Talk of the Town: ‘A Sunnyville Story’ premiere

Home school actors on the silver screen

Move over John Wayne and Clint Eastwood and all those other film stars of past Western movies— the Loving to Learn actors are back in town. Well, they’re actually in Sunnyville, a fictitious Western town in the heart of Tucson’s famous Old Tucson Studios.

Loving to Learn is a home school group made up of 10 families residing in Green Valley and the surrounding communities. They have has been studying Arizona history this year and their most recent adventure took them to Old Tucson where they donned their finest 1800s Old West attire to star in the film, “A Sunnyville Story,” written by a couple of the moms and one of the students, especially for the group.

A total of 41 actors, mostly kids, participated in the production.

“A Sunnyville Story” is about the Prim family who moves way out West. Unfortunately, when they arrive in Sunnyville, the Tumbleweed Trio steals their family fortune, Do not fear, however, Sheriff Chivalry and his two dandy deputies are on the job, Sweet Polly, the sheriff’s wife, gets saved from a near miss with the train when she’s tied on the track by the trio, the sheriff arrives just in the nick of time to stop a gunfight breaking out in Lilly Belle’s fine dining establishment. In the end, the trio gets turned around to become good citizens of Sunnyville,

After hours of memorizing lines, seven hours of filming, dozens of photos taken by tourists at Old Tucson, a week of voice overs and sound effects (with a little added player piano music), the kids got a chance to experience all of the work that goes into making a movie. The end result is a half hour of family friendly comedy and entertainment.

“A Sunnyville Story,” starring the actors of Loving to Learn, will premiere Saturday, May 23, at 10 a.m. at Desert Sky Cinema, 70 W. Duval Mine Road in Sahuarita, a stone’s throw from the Taco Bell. The 30-minute Western comedy is open to the public. Doors open at 9:15 a.m. to buy snacks and settle in. There will be $1 suggested donation per person to help offset the cost of the theater rental. The stars of the show will be dressed up and would love to sign autographs, It will be a morning of great entertainment for young or old. For more information call Amber at 625-4959.

rford@gvnews.com