Emporia High School will be kicking off the 2026-2027 theater season with performances of Suite Surrender Friday and Saturday.
Suite Surrender, written by Michael McKeever, is a comedy farce set in the 1940s during the World War II era. The show centers around two of Hollywood’s biggest divas embroiled in a rivalry with one another that escalates when both check into the Palm Beach Royale Hotel.
Senior, Kaylee Wellman plays diva movie star Athena Sinclaire, says it was a bit of a struggle to get into her character at first since they are very different from each other.
Junior, Emma Claire Turner plays diva singer, Claudia McFadden. Turner describes her character as someone who is breaking the stereotypes of Hollywood at the time.
Also featured is Junior, CJ Elston, who has a double-duty job within the show. Elston, who plays Barnard S. Dunlap, the general manager of the hotel, describes his character as very uniform and put together at first. Offstage, Elston is also the hair and makeup crew chief, a role he says helped open his eyes to not only his character but others as well.
Senior Attlyn Heffron will be taking the role as stage manager for this production. Heffron’s first time stage managing was for the department’s award-winning production “A Piece of My Heart” last school year. Heffron says doing a farce is different because of how the story is told and the show is produced.
There will be promotional opportunities to help support students who are aiming to make their way to the Kansas Thespian Festival during both performances this weekend, including a 50/50 raffle.
Both shows will take place Friday and Saturday at 7 pm in the Emporia High School Auditorium. Reserved tickets can be purchased for $12.
Adult general admission tickets can be purchased for $8 and children ages 5 and up can be bought for $6. Tickets can be bought at Emporiahighschooltheatre.ludus.com
