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Published: Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012 / Updated: Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012 09:47 AM

LOL at NaFo stage production

FORT MILL -- 

Nation Ford High School’s fall play promises “joke after joke after joke,” said drama teacher Cheri Addison.

Students will perform “Barefoot in the Park,” a romantic comedy, this week at the Nation Ford auditorium. The show runs Oct. 18-20 at 7:30 p.m.

“It’s sort of a romantic comedy in the sense that the characters are newly married couple. He’s conservative and straight-laced and she’s very spontaneous and eccentric, fun loving, and it tends to cause a lot of conflicts,” Addison said.

“Barefoot in the Park” was written by Neil Simon, a favorite playwright of Addison’s. He’s good at setting up jokes and then cracking them, she said.

“And once it starts rolling, it doesn’t stop,” she added. “I think the audience will just be in for a really fun, laugh filed night.”

There are six students cast on stage and dozens assisting backstage, Addison said. Senior Mallory Mercer plays the bride, Cory.

“I like playing characters that have big personalities and are really out there,” Mercer said. “She reminds me a lot of myself. She’s basically how I’ll be when I get married.”

Leading the set design this year is senior Matt Drescher.

“He designed the set, built it and led the tech crew,” Addison said. “He’s really done a fantastic job.”

The drama department does two shows annually, typically a play in the fall and a spring musical.

Addison is already working on selecting a musical for the students to perform in the spring. While she hopes to have a big audience for “Barefoot in the Park,” she is already thinking even bigger for the spring.

“We’re not filling our house right now and that’s discouraging for the kids. We want to commit to a really fun, family friendly show in the spring, and get those seats filled.”