Still going strong

POLSON - Thirty-five years after starting the Port Polson Players, Karen and Neal Lewing still are in the business for the same reason they began so many years ago: the kids.

"We deal so much with kids," Karen said. "Kids are so important to us and so we like to pick things they can be in."

This summer season, which wrapped up Aug. 29 with the final presentation of "The Dixie Club," had plenty of children's roles. Before the finale, the Port Polson Players put on and performed "Valley Full of Diamonds" from May 19 to 22, "Lover's Leap" from June 30 to July 18 and "That's the Poop" from July 21 to Aug. 8.

"We had a great season," Neal said. "We had three in the summertime and they were very well attended and people loved the shows."

While the plays the group puts on transcend a wide spectrum, children's parts are always at a premium. As many as 80 children's parts have been sets aside for plays, especially for the kid's show every January for the past 20-some years. This year's play will be "Elves and The Shoemaker," the Lewing's own classic they've put on for a number of years.

The summer was undoubtedly a success, both Lewings agreed. The season started with a bang: "Valley Full of Diamonds," an original play written by the Lewings and local historian and former Leader editor Paul Fugleberg. Following the centennial history of the town of Polson through music, the play wound through highlights of the city's 10 decades.

"We had 80 people in the show and 25 parts were kids," Karen said. "It's kind of a fun team to mix kids with adults. They were all very pleased with the outcome of that and we sold out every night."

The show reminded the Lewings of another play they had written and put on 25 years ago: "Diamond Jubilee," a similar play for the city's 75th anniversary that Fugleberg performed in and helped write. Karen said there are lasting impacts on the area from that play.

"When we did it 25 years ago, the Polson City Council voted unanimously to have ‘The Polson Song' as the anthem of our town," Karen said. "They've been teaching [the song] to the school children at Cherry Valley for 25 years and people still come up and ask us about it."

What makes the endeavor and hard work of putting together play after play for the Lewings is the community aspect of it, they both agree.

"We've had a six month old baby to 80 year olds in our plays," Neal said. "It's a true cross section of the community. There aren't any sports teams that feature adults and children on the same team, where they all have a chance to play."

The community will have more chances to see plays in this, the group's 36th season. Already, auditions have been held for "Oliver!," performances of which will run until the end of October at the Port Polson Theatre.

"It's a wonderful cross between adults and kid performers," Karen said of "Oliver!"

And expect to see more of the same community feel in this year's shows.

"We place people regardless of age, gender, religion, politics, experience," Neal said. "All people are part of the team."