The Centerburg High School Drama Department will present Cheaper by the Dozen on Friday, February 22 and Saturday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m. and again on Sunday, February 24 at 2:30 p.m. in the Centerburg High School auditorium at 3782Columbus Road.
Cheaper by the Dozen is a play based on the book by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr., and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel. Put yourself into
the shoes of Anne Gilbreth: Suppose you’re an attractive high school girl and you’re not only a member of a large and unique family but your father is, in fact, one of the great pioneers of industrial efficiency. Then suppose he decides, for no apparent reason, to apply his unorthodox methods to you and to the rest of your big family. The results are terribly embarrassing, funny and—it must be admitted—extremely effective! To Anne, however, the chief effect seems to be that of making the children seem ridiculous to everyone else at school—especially to the boys!
Dad pushes ahead with better organization for his large and delightful family. He puts up a chart for the young people to initial after completing each household task, uses a rug as an imaginary bathtub to demonstrate how to take a really efficient bath, and appoints a utilities officer to levy fines on wasters of electricity and water. While the situations are often uproarious, there’s a serious reason. Dad has a heart condition that he’s keeping secret. The children don’t understand his reasons. Anne, the oldest, rebels. Both Dad and she are miserable at the lack of understanding between them. Then in a deft and moving scene, Dad becomes aware of how much Anne has grown up.
Mr. and Mrs. Gilbreth will be played by juniors Trey Figgins and Abigail Montgomery. The Gilbreth family is made up of seniors Isabel Brooks, Cynthia Morris, and Kaia Newberry; juniors Makenzie Fields, Olivia Kelley, and Amber Thomas; and eighth graders Jasper Faught, Autumn Kennedy, and Madigan Kennedy. Characters outside the Gilbreth family include seniors Sophia Compton and Chloe Merriman; junior Sam Bassett; and freshmen Cecilia Carlisle and Sequoia Hein-Byerly.
Tickets for Cheaper by the Dozen are $5 for students and seniors and $7 for adults. Tickets can be purchased at the door on the day of the show, beginning an hour prior to the start of the show. All tickets are general admission, and no passes or discounts will be accepted.
Cheaper by the Dozen is produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois.