The Little Theater honors military with 'Mister Roberts' production

Terry Schoonover, playing Capt. Morton, scorns Will Runyon, playing Mister Roberts, Tuesday during a rehearsal at The Little Theater.
Terry Schoonover, playing Capt. Morton, scorns Will Runyon, playing Mister Roberts, Tuesday during a rehearsal at The Little Theater.

Crewmembers from The Little Theater will perform "Mister Roberts," a classic war-time story set on a World War II Navy cargo ship, beginning June 6 at the Miller Performing Arts Center.

The award-winning saga features American sailors that find themselves amongst their own battle with boredom and have to endure a tyrannical captain whose only interest is advancing his career at the crew's expense.

"I'm the antagonist so to speak," said Terry Schoonover, who plays Capt. Morton. "There's a scene at the end of the first act where I have a confrontation with Mister Roberts and I really enjoy relishing in that and getting in his face."

However, Mister Roberts becomes the unsung hero of the crew as he grows increasingly frustrated with the captain's refusals to transfer him to a war ship and the constant mistreatment of his men.

"He doesn't like the show or the facade, and that's what grates against him so much with the captain," said Will Runyon, who plays Mister Roberts.

Although the play's basis is around the confrontation between the two men, the audience can expect to see quite a bit of comedy as Mister Roberts builds a relationship with the other crewmen through a series of comedic incidents.

"The cast has been really great and they've been finding little things that I didn't see in the script about their characters because we really want to punch up the humor in it," director Laura Edenhaupt said.

Edenhaupt has even included a special guest star named Gloria, a baby goat who will be playing Admiral Wentworth to add to the humor.

To honor military veterans and active duty service members, Edenhaupt, who is a veteran of the Marine Corps, is offering discounted ticket prices as the show will premiere on the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

"It's important I think sometimes to do plays like this to give you a historical perspective on previous events and kind of how they apply now especially since we will be doing this right around the anniversary of D-Day," Schoonover said. "It's always good to keep veterans in your mind and this play will help to do that."

Due to recent events, Edenhaupt would also like to thank the Jefferson City community and encourages theater lovers of all ages to join in a night of laughter as the script has been edited to be more family friendly.

"It's always an honor to do a show at any time for our audience, but this one is special not only for Memorial Day, not only for D-Day but also just in light of the tornado that we recently had," Edenhaupt said. "We really want to show our community support and our love for the community."

"Mister Roberts" is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. June 6-8 in the Miller Performing Arts Center, 501 Madison St.

Tickets can be purchased on The Little Theater website at www.tltjc.org/ticketinfo.php#tickets or at the Miller Performing Arts Center box office during the week of the performance.