The drama club’s fall production will run for four nights, and each show will be different. Some of the changes will be obvious.
The club will present “The Boys Next Door” on Nov. 14 and 16, and “The Girls Next Door” on Nov. 13 and 15. The stories are the same, but as the titles imply there will be a change in gender. This is becoming a tradition for the club. Last year it presented a male and female version of “The Odd Couple.”
Besides the boy-girl switch, there will be other changes in casting. In some cases, a different person will play a role each night.
Will that make a difference? During a rehearsal we interviewed a panel of 12th-graders — Steve DeRosa, Ryan Hazard, Mariah Hernandez and Dan Hess. They said that each person has a different interpretation of their character. And the roles are challenging.
The story, which the director describes as a “heartfelt comedy,” is set in a group home. The residents have a variety of disabilities; one is schizophrenic, another has Asperger’s Syndrome, and a third suffers from a lack of mental capacity,
“There’s no really small character,” the panel said. “All of the characters have their own story.” Portraying them is a challenge. “It’s hard to see how they perceive things,” one person said. “And you have to keep aware of every body motion. We find ourselves slipping out of character.”
And that’s probably OK, because as the show progresses there’s likely to be a transition. The audience may forget the handicaps and view the people on stage as being not very different from the rest of us.
The audience is also likely to laugh. Performances begin at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium on Thursday through Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
Cast: Gio Brice, Ethan Brondum, Elena Byassee, Rourke Bywater, Stephen DeRosa, Christen Donlon, Mike Doulin, Pat Fulton, Olivia Heller, Sarah Henry, Mariah Hernandez, Dan Hess, Julia Hughes, Sydney Korycinski, Jillian Larson, Charles Longueira Kelly Moran, Olivia Perrone, Sophie Rice, Larissa Ross, Will Snyder, Samantha Tighe, Rose Tommasi
Production: Corinne Aufiero (assistant director), Meghan Doulin (stage manager), Dan Distasio (acting coach), Karen Eremin (costume design), Ryan Hazard (student assistant), Wynn Klosky (production assistant), Tony Ravinsky (set design, technical director), Brooke Reilly (student assistant)
