2021 - 2022 ARchives

Daily Campfire Reviews is an independently website run by David Edwards for the review and critique of the many different theater productions and other events put on by Blue Valley High School.

Footloose Review

July 16, 2022

Last night, I saw the B&B Theaters production of Footloose. Several of our Blue Valley boys & girls, graduates and otherwise, are in this production. I had never seen the movie, so coming in, I had several questions. Who is responsible for putting this together? Why does B&B Theaters have John Williams scores on loop? Why would a movie theater have a board game shelf as extensive as this? Where is Bomont?

What I found was a profound musical tragedy about a young ruffian from out of town seducing the local youth with a philosophy of hedonistic sin while a lone preacher finds himself as the last holdout of morality in this town. The show starts on the antagonist with Footloose, which is more frequent for action movies than comedies and dramas, but works to great effect by showing how a lack of a father figure in his life leads young Ren to corrupt a town. In the number On Any Sunday, we are introduced to our protagonist, Reverend Shaw Moore, and we get a sense as to the respect Shaw has in this community. But we can already see the cracks forming. In The Girl Gets Around, we see what has become of Shaw's daughter, and that their relationship has become strained by her disobedience and bad boyfriend.

And then we see how Ren begins his reign of terror on the town. Like the Joker in The Dark Knight, he corrupts residents of this town to overturn the moral order and eventually draw the town's one crusader standing for morality and order into darkness. In I Can't Stand Still, we see Ren's total disregard for this community's culture and history, as well as his first victim: a simple-minded boy named Willard. In Somebody's Eyes we see Ren continually flaunting the rules and causing trouble as he works his way up to a villainous status. In Learning to Be Silent, we see the darkness in Shaw's own home starting to seep through the cracks. Then we see why Ren is able to corrupt so easily when the girls sing Holding Out for a Hero, which, in addition to being a bop, shows how desperate Ariel is for a change and how this allows Ren's seduction to occur.

We get a look into how this fight for good and morality has taken a toll on Shaw, how close he is to giving up, in Heaven Help Me. Which sets us up for the midpoint of the show. A good midpoint raises the stakes and sets up the turn the conflict takes for the rest of the story; in this case, it's I'm Free, which sees Shaw and Ren go up against eachother on the law against dancing.

Throughout the second act, we see how the rest of the characters corrupt. Ren gets the girls on his side in Let's Make Believe We're In Love, while we see the dark appeal of his hedonism and his final corruption of Willard in Let's Hear it for the Boy. We see this boy's influence tearing the Moore family apart in Can You Find It In Your Heart, while he finishes his seduction of Ariel in Almost Paradise. In the council meeting, it looks as if Shaw may finally succeed, but it is after this that we get a twist similar to the one from Karate Kid: Just as Johnny was merely a victim of Kreese's manipulation, we see how the source of Ren's deep instability is his mother, who encourages him to corrupt Shaw in the finally. By using his late son's memory and daughter's support against him, Ren is finally able to break Shaw and make him give in. Yes, in this story, the Joker wins, and our poor Batman acts like the one from the 60s and gives in to the dancing. The morals of this town corrupted, we get a terrifying rendition of Footloose that shows Ren's triumph and new power over the town, showing that decades of drugs, hedonism, and death will follow.

Footloose was a great show with a great, sympathetic but terrifying villain and a desperately tragic hero. If you can still get tickets, please do. I normally don't pick the protagonist as best performance, but Reese Dickerson was perfectly cast as Shaw Moore, a character more or less opposite to his more villainous role in Anastasia. Good job Reese, you made this show truly fun to watch.

The Lost City and Why I Love Comedies

June 3, 2022

This is gonna be a fun one. I just saw The Lost City for the second time. It's a delightful movie. Someone put a lot of love into making it. And more than that, the story is optimistic. And when everything I see (including a certain Marvel movie I put off seeing for Frannie Minkman, good call) seems so cynical these days, I love an optimistic comedy. Great art inspires emotion, and the emotion I want to feel is joy. And when you have amusement, joy is just one step away. But why is it that comedies are so darn optimistic?

First, comedy doesn't have to by optimistic, but it typically is, and we usually like it more with a sense of optimism. I will get to another point concerning comedies in a minute, but first, let's address why a structural comedy, that is, a comedy that is not just a movie that happens to be funny, but a movie whose very structure is comedic, works: It's a tragedy in reverse.

