By ANDREW GOUDSWARD
Staff Writer
WALL – The Drama Club will perform its rendition of the play, “You Can’t Take It With You,” on Friday and Saturday March 15 and 16, at the Jersey Performing Art Center in Ocean Grove. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Curtain rises at 7 p.m. both nights.
Written in 1936, “You Can’t Take It with You” tells the story of Alice Sycamore who falls in love with Wall Street tycoon Tony Kirby. The play is mainly about the clash between their two families, the prim-and-proper Kirby’s and the much more absurd and loving Sycamores.
“They’re a collage of different personalities and basically weird people,” said junior Sean Cavanagh of Middletown who plays Martin Vanderhof in the play. The Kirby’s disapprove of the absurd ways of the Sycamores, creating the main contrast of the play. “It sounds cliché, but really it has a lot of humor and depth in it.”
Senior Director Summer Russo of Spring Lake Heights said the club had to find a play that was “comedic, with a large, mostly female cast, a small set, and simple tech elements.” “You Can’t Take It with You” met all those requirements.
Russo says the audience will enjoy the “weirdness” of the seeing their classmates play the absurd characters of the Sycamores. “There’s a lot of really, really entertaining moments that are quite fun to watch from the audience’s perspective,” she said.
Junior Danielle Cooper of Rumson, who plays Alice Sycamore, agreed. “Were doing some weird stuff,” she said.
Despite the many comedic elements of the play, Cooper says it also has another side to it. “It has its funny moments, but there are parts where it gets intense and deep,” she said. She emphasized the play’s final message about making the most out of life. “It’s good for the drama club because a lot of us want to do things with our lives that aren’t always widely accepted.”
The club has been rehearsing the play since late November and the cast and crew say they are well prepared for the upcoming performance.
“We started so early that we have the whole show down pat, now we’re just fine tuning the small stuff,” Russo said. Cooper agreed saying “I feel more prepared than I have for previous shows.”
Cavanagh emphasized the lighter moments at the many long rehearsals. “We have our times where just goof around and tell stories,” he said.
This week rehearsals move to the actual theatre for a final week of rehearsals called “tech week.” Senior Michael Smeaton of Eatontown who plays Tony Kirby said the rehearsals can be “a lot to handle, but if you plan your time accordingly, you can get all of your work done.”
Junior Jessica Noe of Tinton Falls is looking forward to seeing a lot of her classmates on stage. “It will be interesting to see them in a different context than I’m used to,” she said.
Which is just what the cast wants. “I hope there’s a huge crowd because of all the time and dedication we put into it. I think it will be awesome for everyone,” Cavanagh said.