“It was clearly the best choice,” Padgett said. “It’s very complete and refined. The plot makes a whole lot of sense.”
“Snow Place Like Home” stars a hotel owner, Bill Igerant, who decides to hold a beauty pageant at his Catskills ski resort—where tabloid reporter Diane Comebacktolife is promptly murdered.
The spoof features Abe Ominable, a sympathetic abominable snowperson and Meyers’ favorite character.
“He’s kind of a gentle giant, in the tradition of Shelley’s Frankenstein. He’s a monster who only wants to be loved,” said Meyers, who is also a Crimson editor.
The script’s writers said they viewed working on the spoof as a sort of healing process after the horrific terrorist attacks two weeks ago.
The script for the drag production was due just days after the tragedy.
“There’s a real question about what role humor has now,” Roiff said.
After the attacks, the writers read the play carefully to be sure that puns and humor did not cross the subtle line into insensitivity.
“We don’t have the luxury that publications have to postpone things, to change our schedule. We thought about postponing the first reading of the script, but we have to start rehearsing,” Padgett said. He said he hopes the joy of preparing for the performance will help the campus return to normalcy.
“As time goes on, we have to be able to move on and this will be a part of that,” Roiff said.
He said he hopes the world of hilarity , abominable snowpeople and beauty pageants will prove valuable to his audience as well.
“It’s really soothing to be able to go off into another world, where everything’s OK—even for a little while,” Roiff said. “I’ve always thought that’s what theater’s all about.”
Meyers said he is already eagerly anticipating hearing the lyrics put to music. The audition process for composers begins this week and rehearsals start in January.
“It’s going to be a real thrill,” Meyers said.
Roiff, who served as vice president of the Theatricals last year, agreed.
“The cool thing about it is just the way things come together so quickly,” Roiff said. “It’s pretty amazing to see one night at Uno’s become 40 nights in Cambridge.”
—Staff writer Daniela J. Lamas can be reached at lamas@fas.harvard.edu.