by Meglin Bodner
Once again BHS students are going to take part in The Man Who Came to Dinner. It’s the fall play for 2010. Moss Hart and George Kaufman were the brains behind this marvelous play. It was written in the time of war, when there was tension all over the world and people needed something to lift their spirits. In 1939, the play was first introduced to the public, many of the people who went to see it thought it was hilarious. That’s probably because Hart and Kaufman was a comedy writer.
The characters in The Man Who Came to Dinner were actually based on real people in the 1930’s. The story takes place in Mesalia, Ohio at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley. Mr. Whiteside – a celebrity in the play impersonating Alexander Woollcoot – visits their home and creates all sorts of trouble.
During his visit, he falls and “breaks” his hip. Unable to do much, he becomes the boss of the Stanley household. He also receives some weird presents from people visiting him including Lorraine Sheldon and Banjo – based on the real-life Harpo Marx. Additionally, Mr. Whiteside takes advantage of the Stanleys’ telephone and makes lots of high-priced over-seas calls. He also begs Mr. and Mrs. Stanleys’ children to run away to pursue the goals their parents don’t want them to achieve. Mr. Whiteside gets involved in his Secretary Maggie Cutler’s dream to have a wedding with a man named Bert Jefferson.
Mrs. Ogren is the director of the plays at BHS. She’s decides which play is going to be performed each year. This year, she chose The Man Who Came to Dinner – the same play she directed in 1973. Mrs. Ogren said, “It was a really good memory, so I brought it back!” She ran into the cast members who were in the 1973 performance of the play and immediately knew The Man Who Came to Dinner was the play for this year. This was, in a way, revisiting an old memory for Mrs. Ogren; which is a lot like the play itself. She said a character in The Man Who Came To Dinner keeps bringing out old pictures from the past and talks about how wonderful life used to be.
Cast List
Mrs. Stanley…………………………………………..Katrice Kemble Miss Preen…………………………………………….Vanessa Ague Richard Stanley………………………………………Pompeo Mazzella June Stanley…………………………………………..Sarah Mierz Maddie………………………………………………….Emma Nwagboli Sarah…………………………………………………….Brianna DeNegris Mrs. Dexter……………………………………………Kellee Lear Mrs. McCutcheon…………………………………..Chelsea Teague Mr. Stanley……………………………………………Jamie Besnoff Maggie Cutler………………………………………..Alyssa Eraybar Dr. Bradley……………………………………………Justin Laudano Sheridan Whiteside………………………………..Greg Nobile Harriet Stanley………………………………………Therese Masotta Bert Jefferson………………………………………..Sam Bibbins Professor Metz………………………………………James Integlia Mr. Baker………………………………………………Cooper Biancur Lorraine Sheldon……………………………………Molly Hughes Sandy……………………………………………………Alex Roberts Beverly Carlton……………………………………..Chris Marsala Ms. Westcott………………………………………….Rachel Hanchuruck Banjo…………………………………………………….Daniel Stradtman Radio Technician…………………………………….Eric Doing The Christmas Choir: Allie Condon, Paige Machnicz, Carlye Mazzucco, Kailee Scaturro, Shari Peterson, Karlie Rose Signor Stage Managers……………………………………..Allie Condon, Karlie Rose Signor