don’t know if I could do that.”
“On top of that she’s a teacher,” adds Tom. “And she’s the one who helped my group perform at the Sears Drama Festival. And then she dedicates time to her family, and she teaches dance to other people, and she does yearbook at our school, and then she has to mark all these lessons. Her passion is to teach teenagers what she knows, and she’s doing a good job of it.”
A show filled with comedy and music, Everybody Loves Archie will reunite audiences with the Archie characters they grew up with.
Will Archie ever get to pick between Betty and Veronica? I asked Jacob for his opinion on the classic love triangle..
“I’m going to go with Betty,” Jacob says after some thought. “She has her bitchy side sometimes, but she does what she does because her heart is open. Veronica is more focused on putting everybody else down so that she is the only choice for Archie. So I’d definitely go with Betty.”
And does Betty love Archie back? Well, maybe not so much.
“I love Jughead,” Samantha reveals. “I have to say I absolutely love Jughead.”
Everybody Loves Archie opens on April 26th and runs until April 29th in the PCVS Auditorium. Tickets are $15 or $10 for students and seniors and are available at the door.
