After success of ‘Spelling Bee,’ drama department starts work on ‘Tartuffe’

Laura Hannibal belts out a song in a performance of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”

The drama department has been called strong, talented, thrilling and hilarious, but never slow-moving. Before the successful performances of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” had even concluded, auditions were happening for the fall play, “Tartuffe,” about a hypocritical con-artist.

“[Tartuffe] has recently overtaken the estate of a man by the name of Orgon,” senior Josh Harris, who plays the show’s title character, said. “He is a ‘religious’ man, who has tricked this man into believing he is actually a good guy. In doing so he has stolen all of [Orgon’s] nice goods, all of his food, and has started to hit on a few of the members of his family.”

Sophomore Annelise Nussbacher is excited about the new aspects of the show.

“The show will be bold and exciting,” Nussbacher said. “It’s going to be one of the most elaborate, exaggerated shows we’ve ever done.”

One of the more unusual aspects of the show is the audience interaction with the characters. The play calls for some participation and allows viewers to take part in the show’s comedy.
“You can actually bid for tickets to get box seats up on the stage and we will incorporate you into the show,” Nussbacher said.

Rehearsals started at the beginning of September and the cast is already hard at work. The show will run Oct. 20, 22 and 23.

The show features seniors Josh Harris, Penny Burgess and Ariella Yendler, junior Pavi Sadras; sophomore Annelise Nussbacher, freshman Blake Propach and others.

There will also be a separate cast of clowns, working out parallel scenes and making fun of the main cast. They will use lots of physical comedy in another area of the stage, mocking the actors. This group will include seniors Deborah Burger and Shannon Roseberry, junior Karen Peterson and more.
“‘Tartuffe’ has a lot of very big humor, outrageous costumes, an incredibly elaborate set and physical comedy,” Nussbacher said. “It’s probably one of the funniest shows we’ve ever done.”

If previous drama productions have set any precedent, Tartuffe is sure to be a hit. The year has already kicked off with a student production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

“I was absolutely amazed by the level of characterization the cast was able to come up with,” senior Burgess, president of the Drama Club and director of “Spelling Bee” said.
Despite obstacles in the rehearsal process, Burgess said the show went better than she ever expected.

“I was very impressed by their ability to roll with the punches—we faced countless obstacles throughout the rehearsal process, from a limited amount of rehearsal time to issues booking the Little Theater to injuries and illnesses, but every one of them went with it and did their best to learn the parts and perform them incredibly well,” she said of her cast and crew.

With difficult and fast-moving musical numbers such as “The I Love You Song,” “Pandemonium” and “I Speak Six Languages,” the production was a big undertaking for a student show, but Burgess pulled it off with finesse.

“There was some point during rehearsals when I was watching them perform the opening song and I was just like … wow. This is really going to happen,” Burgess said. “And from then on I continued to be amazed by the cast. I’m so proud of what they accomplished, and I’m so happy that I was able to make this show happen.”