Everything's great - we're just polishing the apple.

"Tintypes" director Loretta Wittman is starting to relax, if only a tiny bit, as she and the cast fine-tune the performances during dress rehearsals. Her enthusiasm continues as musicians begin playing behind the actors on stage. "There's still nothing more exciting for me than the moment the orchestra starts to play," said Wittman, SBC assistant professor of theater.

Starring four Sweet Briar students and three men from outside the College community, "Tintypes" is a nostalgic musical revue chronicling the growing pains of pre-World War I America. Performances run from Thursday, Nov. 4 through Sunday, Nov. 7 at Murchison Lane Auditorium of the Babcock Fine Arts Center. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. through Saturday with a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday.

"Tintypes" plays as a series of snapshots illustrating the lives of various American characters and icons at the turn of the 20th century. Among the figures brought to life are President Teddy Roosevelt and the "Rough Riders" U.S. Volunteer Cavalry regiment during the Spanish-American War; famous anarchist Emma Goldman; a Charlie Chaplin-styled immigrant; and Anna Held, the famous showgirl wife of legendary Broadway showman and impresario Florenz Ziegfeld.

The epic reflection of an era's end also features songs that define American popular music, including "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight," "Hello, Ma Baby," and "You're A Grand Old Flag." The music is played by the "Tintypes" orchestra, which includes piano, keyboard, drums and percussion, trumpet, clarinet, and xylophone.

The cast shares Wittman's enthusiasm about the project and the progress the group has made. Emily Olson '07, who is in charge of costumes and also performing, enjoys the show's eclectic moments. Some of them include dancing across the stage in a sombrero playing maracas, a vaudeville number sung by revolutionary women called "50-50," smashing a cream pie in the President Roosevelt character's face, and playing a maid blowing bubbles over the Anna Held character's bathtub.

The entire play consists of these vaudeville-like moments. Actors appear onstage with sparklers, cream pies, feather hats, bicycles, balloons, pistols, and rubber chickens acting out comedy routines, ironic presidential speeches, trips in the just-emerging automobile, and various love-hate relationships.

For Rosanna Hawkins '07, playing Held in period underclothes for the bathtub scene is not only her favorite moment but also fulfills a lifelong ambition. "The bathtub scene's really cool," she said. "I've always wanted to be on stage in my underwear. Loretta made it possible."

Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for seniors, and $3 for students and may be reserved in advance by calling the Babcock Theatre Box Office at (434) 381-6120. Sweet Briar College faculty, staff, students, and children under 12 are free of charge.

- By Angelica Guarino and Shannon Wells