The King's Equal



Our neighborhood theater group, the Barcroft Players,
presented The King's Equal on March 12 and 13, 2004.




The King's Equal is a kids play about
an arrogant prince who must find a
princess to marry who is his equal
before he can ascend to the throne.


The Cast


Prince Raphael and Rosamund
Played by Dan Junker and Sarah Junker





Servant and Puppeteer
Played by Ana Cackley




The Prime Minister
Played by Douglas Akers




The Goats
Played by Sarah Hunter




and Josie Twomey




Rosamund's father
Played by Phil Cackley




The Wolf
Played by Mary Devine




Princess One
Played by Adrienne Kerr




Princess Two
Played by Sydney Boll




Princess Three
Played by Aja McGhee




Puppeteer and Author
Cecilia P. Cackley





The Supporting Crew


Producer: Barbara Swart




Director: Phil Cackley




Set Design: Maggie Modig
Set Painting: Maggie Modig




Lighting: Randy Swart




Sound Technician: Lowell Fogus




Sound Recording: Tim White




Costumes: Joanne Balzano-LaRusso and Barcroft Players





Props: Barcroft Players and McLean Theater Alliance


Activities Director: Teresa Saunders




Programs: Phil Cackley


Program Cover Art: Dan Junker




Publicity: Phil Cackley and Barbara Swart




Newsletter Publicity: Christina Cavoli


Box Office: Pat and Dan Williamson Edwards




House Scheduling: Lori Fitchett, Steve Reiss


The Play

The play is an original adaptation by Cecilia P. Cackley of "The King's Equal," by Katherine Paterson, copyright 1992. This performance was presented under a special arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers, N.Y., N.Y.





Our set was a marvel, designed by Maggie Modig using two revolving triangular structures called Periactoi from the time of the ancient Greek theater. As they revolved we had a throne room, the exterior of a palace, a farm scene and a goatherd's hut. Between the Peri's, the mountain provided both backdrop and an opening for a puppet theater. As characters moved from the palace to the mountain and back a puppet of them proceeded along the mountain's swoopy ridge. It was an extraordinarily well-adapted design for our tiny stage, and it worked very well. Here is more on how we built the set.










The Activities



Following the matinee on Saturday, we had multiple crafts activities for the kids. Teresa Saunders organized an array of crown-making, coloring, mural-making and cutout fun that kept the kids attention for a lively and interesting session.







Cast and Crew Bios



Douglas Akers (Prime Minister) is making his first appearance on stage since high school days in Arizona, where he played Grumpy in "Snow White." A Fairfax resident, he works by day as an economist.

Joanne Balzano-LaRusso (Costumes) is a veteran of many, many theatrical productions in the Washington area, both behind and in front of the lights.

Sydney Boll (Princess 2) has lived in Barcroft all her life and has "a lot" of theater experience at school, which is St. Thomas More Cathedral School. She is a 2nd grader, who looks forward to doing more shows in Barcroft in the future.

Ana Cackley (Servant) appeared in last year's "Tales of Barcroft" as Adaline Marye. She is a 5th grader at Key Elementary School and is also a member of the Arlington Junior Honors Chorus. A lifelong Barcroft resident, she recently returned from an exchange trip to El Salvador.

Cecilia P. Cackley (Puppeteer) is a founding member of the Barcroft Players and has directed or acted in all the company's previous performances. She is a sophomore at the College of William and Mary, where she majors in performing arts and specializes in being overcommitted.

Phil Cackley (Rosamund's father, Director) last appeared as Dr. John Barcroft in "Tales of Barcroft." He works part-time as an ESL instructor in Clarendon and full-time as a father of four.

Mary Devine (Wolf) played Dorothy at age 9 in "The Wizard of Oz." A Rhode Island native, she has lived in Barcroft for just over a year. Mary works as a market research analyst and was happy to discover the existence of the Players through the Barcroft News. (It pays to read!)

Lowell Fogus (Light Tech) has lived in Barcroft almost 20 years. This is his first show with the Barcroft Players and first time in theater since high school days.

Sarah Hunter (Goat) is a 4th grader at Barcroft Elementary School and a 10-year neighborhood resident. This is her first play ever!

Sarah Junker (Rosamund) returns to the stage after appearing in "Tales of Barcroft" last year as Annie Doremus. The Pennsylvania native works as an economist and resides in Crystal City.

Dan Junker (Prince Raphael) is a founding member of the Barcroft Players and played Sidney Marye and Stephen Preston Wright in last year's "Tales of Barcroft." A rocket scientist by day, Dan has lived in the neighborhood for more than 10 years.

Adrienne Kerr (Princess 1) has lived in Barcroft all her life and comes from one of the neighborhood's most illustrious musical families. An 8th grader at Gunston Middle School, this is her first time on the Barcroft stage.

Aja McGhee (Princess 3) was a children's acting coach at University of Chicago and has acted in college and high school plays. The Arlington resident also works as an economist. (Spot a trend, here?)

Maggie Modig (Set Design and Painting) recently won two nominations for Washington Area Theater Community Honors (WATCH) awards for set design for other productions.

She has worked for Northern Virginia community theaters for more than 20 years.

Teresa Saunders (Activities) has been our unsung heroine for the past four productions, never appearing in our programs while always playing the parts of absent actors, helping with almost everything, and making glorious cookies for the cast.

Barbara Swart (Producer) founded the Barcroft Players in 2001 because she believes it's impossible to have too many theater groups in the world. A 30-year resident of Barcroft, she works by day as a computer manager for Freddie Mac.

Randy Swart (Lights and Set Construction) believes he is best remembered for his sensitive and evocative performances as a Bear in Goldilocks (2nd grade), and the piper in Brigadoon.

Josie Twomey (Goat) is a 3rd grader at Taylor Elementary School who is following in her dad's footsteps to take to the stage. She is a lifelong Barcroft resident.




More about the Barcroft Players







Updated on: October 30, 2023.