The annual student production at Morris Hills entered the spotlight on May 5th and 6th,  bringing its audience a comedic mosaic of Shakespeare’s greatest works. Titled “I Hate Shakespeare!” and written by Steph DeFerie, the show incorporates and spoofs various works including “Macbeth,” “Hamlet,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and  “Othello.”

The student production is different from the fall play or spring musical, as it’s directed by — hence the name — a student! This year, senior Abaigeal Smith was the one of the show’s directors, and she helped her cast grow into their roles and provide the audience with a spectacular show. Typically, rehearsals are supervised by Mr. Fahrer, who also directs the fall play, but with him currently on paternity leave, other teachers have also assisted with adult supervision. 

Throughout the show, Hamlet — portrayed by senior Mukilan Karthikeyan — tries to convince an “audience member” — portrayed by junior Ariana Carhuaz — that Shakespeare is great. Smith describes her favorite aspect of the production as how it “takes the old stories from Shakespeare and modernizes the stories in fun ways.” When asked about her experience as director, Smith explained how much thought and hard work was put into the show to bring it to the best of its ability. Abaigeal said that it was amazing “to see [her] visions and ideas come to life”. As director, she has learned so much and loved seeing the cast develop as actors.

Other senior thespians, who worked on the MH stage for their last time are – Kylie Mastropolo who played a Cheerleader and Spirit, and  Stephen Cornelius who played Anthony and a Zombie.  Senior crew members included Jack McMahon, Rachel Grassi and Teagan Morris.  Logan Bruno was the assistant stage manager, and Kyle Berdin was the assistant director

With a large cast of twenty-four, Shakespeare’s plays came to life on the stage through humorous performances bound to amuse the audience. Freshman cast member Tiffany Albornaz, starring as Sheila, Juliet, and Narrator, describes how “everyone work[ed] so hard, and help[ed] each other in order to create a great environment for our show.” She loves how inclusive the show is and truly enjoyed each rehearsal with the cast.