I saw your post in another thread and was happy to see you back, Dinsdale. I always enjoy hearing about your family.
Dinsdale, I’m props cohead for the show, and I’m looking forward to it about as much as you are. “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” is a production so dark, fun cannot escape its surface.
That said, if you explained to him that you’re not too keen on going all three nights, he’d probably understand.
PLEASE tell me you aren’t from the W burbs of Chicago, attending the “dump on the hump” in a town that rhymes with Been Smellin’.
Sorry…
Uh, you don’t really have to tell my kids or anyone else in our enlightened burg who has been posting crap around here, do you?
Are you receptive to bribes?
Ugh. I Never Saw Another Butterfly. My school did this as one-act two years in a row. It’s awful. We put it on as one of four one act plays.
The second year, a member of the crew killed himself early the morning before the plays were to be presented to the students. We had to cancel the other three plays because they were all (ALL) about suicide. Two were irreverent, one was serious. In order to avoid a riot among students who paid $10 to get out of two hours of class and only got 1 15 minute play, we did put on the one serious play about suicide.
I’ve only ever seen it from backstage, but man is it over the top sappy.
Your son will have an absolute blast, though. HS plays are so fun. He knows about condoms, right? 
A piece of advice to young Dinsdale-son… be friendly with the techies (really friendly, not fake friendly). They will make your life a million times easier. Be mean to the techies, they will screw up every one of your cues, lose your props, steal your makeup and everything else they can think of to make your life difficult.
I know nussink!
Seriously, I haven’t said anything to anyone about this, and I’ll keep it that way–no bribe necessary.
Speaking as a high school technician, I’d like to emphasize this. Most actors don’t realize the ridiculous amount of work the crew puts in, and the stereotype of technicians as actors who can’t get cast is borderline offensive. Most college-level drama programs require actors to spend at least one show (some schools require as much as two full years) as technicians, so that the actors fully understand what the crew goes through.
Besides, there’s positive reasons to make friends with the crew- they’re the one with access to all the fun tools and equipment, keys to the fun places, and they’ve always got food stashed somewhere.
Speaking as a high school technician, I’d like to emphasize this. Most actors don’t realize the ridiculous amount of work the crew puts in, and the stereotype of technicians as actors who can’t get cast is borderline offensive. Most college-level drama programs require actors to spend at least one show (some schools require as much as two full years) as technicians, so that the actors fully understand what the crew goes through.
Besides, there’s positive reasons to make friends with the crew- they’re the ones with access to all the fun tools and equipment, keys to the fun places, and they’ve always got food stashed somewhere.
Come to think of it, I played a Nazi in a school play, too, though I’d never thought of it that way. Spring of 8th grade, my school did The Sound of Music. The director, having heard me sing in the musical we did in 7th grade, wisely gave me the largest non-singing part in the play. Admiral von Shrieber. Don’t even bother trying to look him up on IMDb… He wasn’t even in the movie. On stage, all of his lines fit on a single page. He shows up after Captain von Trapp ignores the telegram, so he comes to offer him a comission in person.
Wait until he stars in next season’s high school production, Brokeback Mountain - The Musical to be performed in the nude at The Eagle Bar at midnight. You’ll long for the good old Nazi roles.
Seriously…sounds like a dreadful play, but that is the fun of being an actor, to be in crap and live to tell about it. As others have mentioned, it will be great fodder for conversation when he is a big star and doing the talk show circuit.