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Dads are best of the dressed
  
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Fathers get together for a night of follies dedicated to making their children laugh during annual show.
By Angela Hokanson
Dads donned tights, high heels and wigs Thursday in the name of male bonding.
The fathers from Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School were in the auditorium of Glendale High School putting the finishing touches on the 61st annual production of Fathers’ Follies, a theatrical show in which fathers sing, dance and dress up as women to delight their children.
This year’s show is called “Grade School Musical” and fuses elements from the wildly popular movies “High School Musical” and “High School Musical 2,” with original ideas from the dads of the school. The shows, which are open to the public, are today and Saturday evening.
The Fathers’ Follies productions bring in money for the school’s PTA, but are as much about building a community around the school, especially among the dads, according to the fathers in the production.
“I wouldn’t know any of these guys if it wasn’t for the show,” said Steve O’Bryan, one of the father-actors.
The students are also delighted to see their fathers on stage doing such zany things, he said.
“Everyone loves to see their dad involved,” he said.
The cross-dressing element of the show goes back to the first Fathers’ Follies of the 1940s, in which the dads poked fun at their PTA wives by trying to act like them on stage, said Greg Schowengerdt, one of the dads who produces the show.
Since then, the dads have put together original musicals that incorporate the tradition of men dressing as women.
This year’s show, which was written by father Charles Laulette, is about a rich grade-school girl named Sharpay who tries to win the affections of a boy with her parents’ money. She gets her parents to buy the school’s PTA and turn the school’s summer camp into a PTA fundraiser that will showcase her own talents.
Chris Peplow, in full falsetto and miniskirt, plays Sharpay. This is Peplow’s 10th year taking part in Fathers’ Follies. He went to Verdugo Woodlands as a child, and remembers his dad taking part in the tradition.
Peplow was initially reluctant to get involved, but his father pressed him.
“I didn’t want to do it. My dad said, ‘You will do it,’” he said.
Putting on such a wacky show creates a bond between the fathers, he said.
“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t get to know all these guys,” he said. “Plus there’s no better sound than the kids laughing.”
At the outset of Thursday’s dress rehearsal, Peplow’s daughter, Allison Peplow, 15, gave her dad some pointers on how to walk in heels, carry a purse and toss his (fake) hair.
“I think it’s really funny,” Allison said. “It’s definitely different than other schools.”
The fathers rehearse the acting, singing and dancing portions of the show separately for eight weeks, and then come together in the fall week to turn the pieces into a production.
The show brings the fathers together and gets them talking about fatherhood in a unique way, Schowengerdt said.
“We exchange stories about our kids,” he said.
The fathers from Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School were in the auditorium of Glendale High School putting the finishing touches on the 61st annual production of Fathers’ Follies, a theatrical show in which fathers sing, dance and dress up as women to delight their children.
This year’s show is called “Grade School Musical” and fuses elements from the wildly popular movies “High School Musical” and “High School Musical 2,” with original ideas from the dads of the school. The shows, which are open to the public, are today and Saturday evening.
The Fathers’ Follies productions bring in money for the school’s PTA, but are as much about building a community around the school, especially among the dads, according to the fathers in the production.
“I wouldn’t know any of these guys if it wasn’t for the show,” said Steve O’Bryan, one of the father-actors.
The students are also delighted to see their fathers on stage doing such zany things, he said.
“Everyone loves to see their dad involved,” he said.
The cross-dressing element of the show goes back to the first Fathers’ Follies of the 1940s, in which the dads poked fun at their PTA wives by trying to act like them on stage, said Greg Schowengerdt, one of the dads who produces the show.
Since then, the dads have put together original musicals that incorporate the tradition of men dressing as women.
This year’s show, which was written by father Charles Laulette, is about a rich grade-school girl named Sharpay who tries to win the affections of a boy with her parents’ money. She gets her parents to buy the school’s PTA and turn the school’s summer camp into a PTA fundraiser that will showcase her own talents.
Chris Peplow, in full falsetto and miniskirt, plays Sharpay. This is Peplow’s 10th year taking part in Fathers’ Follies. He went to Verdugo Woodlands as a child, and remembers his dad taking part in the tradition.
Peplow was initially reluctant to get involved, but his father pressed him.
“I didn’t want to do it. My dad said, ‘You will do it,’” he said.
Putting on such a wacky show creates a bond between the fathers, he said.
“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t get to know all these guys,” he said. “Plus there’s no better sound than the kids laughing.”
At the outset of Thursday’s dress rehearsal, Peplow’s daughter, Allison Peplow, 15, gave her dad some pointers on how to walk in heels, carry a purse and toss his (fake) hair.
“I think it’s really funny,” Allison said. “It’s definitely different than other schools.”
The fathers rehearse the acting, singing and dancing portions of the show separately for eight weeks, and then come together in the fall week to turn the pieces into a production.
The show brings the fathers together and gets them talking about fatherhood in a unique way, Schowengerdt said.
“We exchange stories about our kids,” he said.
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