People often attest to a three-act story structure, but William Shakespeare used a five-act structure for his stories. These formats aren't too different, but the five acts are less familiar, so I'll go with that. The first act introduces the characters and conflict, the second act builds this up, the third act represents a turning point in the story, the fourth act sees evens build up into a fifth act conclusion. In a tragedy, it plays out something like this: the first act sets up the characters and their motivations, the second act sees the protagonist follow through on his motivation and rise to power, the third act sees an event which shakes things up for the protagonist, landing them in trouble, the protagonist falls and becomes increasingly desperate throughout the fourth act, until the protagonist is killed in some sort of fifth-act climax.

As an example, let us take the, er, the Scottish play. I run a theater blog here, so I can't say the name, but any self-respecting theater kid (or someone who's memorized the lyrics to Non-Stop from Hamilton; but alas, I repeat myself) will know the play I reference. The first act, Macbeth is celebrated as a hero, receives a prophecy, and plots to kill the king Duncan, all while every major character is introduced. The second act sees Macbeth's rise to power as he slays Duncan and is made king. In the third act, Macbeth sends assassins to kill Banquo as he grows more bloodthirsty than his wife, marking a serious turning point in the play. Throughout the fourth act, people turn against Macbeth for the showdown in the fifth act, where they rally their forces and Macduff slays Macbeth.

In a comedy, though, the opposite is true: the first act introduces us to our characters and their motivations, the second act has things get progressively worse for them, the third act sees a turning of the tables, the fourth act sees the protagonist's fortunes improve, and the final act sees the protagonist getting a happy ending. Tragedies remind us that the mighty fall, that things may go well for us, but in an instant the tables could turn, and we could fall from grace. It can be beautiful, yes, but then what is a comedy about? Comedies remind us that things can and will go wrong, and life is messy, but things work out in the end more often than not. This is why we like stories about imperfect families like the Mitchells in The Mitchells vs. Machines. This is why we love Romantic Comedies: Even though "perfect", Romeo-Juliet love can fail, so to can imperfect, weird, eccentric, and relatable love succeed. Comedies and tragedies may be two sides of the same coin, but comedy has optimism built in to its very structural history.

It's harder to create a genuinely funny and tightly-written comedy than a dreary artsy drama that doesn't go anywhere. (*Cough* Curse of the Starving Class *cough*). It takes more for that kind of movie to win me over because movies should be engaging to watch, and comedy is the easiest way to do that. And yet, comedy can be combined with drama to create a masterpiece. It's a rare occurrence that someone has the guts to go fo it, and yet, starting with comedy and gradually getting more serious can provide a starker contrast. Only one film I've ever seen has pulled it off: Jojo Rabbit. Just as Batman or Daredevil's heroism and integrity is more remarkable with a darker world around them, so to are the horrors of the second world war and Nazi Germany even more terrifying in contrast with a light-hearted tone. Jojo Rabbit's comedy gave us a reason to care about this world and its characters, so that when they started dying and being put in danger, we cared about them more. And there's that optimism again: Even under an authoritarian dictatorship, there are still things to smile about, there is still hope.

The Lost City is a delightful film with an extremely fun villain, a great plot, two fascinating protagonists, and a bunch of really fun and engaging side characters, with excellent themes and masterful writing and scoring. It has a sense of optimism, that the bad things in life are not the end, that we can move on. This film is about normal people going on a fun adventure and doing good things for each other because they are good. This film presents and uncompromisingly optimistic view of human nature.

This film deserves a sequel. It deserves a franchise. Heck, it has a post-credits scene; make it a cinematic universe. Do it, Paramount. Make a cinematic universe centered around Rom-Com adventure movies. I want it bad. Sorry to do a movie review on a theater blog, but hey, I went on a long tangent about Shakespeare, are you happy? Go see this movie. Make Paramount rich. Start a Change.org petition to get it a sequel. I want to tell Hollywood to stop making dreary, nihilistic dramas that always win the awards and making movie-going a fun and optimistic experience. I love movies, just like I love theater, and books, and television: I'm a story nerd, through and through. So until next time, don't tell the Rock that they made a Jungle movie without him.

The Comic Book Artist Fan Fiction Exists, and It's Weird

May 19, 2022

Since there's no recent plays to talk about, let me just say that the Comic Book Artist fan fiction exists, and it is bonkers. For those unacquainted, The Comic Book Artist was the 2018 Blue Valley Middle School Fall Play, and featured lots of familiar faces. The story follows Stanley Sappovitz (played by Owen Unrien), a janitor and aspiring comic book artist who works for a big comic book publisher, Wunder Comics, specifically for the guy who runs the company, Mr. Wunderman (Jackson Liekhus). I forget who played her, but there was this secretary named Viola who Stanley had an eye for. Anyway, when a new brand of pen brings anything drawn with it to life and Wunder Comics actually bring to life the villainous Dr. Shock Clock (Barak Snir), Stanley must assemble his own team, which included Cannon Simpson's Star Guy and Henry Monahan's Triple Time, as well as Wombat Woman and Blossom, two characters whose actors I don't recall. In the end, Stanley uses the pens' erasers to kill Shock Clock and his minions, the Minutos.

