Bear Creek School actors will tackle values and virtues, struggle and compromise and more in “The Palace Thief” on May 19 and 20. The play was adapted from Ethan Canin’s short story by the same name and will be performed by Upper School drama students.

Audience members may recognize the plot if they have seen “The Emperor’s Club,” a 2002 movie starring Kevin Kline.

Bear Creek drama director Dr. Ron Lynch explained, “‘The Palace Thief’ has been a favorite story of mine for many years because of its honest portrayal of human weakness, which quite often undermines our scruples and ideals of honesty and integrity. With this in mind, I have long desired to present this story as a stage play at Bear Creek. So in December 2016, I made contact with the author for the purpose of getting his permission to adapt his story for the stage. I received an enthusiastic affirmative reply, and with Mr. Canin’s endorsement and support, the journey began.

“This production has been quite an educational experience for my students,” Lynch added. “We have taken a close look at the virtues we hold in esteem at our school and examined how best intentions can be compromised by wrong individual decisions, worldly pursuit of wealth, and the attraction of power. However, most importantly, we discovered the opportunity for redemption.”

Lynch anticipates that our audience will gain the same insights as the drama unfolds in a small Virginia prep school classroom where Mr. Hundert brings a passion for Greek and Roman history to life. This powerful story gives each viewer a reason to examine his or her own accomplishments and contributions.

Several of the roles in the production are double-cast to allow more students to experience and stretch their dramatic muscle.

During the 10-minute intermission, refreshments, provided by Bear Creek’s chapter of the National Honor Society, will be available in the main hallway. Contributions will be donated to Bear Creek’s Chaz Bruner Memorial Scholarship Fund (www.tbcs.org/chazbruner).

Admission is free, and all performances are open to the public. The Bear Creek School Cornerstone Theater is located at 8905 208th Ave. N.E., Redmond WA.

Performances are at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. each day.

The following students will play main characters:

Mr. Hundert: DJ Lambert, senior, Redmond; Steven Dunn, senior, Woodinville

Sedgewick Bell: Alex Gephart, junior, Kirkland

Mr. Woodbridge: Jack McDonough, sophomore, Redmond

Mr. Ellerby: Joseph Carruth, senior, Redmond

Senator Bell: Victor Gill, junior, Woodinville