From November 15th to November 18th, the Morris Hills stage was transformed into black-box theater where the Morris Hills High School thespians performed the play Charley’s Aunt. Directed by Mr. Fahrer, Mrs. Calzone, and senior Robert McKnight, Charley’s Aunt recounts a whirlwind of events that occur around two young chaps, who want to win over the love of two ladies. “I chose Charley’s Aunt because I wanted to direct a more traditional comedy,” Mr. Fahrer said. “In my opinion, Charley’s Aunt is also one of the funniest write plays of all times.” Charley’s Aunt is an incredibly unique comedy as it is a farce – a humorous and entertaining play based on situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, and improbable. Its focus on entertaining rather than thoroughly developing characters sets it apart and makes it enjoyable for all.

A notable feature of this year’s fall play was the fact that there was partner casting, meaning that there were two different casts and each performed on different days. Mr. Fahrer noted that “the show has a lot to do with mistaken identity, so we were able to play with that within the two casts during the performances.” Despite the fact that each cast performed on different days, both were ultimately included in each showing by using one cast as a mirror image in certain scenes. In addition to strengthening the idea of mistaken identity, using a cast as a mirror image provided many laughs and smiles within the audience as the “mirrors” were used in unique and comical ways. For the students, using partner casting certainly had its advantages and drawbacks. Junior Logan Mattessich, who played Babberly in the white cast, said “It allowed the cast to learn from each other and work collaboratively to build a character. You could see something that your counterpart actor was doing that you really like and incorporate it into your performance, which refined the show and helped everyone grow as actors. However, it also created the problem of everyone getting less time rehearsing and working with new props and set pieces.”

With a perfect mix of humor, gossip, and love, Charley’s Aunt was another successful production for the Morris Hills thespians. Sophomore Zoe Tweedie, who played Brassett in the red cast, believes that “the performances were full of funny chaos and the interactions between all the characters really made an impact on the audience. It was fun-filled and fasting moving, where almost every action could be taken as a joke. Especially because this was her first production at Morris Hills, “it was memorable to say the least.”