Play pits Mennonites against Ukrainians

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/11/2014 (3859 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mennonites cannot dance, the old saying goes. This was the case in 1964, and apparently in 2014 as well.

Margaret Wiens, who has been at the helm of Parent Teacher Association productions in Grunthal for the past 15 years, discovered that Mennonites may still have two left feet when she was looking for performers for this year’s production.

She laughs about it now.

“I was turned down over and over and over again. People simply wouldn’t put their name down,” she said.

“Ukrainians? No problem. I had them right away.”

Dancing in Grunthal will indeed happen this weekend when the latest PTA show at the Grade 5-12 school, Southeast Side Story 1964, graces the stage.

The story, based on the renowned musical West Side Story, pits two competing factions, Mennonites and Ukrainians, against one other when a Ukrainian boy and a Mennonite girl fall in love. This comes at a time when the two cultures were not accepting of each other’s differences.

Anger escalates and to come to a resolution, the two cultures agree to a dance-off.

There are still two more performances left, Nov. 28 and Nov. 29 at the Green Valley School gym in Grunthal. The evening, which includes the play, musical accompaniment and a dinner and dessert, begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 each.

Read more about the play in the Nov. 27 edition of The Carillon.