You Can’t Take It with You, a classic comedy being performed at the Lewiston High School, featuring the story of a wacky family in late 1936, has been reenacted by the LHS drama department to create a fusion of interesting cast and a less desirable plot. While the play had its positives, as seen in the acting, its negatives were very apparent in the dragging plot line. Throughout the showing, one could only wonder why the play was referred to as a comedy despite the lack of laughs.
Of course, it is only reasonable to look at the glaring aspect of the play’s time period of the late 1930s. Comedic aspects from the previously mentioned era focus on the taboos and humor as present in the ‘30s, jokes spawning from the spoken word “sex” and the Russian Revolution are absurdly out of place today. Simply put, the plot of this play did not age well.
The revolutionary status that this play held in the ‘30s was thankfully upkept by the incredibly high skill level of those acting. Without a doubt, the best part of the play was viewing students take on difficult roles and shatter the boundaries set in front of them. Every cast member, from sophomore Carl Snyder, to senior Emily Brown, played their intricate roles to a tee. Even the improv, especially from junior Andrew Bugbee, displayed the potential for a future performance to be even better.
The difficulty in performing the play today is an idea that can be admired and respected. Although the drab plot was apparent, the actors’ skills can only be a good omen for the upcoming winter play and spring musical. The hard work put into the performance is easily seen in emotion of the actors. Overall this production earns a 3.5/5.
You Can’t Take It with You shows at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 and Oct. 24 in the LHS auditorium. Admission costs $1 for LHS activity card holders, $5 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens.
– Will Wilson