I loved the play, and me being a seventh grader, I got to work on a sequel. And another one. And another one. And then there was the weird crossover... anyway, consider this article your guide to the bizarre world of my Comic Book Artist fan fiction, because apparently this is what I decided to do with my life in seventh grade.

Anyway, let's start with the immediate follow-up. I decided this one would follow up on the previous one. Where Star Guy had been amusingly killed originally, I decided that he would return, while Stanley himself is erased. This work shows the darker side of Star Guy's charisma ray and his inevitable defeat and capture, adding the characters of Tardiguy (a water bear-themed super) and Cactus Girl.

But I couldn't stop the tempting return of Dr. Shock Clock forever, and the villain-packed Comic Book Artist 3 re-introduces him, along with three other villains: Tardiguy's childhood friend, a misunderstood experiment-gone-wrong named Project Vortex; the greedy Greek businessman who first discovered and is trying to replicate the magical ink from those magic pens; and of course, a minuto of Dr. Shock Clock's, the criminal mastermind known as Flame. In the end, Flame kills Shock Clock and steals his powers, Vortex turns good and sacrifices himself to kill Sir Apollo, and Flame is imprisoned. Oh, and Star Guy is redeemed. And the narrators turn out to be spies.

The fourth and final installment sees Flame trick Viola, Star Guy, and Wombat Woman into freeing him with the promise to send the comic book characters back to their home comics, only for Flame to betray them and have to be defeated by Poe Edgar, Stanley's own janitor at his comic book company, and Mr. Wunderman. Flame is sent falling from a lethal height, and there's a happy ending.

Except for rule number 1 of comic books: there are no permanent endings.

Poe Edgar is recruited by a minor detective character from the fourth installment into a secret organization, who later recruits David Sappovitz, Stanley and Viola's son. They then find a still alive Flame and imprison him, only for Flame to manipulate David into freeing him and turn David into the mad supervillain Mercury, which Poe then takes down in the story The Mercury and the Flame. Flame's newfound freedom allows him to wreak havoc on New York, though this story is incomplete due to a hidden ending.

Oh, and Henry Monahan also wrote his own short story called Oh, Stanley that gives a detailed description of David Sappovitz's conception. Go ahead, ask him about it. I'm sure he'll share it with you. :)

So until next time, tick tock, tick tock, stop the clock.

Celebrating Make-Believe Funded by Tax Dollars at the Keaton Awards

May 13, 2022

How do I even begin with the Keaton Awards? Well, let's start with the fact that I gave each best performance winner from my final theater ranking a prize based on the show, except for Hadley Way, who wasn't there and whose prize (a can of beans, comrade) I entrusted to the very kind Mr. Jason Casey to take to her. I sat with my friends, including Isaac Hudson, who was taking photos for the newspaper, and Alyssa Heidemann, whom I consoled with an awkward "there, there, you'll always have Heimler" after the joke about Owen and Henry, although I was not impervious to the shrapnel of those jokes.

All of the awards that were given were deserved. A number of jokes, including the dishwasher joke and many, many others throughout the night had me laughing. The light show was amazing, though I was in the bathroom for some of it. Although I didn't review it, the forensics showcase showed off a few of the performers there, and I saw a few familiar faces. I got a few shout-outs for my blog and promotional material for it. Also, that bird Henry showed off? I'd given it to him for his performance in Brother's Grimm only ten minutes earlier.

I don't want to make it all about me, but I suppose I'm doing so anyway. Before I get personal, let's shout out the seniors, a wonderful director in Yarnell (don't scroll down three articles...), and all of the sophomores and juniors. I think we can expect at least one more Best Performance from Mr. Snir, one from Owen Unrein (I have a suspicion this one will come from a dramatic role), and yes, I know you're reading this, you too, Cy Conaway. Also, when I gave him his crucifix, I expected Joey Compton to be really mean based on all the characters he played, but I was thoroughly surprised.

