MHS play gives classics new life

By JENNIFER DITLEVSON HAGLUND Staff writer
Maryville High School student actors Josie Patton and Frederick Goudge rehearse for “All the Great Books Abridged,” which opens tonight at 7 p.m. at the Maryville Middle School auditorium.

Maryville High School students will put on their second play of the spring semester starting tonight.

The show, “All the Great Books Abridged,” offers a humorous take on works of literature that have made it into the Western canon over the years.

The play, which condenses the classics, features a professor, coach, and student who have fun bungling the explication of works by W.B. Yeats, John Keats, Homer, and T.S. Eliot.

Playfully, the professor reminds the audience that “fun and reading have very little to do with literature,” and then proceeds to mix cheeky and bawdy wordplay with his explanations of all the lauded poets of the last two centuries.

Interwoven with the humor, the characters address some serious questions facing high school and college students. With concerns about being politically correct, characters argue about how to create an inclusive and culturally sensitive reading list when asked to teach classics written long before this was an issue.

There’s the problem of “dead white guys” dominating reading lists and controversial language appearing in Mark Twain novels. No one is exactly comfortable addressing it or sure what to do.

Usual complaints about works students have found too difficult or too boring to read in English class also arise in the play.

Director Jacqueline Conn teaches English and drama at the high school, and she said she’s had students ask her why they have to read certain books over the years.

Conn has been directing plays at MHS for eight years. She said all of the student actors are talented with improvisation and physical humor that are necessary for this production.

“We took the existing play that was tailored to fit the early 2000s audience and made it applicable to this town by using local sports references and more contemporary cultural references,” Conn said.

Conn said she chose the play for a couple of reasons. With the high school’s performing arts center still under construction, Conn said she had to find something that could be moved easily. Because of its minimal set and props, the production allowed for flexibility.

Also, so many auditioned for the spring play in December that Conn wanted to include the most students possible, so she decided to give them two opportunities to participate. In February, students performed “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” a more serious piece about an adolescent boy growing up in Brooklyn during the Great Depression.

Fitting two plays into one semester was challenging, and Conn needed actors who could learn their lines quickly. The actors began practicing the first week of March.

“That’s why we had mostly juniors and seniors in this play,” Conn said. “They know the ropes.”

The cast includes Junior Frederick Goudge as Coach, Senior Josie Patton as Patton, Senior Mason Dredge as the Professor, Junior Emily Gascoigne as Darla, and Sophomore Delanie Vinzant as Destiny. Sophomore Ellie Goecken is working with audio and visual effects as well as interacting with the audience.

“If you love to read but hate to laugh, or you hate to read but love to laugh, this is the show for you,” Dredge said.

“All the Great Books Abridged” shows at 7 p.m. tonight, Friday, and Saturday at the Maryville Middle School auditorium. Tickets cost $5. Proceeds will fund upcoming MHS drama productions.