Photo Credit: Jared Taylor[/caption]In March 2015, a new play will be flying to the stage of Orange High School called Duck Hunter Shoots Angel. This play will be unlike anything that the OHS theatre has ever put on before and should be a refreshingly new experience for the members of the community. This play casts a new set of OHS performers that may have the potential to truly wow the audience.
Duck Hunter is a play by Mitch Albom that has been performed by large theaters like the City Theater in Detroit. Duck Hunter is about Sandy, a tabloid journalist played by Josh Leonard, who is following the story of two Alabama-native brothers. The brothers, played by Robert Piscitelli and Danny Archibald, are terrible duck hunters, and one day, when they find that they have shot a duck, they discover that their “duck” could be something much more supernatural. Along with following the brothers, Sandy is conflicted by his job and is guided in writing his story by The Voice, who will be performed by Brooke White.
Along with the main cast, there will be several other performers in this show. Lester, who will be played by Clayton Bailey, is Sandy’s boss. He is described as a jerk and is disliked by Sandy. Lester is followed around by many ‘ghosts of tabloids past,’ which include Marilyn Monroe, played by Nunna Noe; Elvis, played by Aaron Summey; and an alien, played by Caroline Branan. Lenny, played by Taylor McNeill, is Sandy’s photographer and friend. Phil is a half-human, half-alligator who brings comic relief to the play.
There are also flashbacks into Sandy’s life that show his career-driven past and his prior relationship. ‘The Woman,’ who is Sandy’s love interest, will be played by Katerina Gilfillen.
This new comedic change in performances comes after a strong finish to The Christmas Carol, which was a hit for the OHS theatre, and many are excited to see how the two plays will contrast each other. There are also many new performers introduced to the OHS stage in Duck Hunter. Molly Burke, the assistant to the director, said, “I am definitely optimistic about Duck Hunter Shoots Angel! Having new performers in the cast is very exciting and can bring a really helpful energy to the play. Different actors bring fresh perspectives on everything from character building to set building, making this show in particular a really spectacular collaboration.”
Leonard, who plays Sandy, added his excitement to the mix by saying, “I've had a great time being part of an OHS production, and although it has been challenging at times, it has been a very fulfilling venture. As any actor would, I hope to bring my brand of charisma to the stage. Sandy, the main character, has a personality very similar to mine, and I hope to portray his character to the best of my ability.”
Photo Credit: Mia Frenduto[/caption]OHS Theatre’s A Christmas Carol opened on November 20 without a hitch and swept the audience away with its miraculous and touching storyline. A Christmas Carol has been performed for over 100 years, but only the ability of great actors like the actors at OHS can really bring this story of redemption to life. With a new perspective, a bigger stage production, and a mesh of C.W. Stanford and OHS student actors, this play is unmatched by any previous production. A Christmas Carol will be showing on November 21 and November 22 at 7 pm and November 23 at 2 pm. It is highly recommended that everyone in the community attend.
A Christmas Carol was originally a book by Charles Dickens, published in 1843, that was adapted into a play later in the nineteenth century. The story follows a grumpy, greedy, money-driven old miser named Scrooge (Luke Taylor), who is visited by his former business partner, Jacob Marley (Miriam Carr), and three spirits of Christmas--the Ghost of Christmas Past (Erin Burgner), Christmas Present (Hunter Moser), and Christmas Future (Maleke Moore). Through them, Scrooge learns that money has cost him more than it is worth and living life to the fullest means receiving and giving the love of others. Attached to this, there is a smaller, but just as significant, plot where Scrooge learns that the man who works for him, Bob Cratchit (Robert Piscitelli), and his family are in need because Tiny Tim (Brenna Mehl), their youngest son, is sickly. This drastically changes Scrooge’s demeanor as well.
All of the lead actors did extremely well in bringing their characters to life. Taylor plays a wonderfully grumpy Scrooge and will truly make you hope that Scrooge can see the error of his ways. Alongside of him, Piscitelli will bring you to tears in some parts of the production and was probably the most powerful onstage presence. Other minor roles were very powerful as well, especially the middle school actors that were lent to the OHS stage for this production. Mehl as Tiny Tim moved the story in a more positive direction towards the end of the play. Three of the funniest actors on stage were Moser, playing Christmas Present, Tyler Rubio, playing Fezziwig, a former employer of Scrooge, and Mrs. Fezziwig, played by Nunna Noe. They had the audience rolling in their seats, gasping for air.
The set and production values were also incredible, thanks to the OHS theatre department’s backstage crew. The efforts of the crew and manager Molly Burke were represented very well in the show. There were various parts of the play that highlighted the abilities of the stage crew. For example, there is a scene in the beginning of the play where the ghost of Marley finds Scrooge in his bedroom. This is accomplished through eerie noises, fog, perfect lighting, and glow-in-the-dark effects. There is also a scene where Christmas Future, a huge, dark puppet built by the FFA department, is introduced to the stage. This, the most powerful and frightening scene of the whole play, is accomplished through an intricate system of fog machines, blue LED lights, and interesting sound effects. This scene requires the whole theater to be pitch black and will rock the audience to their core.
Photo Credit: Jared Taylor.[/caption]OHS theatre has many upcoming performances of the Jon Dempsey play Zombie Prom. Zombie Prom will be open to the audience from March 21 to 22 at 7 pm. There will also be a matinée on March 23 at 2 pm.
Zombie Prom is your normal boy-meets-girl kind of musical, except the boy is a bad boy, who is rejected by his parents and principal, and is then told to stay away from the girl. After all of this happens, he rides off in anger and ends up at a nuclear waste dump. He races home with two goals: he wants to graduate and he wants to take the girl to prom.
The cast of this play are all returners with a good acting history. Toffee, the good girl that falls for the bad boy, is played by Anastasia Zitko. Johnny, who is the lovable bad boy, is played by Caleb Tolin, another wonderful actor. They are accompanied by many other great OHS actors, including Robert Piscitelli (playing Jake), Luke Taylor (playing Eddie Flagrante), Nicky Vassello (playing Josh), and Morgan McCallum (playing Ramona Merengue).