From left, The Sheriff (Ramsey Beck) confronts The Mad Scientist (Hannah Gilbey) as Annabelle (Kenzi Burns) and The Deputy (Payson Hovarter) look on in Friday's production of "It Came From Over There" in Hempstead Hall,

A satirical and often funny sometimes sinister one-hour play was performed Friday night by Star Academy students at Hempstead Hall. The pun-laden script was by Chris Espinosa, who also directed, produced and acted as audience prompter. Attendees were asked to react to signs Espinosa held, telling us, by turns, to boo, applaud, cheer or offer a sympathizing "awwwww."

“It Came From Over There” involves the kidnapping of Aurora Borealis (Tatem Hovarter) who finds she has been captured by The Mad Scientist (Hannah Gilbey) whose plans are to use her gang of thieves disguised as werewolves, more properly called wearwolves since they wear wolf costumes, to pilfer potatoes. These starchy tubers apparently contain an ingredient that, combined with green peas, generates potato power that can be used by The Mad Scientist to achieve world conquest. But taking Annabelle has alerted the girl’s father, the Sheriff (Ramsey Beck) who wants his daughter back and is none-too-enthused about the Mad Scientist’s plan.

Kenzi Burns as Annabelle, Aurora’s intrepid best friend, was a dynamo in the part of her friend’s rescuer, which has the most lines and calls for a range of emotions from curiosity to annoyance to fright. Ramsey Beck as The Sheriff brought an easy authority to his performance which was balanced with the right amount of broadness for a play meant as spoof. Hannah Gilbey’s Mad Scientist was glee personified, and as her plans collapsed, the glee became hilariously forced.

Briley Satterwhite stole the couple scenes she was in as Hippea Hanna, the counterculturally costumed grower of peas, a necessary ingredient in harnessing potato power. Hippea has unmistakable affection for her peas and waxes poetic in their defense, at one point complaining, “No one wants to give peas a chance.”

The set design was simple but in keeping with the early-80s Nickelodeon show aesthetic of covered boxes and construction paper cut-out edges. There was lots of black and green. The costuming, meanwhile, was a mix of 50s Cowboy show (The Sheriff's and Deputy's outfits) with 50s sci-fi (The Mad Scientist and the Wearwolves).

The play abounded in allusive word-play and Ed Wood-esque sci-fi absurdity that often set the audience, including me, laughing, thinking, “I see what you did there.” The play was the fourth Espinosa production in Hope since 2019 and we all should hope there are many more. It was evident the kids in the play were having fun and discovering new ways to express themselves, whether through set design or acting.

The play was brought about not only by Star Academy but also by the Southwest Arkansas Arts Council, the Arkansas Arts Council and the staff at Hempstead Hall.