I don't remember the date, but it was a Friday. I'd just finished playing a hillbilly in a D&D campaign I knew then was dying, and I felt utterly and truly alone. The prospect of returning home and staying there with nothing to keep my mind off of the darkness terrified me. I don't talk about my feelings much, because I like to be an unwavering consistency in my friends' worlds, but that was a rough month. It was then that I realized that, with nothing else to do that night, I'd do what I did the previous night: see Anastasia. So, I took a seat in the front row, left hand side of the theater when facing the stage. And there, I was once again enchanted by that show. All of the best hits lifted my spirits, and afterward I got to see some of the people who mattered to me (and also start my quest to find Frederick Boasson). Dracula inspired me to write the second book in my series over the next few months, a task that got my mind racing about all sorts of things. The improv shows and even FNL 1 helped me alleviate stress during band season. I got to see my friends up on stage, acting their way through a terrible script in Trap. Show after show, seeing people I knew up onstage, taking me to worlds I grew to love to tell stories that inspired me with characters I saw myself in... that's what I love about theater. And I've had trouble feeling important until this blog, the blog that made me realize people actually wanted to hear what I had to say. To all who have helped make these shows possible this year, I owe you a grand debt of gratitude that may never be fully repaid. So yeah, we all need a little more make-believe in our lives, and I can't think of a better use for the tax dollars that fund it.

Spring Choir Show Review More Trevor Lewis!

May 13, 2022

Owen Unrein: I have a proposition.

David Edwards: Yes?

Owen Unrein: Review the choir Spring Show. It's Thursday Night and Saturday Night this week.

David Edwards: If I'm free, I may swing by and review it. I think I am.

Owen Unrein: Awesome.

What did I get myself into?

Let's start with the stuff that was good without Trevor, who was the high point. I'm blanking on the name here, but remember the red-haired kid who sung Stay I Pray You in Anastasia? Yeah, he did really well, sorry on the name (Edit: Owen informs me his name is Kegan McMasters) . Ashton Barlow's wig was a good reveal. Cole Evans looked like he was having a good time despite not having a partner for one song. Sorry, it's hard, because my brain is fully of stuff I want to write about the Keatons after this.

But let's talk Trevor Lewis. It's widely known that Lewis despises free time, doing show choir, band (as a section leader, no less), and cross country (XC for life!). But Lewis gives everything his all. I was talking to some Freshman during intermission (I don't recall who), and one said that he or she asked Trevor what his secret was, to which he replied, "3 AM".

Trevor Lewis, first of all, is a tuba player. Yet he played trombone for this performance. As a trombone player myself, it was evident that this wasn't his primary instrument. Still, he kept up nicely, I finally understand why Henry and Miles keep playing Critical Mass during band. And take it from me: when you're on trombone and have no idea what you're doing, Miles Gelman is one of the best number ones you can have leading you.

Yet it's Lewis's acting that took center stage here (literally). I know Trevor Lewis, a nice, lovable guy. Yet it's almost startling when you saw him in Anastasia try to rape the protagonist while drunk. And in this show, Trevor plays a scandalous, comedic role that works really well. With an impeccable British accent, Trevor adopts a character that is totally different from himself and his character in Anastasia, yet is thoroughly convincing.

My point in all of this is that Trevor Lewis is an incredibly gifted singer and actor who can utterly become any character he plays. Ashton Barlow has one character, that being Ashton Barlow. Ashton Barlow is an entertaining character that can take the role of anything from a teenager trying to make a man out of himself to a delusional grandfather to the horny old woman who tried to seduce me on Wednesday (Tabletop club, am I right?), but at the end of the day, each character was Ashton Barlow. Trevor Lewis is the opposite: he can adapt to any character so well that it's startling how much the actual Trevor vanishes.

Dollins, make Trevor the lead, love interest, villain, and comic relief in your next mainstage musical. I don't care if that's impractical. Also, go see the choir show tomorrow if you didn't see it yesterday.

Who was Bennett Calvert's Character in Anastasia?

May 11, 2022

After seeing Anastasia in November of 2021, I jokingly said that Bennett Calvert's character in Anastasia was my favorite character in the show. Though Calvert was the stage manager, he also played the photographer who took the Romanov's photo. What I respect about that character is that he didn't give two hoots about the Romanovs. He got out of there as fast as he could as soon as he heard the guns going off. But who was this wonderful character?

One possibility is that it is Pierre Gillard. Gillard took later photos of the Romanovs after their capture before they were killed. However, in the pre-Broadway version of the show, the start of the show depicts the Romanovs' capture, and they were actually killed at a later date off-screen. This is more historically accurate, so the photographer would not have been Gillard.

