Elizabeth Blake-Thomas was 12 years old when she starred in the popular British play “Daisy Pulls it Off” as the title character. Daisy Meredith is a girl in the 1920s who grew up poor and, because of her intelligence, gets admitted to a boarding school for the wealthy.
In the comedic play, Daisy, with the help of her friend, Trixie Martin, overcomes prejudice and saves the Grangewood School for Young Ladies from ruin.
Now, in Hermosa Beach, Blake-Thomas directs one of the few productions of “Daisy” in the United States with performances at the 2nd Story Theatre March 28, 29 and 30. There will be be a wine tasting and reading at the Uncorked Wine Shop in Hermosa Beach on Tuesday, March 27.
Thomas, born in England, but now living in the South Bay, said “Daisy” has a “strong message about acceptance.”
“It’s about no matter where you’re from, it’s about understanding that people are different … even though we are making it a comedy, we’re also very clear on that message especially where we live in this current society,” Blake-Thomas said. “We know about accepting everybody no matter what the differences are.”
Daisy, played by Elise Caton Williams in this local production, lost her father during the war when he disappeared and was presumed dead. She grew up poor, but attends Grangewood on a scholarship, the first the school has given out.
“They think she’s not as good as them,” said Williams of the other girls at the school. “She takes it in stride and she got the ideas and big ideals. She keeps working and proves money is not everything.”
Trixie becomes Daisy’s best friend and they go on a treasure hunt and other adventures.
“She’s a private school girl who I’ve imaged to have grown up very cultured,” said Shannon Estabrook, who plays Trixie. “She’s just a very fascinated little character with brains and adventures and she’s a self-proclaimed poet. She’s gravitating toward Daisy Meredith because Daisy’s this exotic … new person at the school who’s drawn to the fact that she got into the school with her brains alone.”
In a twist to the original production, the young actors in the play, portray the adults, while the adults play the school children. Olivia Jellen, who is 8 years old, plays Mother.
“My character is a mom who always wants to get things ready,” said Jellen, who was in “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” in 2016 and recently completed three other projects. “She always wants to get her daughter clean and she just wants to get her ready for school.”
Jellen added, “Adults playing students and kids playing adults … it’s pretty funny.”
Olivia’s sister Sofia, who also stars with her sister in the soon-to-be released film “Pretty Outrageous,” which is also directed by Blake-Thomas, plays music and geography teacher Mrs. Scoblowski.
“She’s very over the top … she loves Daisy because she says how her singing is great and how she got the top grade in the geography test,” Sofia said.
Sofia added, “It’s funny to see shorter people like kids telling the adults what to do.”
At 13 years old, Hunter Payton is already a veteran actor, beginning when he was 6 years old. He plays the mystery character, Mr. Thompson. For Payton, and many of the rest of the cast, tackling the British accent was one of the more challenging parts of the production.
“The (accent) reveals a lot about the character,” Payton said. “You have to make sure you have that down.”
Isabella Blake-Thomas, daughter of the director, didn’t have an issue with the accent, being British herself. She plays the scatterbrain French mistress Mademoiselle in the production.
Isabella said the production is quite well known in Britain.
“It’s a stereotypical British boarding school story that Americans … assume we experience when we go to school in England,” Isabella said. “If there was a moral of the story, it would be to work as a team and to use your friends to help you in situations that you might find difficult.”
Chloe Noelle plays Miss Gibson as well as the headmistress in “Daisy.” She also had challenges with the British accent.
“That’s been difficult to try and to get down to where it sounds realistic but still a little over the top and silly… but I get to be all prime and proper and super extravagant,” Noelle said.
Hermosa Beach’s Madeline Weissenberg, a sophomore at Mira Costa High School, plays Miss Granville. She sees “Daisy” as a play about breaking stereotypes.
“With my character, she’s not very sure about scholarship students … she thinks they are not as capable as the girls who are there because of their parents’ money,” Weissenberg said. “She got in there because of her smarts … Daisy goes against that and she shows my character … she’s capable of doing this.”
“Daisy” is produced by Sunscreen Theatrical, an off-shoot of the Sunscreen Film Festival West, which comes to Hermosa Beach each fall. The film festival also launched Sunscreen Stand Up Comedy Nights, with a show Saturday, March 24, hosted by South Bay’s Todd Doram and headlined by Jeremy Piven. Their mentor program is currently working a documentary about The Lighthouse Cafe and the punk and jazz scene in Hermosa Beach.
“Sunscreen Film Festival is busy cultivating arts in the South Bay … we have no limits, “ said Julie Nunis, producer and Hermosa Beach resident. “Our director, Robert Enriquez, is the ultimate supporter for all things creative and inclusive and it’s just so much darn fun to work locally.
Director Blake-Thomas said that even though “Daisy” is not well known in this country “there’s something for everyone.”
“It’s like watching ‘The Simpsons,’ you can watch it and enjoy it as a cartoon, or you can get a deeper message,” Blake-Thomas said.
Tickets are $15 for “Daisy,” which starts at 7 p.m. on March 28, 29 and 30.
For tickets, visit eventbrite.com.
