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North Salem Drama Club Presents The Princess Bride

NORTH SALEM, N.Y. – The North Salem High School Drama Club is presenting a stage production of “The Princess Bride” on Friday and Saturday.

From left, Jason Teplensky, Caitlin Franze and Alexa Salvato of the North Salem High School Drama Club star in "The Princess Bride"

From left, Jason Teplensky, Caitlin Franze and Alexa Salvato of the North Salem High School Drama Club star in "The Princess Bride"

Photo Credit: Katherine Pacchiana

“Our version pretty much follows the script of the movie,” said senior Alexa Salvato, one of the show's stars.

“It was originally a book by William Goldman, then it was a movie. It’s become a cult classic, like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” she continued. “A lot of people know it and love it. Some people even know every line.”

The cast has been rehearsing several hours a day, every day this week and is beginning to feel confident. said Jason Teplensky, who plays the hero, Westley. “It was my idea to do it. I’m a cult follower. I’ve seen the movie 10 or 15 times, so I already knew the lines. In fact, I know more lines than I should.”

Caitlin Franze, playing Princess Buttercup, said, “I’m not nervous, but I am excited. This is like doing a show with my best friends.” Franze too is a senior this year and plans to study theater in college, with hopes of becoming a professional actor.

Since the number of parts, six, hardly accommodated the number of club members, many of the 18-member cast have reverted to the early days of their theatrical careers, playing trees and other denizens of the forest.

The Drama Club meets every Wednesday all year, under the guidance of Jay Krass, who has been director/adviser for 30 years. This is his 30th show.

Has the club changed in 30 years? “We’re more like a family now,” he said. “We support each other. We never cut anybody.”

“We’re trying to appeal to a large audience,” Salvato added. “We’d be sad if not a lot of people came. It’s a simple love story with a lot of word-play and puns. If I had to describe it in simple terms, I’d quote from the script and say, ‘fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love and miracles.’ I guess that sums it up.”

Performances of “The Princess Bride” take place in the North Salem Middle/High School auditorium on Friday,  Saturday at 8 p.m. The suggested donation is $10. The Saturday performance begins with a dinner catered by Buona Sera. Dinner/theater tickets are $20.

Click here for a video of the North Salem Community Connect episode featuring "The Princess Bride" production.

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