The answer is that the photographer would have probably been Frederick Boasson or Fritz Eggler, who took most of the Romanovs' most famous photos between 1902 and their abdication. Here's what Wikipedia had to say about them:

"In 1902, Swiss photographer Frederick Boasson and his German companion Fritz Eggler bought the studio of the famous court photographer [Alexander] Pasetti in St. Petersburg. Soon they became favorite photographers of the Imperial family and St. Petersburg aristocracy. They were among the first who introduced a new service: taking portrait pictures at clients' homes."

When I spoke to Calvert about this, he decided his character with Swiss. (I think he said he had some Swiss ancestry himself, so this makes sense.) Thus, his character is, to the best of my knowledge, named Frederick Boasson.

Yarnell: Muse or Madman?

May 10, 2022

Well, it's finally happening. the long-awaited profile on Mr. Yarnell. I love the theater program as much as the next guy, and many theater kids have little but admiration and respect for their theater director. And yet... there have been whispers, stories by uneasy theater devotees and disgruntled former members of the program alike of a darker side of Mr. Yarnell. Apparently, he really pushed for an incest plotline between Abraham and Claudia Van Helsing in Dracula? But I wasn't content with faint rumors and whispers. So I interviewed eight people who had interacted with Yarnell in some capacity. Their thoughts are quoted extensively, so to protect their privacy, I have given each a pseudonym. Since this is theater, I've used Romeo and Juliet characters.

There seemed to be one thing everyone wanted me to know about Yarnell. "He's bald," said Romeo, a current member of the theater program for two years. Mercutio, a member of the program for the past two years, also said that "he's bald." Lady Montague, a former member of the program who was only with it for one class and one show and who typed her interview said,  "He bald ig." Finally, the Nurse, a member of the program for the past two years, had more to share: "He’s bald, his middle name’s Earl, and he calls his wife Hottie McApplesauce."

A few of the people I interviewed were overwhelmingly positive. "He's funny sometimes," said the Nurse. There were other positives, too. Lots of other people cited a sense of humor. "He isn’t afraid to give constructive criticism, and I appreciate that," said Juliet, a fourth year member of the program. "I like for people to say what they’re thinking and not beat around the bush." Lady Capulet, a member of the program for two years, said that "He’s very success-driven.... He gives you time to interact with classmates. He gives a lot of time to build the community."

One thing that came up a lot was Yarnell's competence. Juliet said that "He is good at picking a variety of shows." Romeo too said that he's best "when he's under pressure. Four shows in one week, that was fun." Friar Lawrence, a senior with several contacts within the theater program, said that the best part of working with Yarnell is "the quality of the performances" and that he's best when he's "leading shows and people in good times." 

And then there was his pride. Rosaline, a former member of the program for a year and a half, addressed this directly, saying, "He’s very proud of what he does. Whether he did it or not, he’s proud of it." Others were a little harsher "He's a narcissist," Friar Lawrence said. "His plays aren’t as good as he thinks they are," said Juliet. "He's an *sshole," said Lady Capulet.

One phrase came up a lot in my interviews. "Sometimes he can be a little passive-aggressive," said Mercutio. "He’s very passive-aggressive," Romeo said. "He’s very passive-aggressive," said Rosaline.  "He can also be insensitive and passive-aggressive, in an 'I don’t know any better,' when he definitely should know better [sort of way]," Lady Montague said, "...like when he gives an 'I'm not mad, I’m just disappointed' speech that is incredibly passive-aggressive and makes everybody so uncomfortable."

His rants, too, were a frequent subject in these interviews. Lady Capulet said, "He’s very insensitive. Very rambly; he’ll sometimes just ramble for forty minutes." Lady Montague said, "He over-explains himself and is very rambly, meaning that a lot of time is not used wisely, which in turn makes him frustrated with everyone."

There are a lot more topics covered in interviews, but favoritism was one of the most prevalent. "he doesn’t like crew that much," Romeo said. He also said that "Mr. Yarnell is at his worst when he holds a grudge against you." Lady Montague said something similar: "He is very eccentric (very much a theater kid), and he heavily favors a certain type of people (the same eccentric theater kid)." So did Rosaline, who said, "I feel like he is very biased. He definitely has his favorite people that he gives the most attention to, and you can see that day to day."

There's one incident of particular concern that the seniors I interviewed told me about. "When sexual harassment occurs, he is more talk than act," said Juliet. She later elaborated: "When another student was caught sexually harassing women and he didn’t live up to the talk, like he’s always saying ‘I protect women’, ‘I protect the girls’, and when an incident occured, nothing permanent happened. Just talk occured with the student." Friar Lawrence gave more detail about the incident: "So far I am aware of several people watching the girls change with no consequences or handling by Yarnell."

