During the final rehearsals leading up to the premier of AHS’ upcoming play, Arsenic and Old Lace, one can understand the amount of rush and hysteria taking place in order to ensure all is ready when Dec. 1-3 roll around. In preparation for this year’s fall play, student-actors have somehow managed to go to play practice and memorize their lines while still getting homework done and making up tests.
Though the cast and crew haven’t seemed daunted by the arduous task of completing as long a play as Arsenic and Old Lace (a classic first seen on Broadway in 1941), the play stands out as a juxtaposition of a comedic plot centered on murders by various characters. The main focus of these murders, though, is two elderly women and their nephews, all of whom uncover secrets about the others and themselves throughout the show’s duration.
“There’s a lot of accommodating to be done with people in the production and we’ve already had to set the date back to Dec. 1-3 from our original late November show dates,” co-director and Head of Set Design George Bennett said. “Everyone has to balance academics, extracurricular activities and sometimes a job. In the end, we end up doing a lot of accommodating for each person and just work with the people who are able to make it.”
Bennett and fellow co-director, William Hirsch, have had a tough job throughout the play’s progress of scheduling every rehearsal and practice session around the students’ busy lives. This makes theater life hectic, as some people can make it to play practice and others can’t. But as the show dates have come nearer and nearer, students have had to commit to showing up to rehearsal on time and prepared.
“We’re all working hard and we’ve got a great cast. Everyone’s great to work with and I’m sure we’ll be ready by December,” senior Max Talley, who will be playing one of the lead roles in the production, said.
The average high school student or occasional playgoer might remain cynical towards the concept of a murder story being shown in a comedic light, but the cast still seems to believe that the show will be very entertaining.
“When you have a show that brings together murder and hilarity, it’s naturally going to bring reactions that aren’t expected,” junior Laura Hackfeld, who has been cast as a lead role in the comedy as one of the elderly women, said. “There are different angles to every situation, so this is taking murder from a funny point of view, with eccentric characters, and a very witty script.”
Not only do the cast and crew of the play have the responsibility of creating a continuously entertaining show every night, but they also have the added stress of being flawless when the Cappies come to view them during their matinee show on Dec. 3.
The Cappies are a type of award program for which teachers and students from teams attend one show from every school in the county to critique and praise the show that the school has selected to be judged. Before, during and after the show, teacher-mentors lead critic discussions that occur among students. Critics go home and write 300-400 word reviews for a deadline and submit their critiques to the Cappies’ website. During the spring, critics vote on the best shows, and come summertime, the top picks from the Cappies’ selections are invited to perform segments of their shows and receive their awards at the Kennedy Center.
“Last year we were nominated [by the Cappies] for one of the best plays and sets in the county,” Bennett said. “We were part of the top five schools in the county to receive this honor and hopefully we will get that again this year.”
