Bishop Garrigan High School Performs “The Madrigal Dinner”

Congratulations to Algona, Iowa’s very own Bishop Garrigan High School for their smashing performance of my musical, “The Madrigal Dinner,” on December 11th, 2011. An all-star cast led by Philip Detrick as “Jester” and Shawn Vaske as “King Henry” took the show and ran away with it: melding together a high school, a middle school, six choirs, an art department, a drama department, a whole lot of community volunteers, and a troupe of recorder players to form a truly impressive spectacle.

The entertainment was nonstop – from the addition of several short vignettes I wrote to help accommodate the extra large ensemble, to a handful of skits crafted by the students themselves: including one chronicling Prince Artemis’ (Dustin Miller) study of the piano under the comical tutelage of Friar Lawrence Xavier (Matthew Fakler). The talented actors, tons of festive holiday music, and a delicious three course dinner all contributed to an entertaining and weighty theatrical experience that I’m sure no one in the audience is soon to forget. I certainly won’t.

Special thanks are owed to the lady behind the scenes who pulled everyone together, Linda Ferjak, and the Haggard-Twogood Charitable Foundation. You have my admiration and appreciation for putting on such a wonderful show! Great job!