So what's my conclusion after all of these interviews? Hard to say. There's certainly stuff of concern, but clearly Yarnell is respected and trusted by many students in theater. Is Yarnell a muse, or is he a madman? I think Juliet said it best: "No one’s perfect, and I’ve just spent more time with him, so I just can see both the benefits and the negative side."

BVHS 2021 - 2022 Final Theater Ranking

May 8, 2022

The Blue Valley High School drama program has had a fantastic year. This blog started as a measly note on my iphone where I ranked all of the non-improv productions, so it's fitting that I do an end-of-the-year ranking. The reason that I don't rank improv shows is that they tend to meld together in my mind, and they often do very similar games. Anyway, for each of these, I will be giving a brief review and choosing a Best Performance for each show except for the Friday Night Lives. But before I begin, an honorable mention to Ashton Barlow. You came very close to getting Best Performance in several shows. Sorry.

10. Friday Night Live #1

The first Friday Night Live was not entertaining. Weeknight Update was funny, as was Soccer Tantrum. Balloon Heads, Like Them or Nah?, and Zombie Away were fun. The rest were just kind of boring. I don't have a lot to say about this, except that there's a reason writers like myself usually aren't actors and actors aren't usually writers.

9. Curse of The Starving Class

It's no secret that I prefer comedies to dramas. Serious dramas are often harder than tightly written comedies. My second-best show on the list knows this about my second-worst. There are a few different problems I have with Curse. Let's start with the good: the actors were top-notch, and in the bit taken out for a drama showcase during Tiger Time, Ashton Barlow reminded me of this. (Again, sorry man, this is probably the closest you've gotten to Best Performance.) Anyway, the problem with this show, among other things, is that it doesn't so much end as it just stops with a less interesting retelling of the Scorpion and the Turtle. It's boring in places, and the Asylum aesthetic was interesting but ultimately didn't go anywhere. I will lend the play one thing, though I'm not sure it was intentional: the Asylum setting gave a feeling of entrapment that lends itself to the theme of entrapment from poverty central to the play.

Perhaps its that there was so much build-up to his introduction, but Cannon Simpson's portrayal of Weston has earned him the first Best Performance of the article. He was very well suited to the brooding and angry but well-meaning father who's trying to hold together a crumbling family. Good job, Cannon.

8. Godspell Jr.

I grew up watching The Brady Bunch. And this was still the most 70s thing I've ever seen. Godspell Jr. was fun and enjoyable, perfectly adequate for what it set out to do. I'd prefer not to watch it again, but it was good to watch the first time. Jason Casey as Jesus probably gave his weakest performance out of the four major characters he's played. He's another actor who kept almost getting Best Performance. The show doesn't really have a plot, and I'm not really sure who the show is for. It's a Christian show, but most Christians probably know most of the stories told. (I myself learned many of these at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, also known as Spaceship Church.)

Anyway, best performance. There were really only two options here, and I love a good villain, so I give Best Performance for this show to Barak Snir, an immensely talented junior who can play nearly any character and make it feel like it was the role he was born to play.

7. Trap

I first heard about Trap during math class with two actors in the play. The mystery around the play built up an excellent hype which... wasn't worth it. The performance was good, but inherently flawed. As the show went on, the reveals surrounding "pharonics" and the mystery got slightly cartoonish, and the breaking of the fourth wall, intended to immerse the audience in the fear, only served as a comedic moment. Sammy, thank you for not breaking character when this occurred. One of the good things I can say about the show is that I was genuinely tempted to leave a couple times throughout, which would be a bad thing in any other show. The jump scare at the end was fun but didn't make much sense given the plot up to this point, especially with Yarnell being thoroughly unconvincing when he talked about the tech issues and messing up his line.

The one genuinely terrifying moment came from a monologue near the beginning that arguably single-handedly propelled this show above Godspell. That monologue was given by Jackson Liekhus, playing the role of Detective Heche, and it conveyed the fear of being watched masterfully before an expected but still startling yell. It is for that reason that Mr. Liekhus wins Best Performance for this show.

