NORTHFIELD — Members of the Senior Center and other guests will be treated to an evening of laughter when “An Accidental Wedding” comes to town on Sunday.
The original play, written by local playwright Steve Henderson, will be performed at the Senior Center within Town Hall starting at 1 p.m. The play is funded by the Senior Center and by a grant from the Cultural Council, so it is free to attend, though voluntary donations will be accepted.
“An Accidental Wedding” is an interactive one-act play set in medieval times, Henderson said. The story follows Ignoramus, who was promised to marry the aunt of Miss LeCat. After chasing him around, she learns that Ignoramus got “married by accident.”
“She demands an explanation and, sadly, he has one,” Henderson said, chuckling.
The play, with two main actors, has been well received in past performances, he said. Henderson’s theater troupe, Have Comedy Will Travel, holds frequent performances for senior audiences.
Henderson has been writing, directing and performing in plays specifically designed for seniors for roughly a decade. After years working both behind and on the stage, he still looks forward to every performance.
“I find it extremely rewarding,” he said. “I could tell stories all day long about the wonderful things that happen in senior theater.”
He said he recently hosted a show in Longmeadow where a woman with “steep cognitive obstacles” wanted to be part of the play. Committed to never turning anyone away, Henderson wrote a line for her and an aid helped her on the stage.
“Watching her during rehearsals, she was beaming,” Henderson said. “You could tell she knew and felt like she was a part of it. That was miraculous, to me.”
Last spring, Henderson also spoke about senior theater at the National Council on Aging conference in Washington, D.C.
“It’s become a great thing. I tell people I want to become the Johnny Appleseed of senior theater,” he joked.
Henderson, who is also a registered nurse, has deep roots in theater. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied theater and playwriting. A few years before that, in the first grade, he was cast as Peter Rabbit. He recalls a third-grader playing Mister MacGregor and chasing him around the stage.
“The auditorium was full of parents, teachers and friends, and they roared with laughter at our antics” he recounted. “I was instantly and permanently addicted to making people laugh.”
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264.