The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On
A familiar high school gym stage becomes a container for time, letting 1960s polish shift into 1970s warmth, nostalgia, and reunion energy in Wonderettes: Dream On.
- Year
- 2021
- Company
- Okoboji Summer Theatre
- Project
- Musical Theatre
- Location
- Okoboji, IA
The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On is set at a reunion, but the design was really about time. At Okoboji Summer Theatre, I built the world around a recognizable high school gym stage with wood paneling, risers, school signage, and mid-century basketball backboards.
The structure stayed the same between acts. What changed was tone. Act One leaned into early 1960s polish with tinsel, clean lines, and a crescent motif that made the performers feel almost like a televised variety act.
By Act Two, the space loosened into warmer color, balloon arches, and deeper saturation. The gym aged with the characters, allowing nostalgia to become active rather than decorative.
Creative team
- Written by
- Roger Bean
- Director
- Lauren Haughton
- Music Director
- Tom Andes
- Scenic Design
- Brandon PT Davis
- Costume Design
- Asher Lipscomb
- Lighting Design
- Savannah Bell
- Sound Design
- Austen Yim