6. Friday Night Live #2

I think that the best way to explain the superiority of the second FNL to the first is to look at two sketches: Zodiac Dinner Date and (Mic) Check Please. Zodiac Dinner Date was a weird sketch from the first FNL where the only thing remembered about it is the incident where the glass broke, leading to the necessity of cleaning up the mess. The skit itself was confusing and not in the least bit funny. However, (Mic) Check Please parodied the original, having more things go wrong in a hilarious way, starting with the glass breaking. The real fun part, however, was that the dinner date beneath the accidents was actually more funny and entertaining than the original Zodiac Dinner Date. Still, there were some less successful bits in the show. I actually think the alien sketch is a little underrated. And because the musical guest played the trombone/baritone audition music for that year, I was able to spot every mistake he made. Sorry, Owen.

5. Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon

The second Sophomore production of the year was thankfully better than Trap, and the first show on the list I actively wish I could see again. Trap was entertaining in places, but Brothers Grimm was great. Part of it was its comedic elements. This show was made for fewer actors, but it still worked. Bennett Calvert is as great as ever. Owen Unrein and Sara Schumacher were a great team of narrators. This show sees Ella Hibbard's first major onstage role, and she performs marvelously. One of the knocks I'll put against the show is a lack of theme and a disjointed plot. Cross-dressing as a gag loses its charm throughout the show; every time they used it, it got less funny, until it just got tired. The references to previous shows don't quite have the success they did in Love of Three Oranges.

Best performance? Henry Monahan as Actor, where he goes for the Survivor bit. This is his first significant role outside of improv, and he makes it work. Good job, Henry.

4. Dracula

Just when I thought this program could only do comedies, Dracula proves that fear on the stage is not dead at Blue Valley. This show has a great but relatively small cast and a fantastic script. Those areas where the fourth wall is broken, like with Dracula's brides, there is an element of fear. This show gave me a new understanding and fear of vampires. Each actor plays his or her character well, and Salem Ponnuru does Renfield to perfection.

Now let's talk about the Van Helsings. This show gave Van Helsing a sister. This created a somewhat awkward occurrence: Mina, a former lover of Abraham Van Helsing, seemed to have some feelings toward his sister, Claudia. This would have been patched had either actor assumed the full weight of the Van Helsing role, male or female, but for now, it makes it seem that Mina jumps from guy to guy to girl to guy throughout the show. Between Abraham, Jonathan, Claudia, and Dracula, she bounces around so much that it takes Spider Man's Mary Jane two movies just to catch up! Apparently, Yarnell tried (unsuccessfully) to keep romantic interests exclusive to the male Van Helsing, and he also really pushed for an incest plotline between Claudia and Abraham. This raises many questions.

Anyway, tangent aside, let's choose a best actor. You already know who it is: Joey Compton's Count Dracula. What else is there to say?

3. Anastasia

When it was December, this was the best we got. Beautiful music and an intriguing plot. Great singing voices, and in the pit a band! In a Crowd of Thousands ends in tears, and the whole dang show ends in cheers. Hail to a great musical! Blue Valley High is booming, a program on the rise. This show is very fun and very hard to despise. This show's among the best of musicals and plays! Thank goodness for the theater, the actors, the crew folk, thank goodness for the theater that gets us through the day! Have you heard? There's a musical at BVH. Have you heard? I ranked it number three!

Which actor's career will survive? To whom should others always strive? The Russian Countess Lily! Played by Hadley Way.

Alright, enough with the song parody. Way has this pained smile on her face throughout her performance that makes Countess Lily a tragic but funny character. She may have a minor role, but she steals the show every time she's onstage, making The Countess and the Common Man a delight to watch as the two funniest characters in the whole show have a song together. I heard Way got nominated for something important, and I hope she wins, because the first actress on our list to give us a best performance truly has a bright future ahead of her.

2. The Love of Three Oranges

Blue Valley High School's take on this satirical opera was so delightful that I put it at the top of my rankings immediately. An argument for the place of broad appeal stories in our society, The Love of Three Oranges is amazing. The additional skits laced throughout only add to the appeal of a show with a solid theme and a plot that's just nonsensical enough to be hilarious. Joey Compton's prince worked well in the first act when he's a hypochondriac, but is less effective when he has to be the hero of the story. Julia Denny's Tchelio is great, though she doesn't play off of Fata Morgana (bum bum bum blat) as well as the narrators from Brothers Grimm. If I listed every fabulous performance in this show, this section would be way too long.

But I still need to pick a best performance, and that goes to Barak Snir's King of Clubs. Snir is the only actor on this list to receive two Best Performances, and he's earned it. Somehow, both the supportive father (which we need more of in fiction) and the traitorous disciple both feel like the role he was born to play, as do Count Leopold and his other roles. You can be sure, hero or villain, that if Barak Snir is on stage, you're going to have a good time.

