Jacob McCloskey
Staff Writer
This fall season’s lineup of Mask & Zany productions is arguably one of the strongest in recent years. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged took place on Oct. 22-24 and featured a cast of only three people. Not only was this feat remarkable, but the production was student directed by New Hope’s own Teddy Carroll. With a cast of the hilarious Josh Searle, Tyler Brennan, and Flo Minniti, the show made audiences laugh many, many times. The plot consisted of the three people attempting to perform all of Shakespeare’s works as quickly as possible. Through this, there were plenty of opportunities for the distinct Mask & Zany style of humor, fake vomit, crossdressing, and audience interaction. This trio has proven to be hilarious separately in previous Mask & Zany productions, so seeing them all together on the same stage proved to be even better.
On Nov. 19-21 will be the performances of the studio play, The Beaux Stratagem. Taking place just before Thanksgiving break, the show will be a great way to end the fall season. This mainstage play is much bigger, both in cast, set, and plot. This production features a large, intricate set, and about 14 actors. Even more importantly, it features a thick plot containing a wide range of scene types from comedy, romance, drama and action. The story is essentially about two men who are pretending to be other, more important people in order to gain money and possibly find love. These men are Tom Aimwell (Jacob McCloskey) and Jack Archer (Mikey Iverson), who plan to pretend to be a master and servant. Through this, they hope to find rich women who they can marry and obtain money through. Of course, they run into many issues along their journey. This play features a cast of Mikey Iverson, Sabrina Rothschild, Fiona Male, Abby Bultemeier and many more. With both of the shows in this fall season being so impressive, it would be a shame to miss either of them.
