Jessica Rota, ‘Doah Contributing Writer
November 6, 2013

‘Doah photo courtesy of Shenandoah Conservatory

For two weekends, Shenandoah Conservatory performed “The Arabian Nights” in Glaize Studio. The story follows Scheherazade, played by Sarah Beckwith, as she tries to save the women of her kingdom from their ruler. King Schahriar, portrayed by Daniel Morton, distrusts women after his first wife betrayed him. Since then he marries one woman of the kingdom and then kills her the next day, portraying that no woman should be trusted. Scheherezade bravely volunteers to marry the king and stalls her execution by telling interesting stories to the king. The stories are portrayed with the help of Scheherazade’s sister, Dunyazad and her father, Grand Vizier as well as guards, servants, musicians and the jokester gardener.

Tension grows as the years pass and Scheherazade runs out of stories to tell; however, the king has had a change of heart as he falls in love with his new wife and promises her they will continue their own story together.

This play was family friendly, a joy for all ages to watch. All the stories have life morals and are portrayed through the actors’ imaginations. They invite you into the stories with comedy, drama and songs. And in the end, they directly tell the audience that sometimes the simplest stories can tell great meanings of life.