Fathers gear up to produce the annual ‘Fathers’ Follies’

A nearly 70-year tradition that features local fathers producing a light-hearted display of shenanigans will take to the stage again next week at Glendale High School for the 68th annual “Fathers’ Follies.”

The event, dubbed by “LA Weekly” two years ago as “L.A.’s weirdest annual drag show,” will involve nearly 100 fathers of Verdugo Woodlands Elementary students dressing in costume to sing, dance and act in an original performance that has been months in the making.

“The Cat in the Hat at Verdugo Woodlands” will have dads pretend to be students sent to detention only to be abandoned by the teacher overseeing them, leading to more unruliness, and ultimately, lessons to be learned.

Glen Marhevka, a Verdugo Woodlands father and member of the band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, is co-producing the event, in which he’s participated for several years.

This year’s script was written by husband-and-wife team Chris and Rebecca Harrison, along with Bryan Paulk, a former writer for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

While students’ fathers will make up the majority of performers this year, three teachers will also perform, including Sam Donabedian, more commonly known as “Mr. D.”

Marhevka said the children in the audience get a kick out of watching their dads dance and sing in costume — many times in dresses and wearing lipstick.

The history of the event dates to the late 1940s when then PTA President Kay Gurash gave control of running one meeting to her husband, John.

The PTA had already been hosting annual “Father’s Night” meetings since the 1920s. However, when it was John Gurash’s turn to head the meeting, he reportedly swore other fathers to secrecy, and they raided their wives’ closets, showing up at the meeting dressed as their wives and then performed skits.

After the wives insisted the fathers perform again, the show was run by actor Joe Sawyer the following year, according to the school’s website. He moved the show to Glendale Community College and incorporated a live orchestra.

One major rule to the follies is that no mother can touch the stage.

Another tradition is that the principal is worked into the show as a surprise appearance. Given that the principal, Kristina Provost, is also a mother, the fathers must come up with a crafty way to bring her on stage, so long as she’s not stepping foot on it.

“The principal is revealed at some point in the show. It’s always a gag,” Marhevka said. “The kids always love that one, too.”

The show is produced on a shoestring budget with parents volunteering to design and build the sets and create musical arrangements.

Since rehearsals began in early March, the dads have been meeting once a week to prepare, and inevitably they build relationships that last.

Their audience is typically filled with many family and friends, and proceeds from the $12-per-ticket sales benefit the Verdugo Woodlands PTA.

“The whole show’s more about the community than the show,” Marhevka said.

What: The 68th annual Father’s Follies

Where: The John Wayne Performing Arts Center at Glendale High School, 1440 E. Broadway

When: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8 and 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 9

Admission: $12 general admission tickets available at the door