The President’s Club:

The play, written and directed by Greg Williams, opens on an ordinary room,  filled with men in suits sitting around a table. All of the sudden someone yells, “Kennedy’s been shot!” and a bloody body is carried into the room. It is then revealed that this isn’t the famous assassination moment of president John F. Kennedy, but a mobster with his name who’s just been taken out. “The Presidents Club” is about a club of America’s most dangerous mobsters, who are each accusing each other of being a police informant.

Fool For Love:

In this play, a man and woman in a complicated argue and make amends for the boyfriend’s slightly nature. The play is a serious drama intermittent with comic relief. The narrator sits in the back and eventually reveals that the couple are half-siblings who have fallen in love due to the abusive, now deceased father. Written by Sam Shepard and directed by juniors Maya Teich and Dalia Glazman, the play was interesting and complex, ending with the boyfriend leaving after someone sets his car on fire.

Heathers:

Written by Daniel Waters and directed by Talia Roland-Kalb and Lily Schwartz, this cross between a petty high school drama and a seriously dark comedy opens on a girl and her friends eating and talking at a high school cafeteria. One girl named Heather is revealed to be meaner than the rest, and so the main character’s boyfriend JD kills her. The boyfriend, an apathetic serial killer, believes that he made his girlfriend happy, but the play ends with her shooting him on stage.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:

A man wakes up in his bed, and explains that he is not feeling well, and that it is also Valentines Day. He calls in sick, and walks down to the beach to draw. An outspoken girl approaches him and gives him her number. In a confusing turn of events, after he and her being together for the next two years, she leaves him. He receives a call from an organization that specializes in erasing one’s memory, and he learns that she had her memory erased of him. He goes to do this too, and much of the play is his procedure, recounting the time spent with her as all of these memories are erased. A cliffhanger at the end reveals the play to be an everlasting loop, as a short while after they have both forgotten each other, he once again goes down to the beach where he meets the girl once again. Written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Sam Pollak and Lily Harris.

Soft in the Garden:

Written and directed by Rosa Stern Pait and Gabe Doyle, a young girl and her mother living in the woods come across a garden with a strange statue of another young girl. The statue begins to move and come alive, and the stone girl wobbles off her pedestal. The mother and daughter bring the stone girl into their home, where a series of comical scene unfold in trying to make the statue act gracefully. The statue is later killed, and the young girl goes atop the pedestal and becomes a statue herself, suggesting a cycle.

BETCO Production: The G[ender] Spot

Written collaboratively by the BETCO company, the edgy “G[ender] Spot” takes place in an alternate world where all gender is fluid. Some people begin to want to become just one gender, which sparks unrest in the society, and causing those with the single gender to face prejudice. Included descriptions of pornography and the menstrual cycle, as well as religious oppression.

The Porcelain Assassin:

The original play, written and directed by senior Dillon McGuire, tells the story of six high school students (three girls, three boys) who are randomly in the girls bathroom when one “mean girl,” Tamara spontaneously combusts. In the process of deciding what to do, the students learn more about themselves and each other, and are finally able to open up. McGuire and the actors perfectly highlight the pressures of high school with unique but relatable characters.

Locked Up:

In the play Locked Up, writer and director senior Ellie Richardson explores serious issues of the women’s incarceration system. The drama begins when Penelope, the governor’s girlfriend, gets arrested for being rude to a police officer, and begins to judge the rest of the prisoners. In only 20 minutes, the actors masterfully told the stories of their characters and addresses racism, sexism and heterosexism, among others. 

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead:

This absurd and existential show, adapted from the play by Tom Stoppord, focuses on two of the sub characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet’s courteir’s find themselves in weird situations and interact with a group of traveling performers. Director senior Noa Goihberg dressed her actors in airy colorful clothing and added an element of music to show both the tragic and comedic themes.

Next Saturday:

This play was a sequel to the classic John Hughes film The Breakfast Club, written and directed by seniors Dawaun Hardy and Carla Yacoub. The piece took place on the following Saturday after the one in the movie, when John Bender is still in detention and the other four teens come to see him and question whether anything has really changed in their lives and his. The show had deep insights into the original movie while remaining faithful to the characters and themes.

La Mordaza:

The play La Mordaza was translated from the Spanish and directed by senior Korey Caron. La Mordaza, which means ‘the gag’, is about the tyrannical patriarch of a family in the aftermath of a brutal war. When he is accused of the murder of a one-time enemy, each of his three sons, in addition to his wife and daughter-in-law, must struggle with their fear, loyalty and sense of justice. The play was masterfully put together, complete with intense acting, dramatic lighting, and striking use of music.

And Then There Were None:

The play And Then There Were None, adapted from the novel by Agatha Christie was true to the plot, ratcheting up suspense until the final twist ending. Junior Izzy Schettino, who adapted and directed the show, kept all the terrifying elements of the eerie plotline, as the ten characters were brought to the island then killed off one by one. The actors exaggerated the melodrama perfectly, fully getting into their complex characters in only 22 minutes.

With Each Loss:

The original show, written and directed by senior Jared Shanks, used minimalist set design and costumes to tell an intricate story of family, friendship and the terror of losing the ability to communicate. The plot, which focused on the protagonist Cecilia loss of her senses, including the ability to speak, was highlighted by fantastic lighting, including the use of a single spotlight on Cecilia as she becomes more and more isolated.

A Very Potter Musical:

The show A Very Potter Musical was adapted from the play by Matt Lang, Nick lang and Brian Holden by seniors Kaitlynd Collins and Queen-Tiye Akamefula. The hysterical interpretation of the Harry Potter books drew roaring laughter from the audience throughout the whole play. Though cut from its original, which is over an hour long, Akamefula and Collins’ version managed to incorporate all the best bits of the show while keeping the plot intact.

Rosa Stern Pait,  Jacob Spiegel, Maya Margolis and Izzy Meyers can be contacted at [email protected]