1. Frannie Minkman's Exquisite Bat Mitzvah

Okay, yeah, I'm a writer, not an actor, but this interactive event, which by all accounts should have been a flop, ended up being one of the best nights of my life. Ashton Barlow continues the tradition of almost winning best performance, again, and Joey Compton's doctor was hilarious. The other characters were really good, too. It's weird saying all of this with my review of the play an inch down the screen from this article, but there we go.

Another actress for best performance this time, senior Katherine Schlagel's Nancy. She certainly knew how to steal the show in a hilarious way. Good job, Schlagel, and best of luck in your future endeavors.

Man, what a year. All that's left now is the Keaton Awards, which I will be reviewing but won't be ranking for the same reason you can't nominate the Oscars for the Golden Globe. (Yes, I consider this article the Golden Globe to the Keaton Award's Oscars, in that it comes out earlier in the year and nobody pays it much mind.) Anyway, other than that, I'm working on a profile of Mr. Yarnell, and... that'll be the year, at least until the fall musical comes out. Thank you all for your readership, and until next time, remember the following:

1. The food is not poisoned.

2. Always root for the Prince with a fruit fetish.

3. Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Give a man two cans of beans, and he'll give you a music box.

4. Never vacation in Romania.

5. You only get one first born, so pick the evil entity you sell her to wisely.

6. When Molly McNally starts sending emails, abandon ship.

7. It's not a secret if you tell me.

8. Just think what modern Samaritans have to live up to these days.

9. Eat your vegetables, or, er, newspaper.

10. Given his location, it's probable that Santa Claus does have a Russian accent.

Franie Minkman's Exquisite Bat Mitzvah... Review?

May 6, 2022

How do I even begin with the last show of the year? Okay, here's the deal. I don't rank improv shows, but this isn't exactly an improv show. It's a full-on production with a heavy improv focus, and it was effortlessly fun. How about I just talk about my experiences.

I was told earlier in the the day that if I got a green name tag, I'd be a bigger part of the interactive element of the show. So I showed up early to get that. Assuming that I'd be waiting for the show to start, I brought my book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I didn't get a green name tag. I managed to snag a yellow one, though. Name Sawyer Behrman, age 15, occupation student. I decided that if I was bringing a book to such an event, I'd be antisocial. I also decided it'd be fun to play a Mormon kid at a bat mitzvah in the late 70s because... why not. So the book was the bible. Things were going well. Sawyer would approach someone awkwardly, ask who they were bluntly, be kind of rude, and walk away stiffly. Then my parents go involved.

Ella Hibbard and Hayden Hughes played my parents, or so I thought, identifying myself as their child when I saw they bore the same last name as me. Then I realized that Ella's character was 24; 9 years older than mine. So I'm adopted, and my birth parents died in a lawn mower accident. And our family is incredibly dysfunctional. It was a fun time. I got to rope Trevor Lewis in. He played a plumber who I decided I knew because my mother always invited him over to "fix the toilet" when my dad was out of town. I told this to Ella and Hayden (in character) and dragged them over to say hi to "Mr. Parks".

I won't talk about my character for too long, but several of the interactions were fun. I was given the detail of being very competitive and competing in all of the games; I took this to heart. Other people had very interesting characters, too. Owen and Henry's Big and Little Mikey were fun for Sawyer to antagonize. I got to claim an optometrist worked for the Devil. And then there were Isaac and Harrison, whose characters were trying to convince everyone that they were just "roommates". I only learned about this afterward; it's a good thing they never tried this bit on the Mormon kid...

Anyway, this morning, Mr. Yarnell expressed hopes Franie Minkman would crack the top 5 on my theater ranking. Barak Snir, on the other hand, referenced an unsuccessful interactive performance the year before, stating that it wasn't a good way to end the year. I had low expectations, but that format was really something special. Maybe it's my Nathan Barnatt-level devotion to staying in character, but I had a great time. And while I was forced to endure Friday Night Live #1, bored throughout Curse of the Starving Class, mildly interested in the seventies-style musical of Godspell Jr., Bewildered by Trap, thoroughly entertained by Friday Night Live #2, greatly amused by Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, given a new appreciation of how terrifying vampires (and Joey Compton) can be by Dracula, amazed by the beauty of Anastasia, and driven to fits of amazing laughter in Love of Three Oranges. But Franie Minkman was, in a word, exquisite. It sails to the top of the ranking.

I have very high hopes for the theater program in future, though I appreciate the heavy focus on seniors in this particular show. Speaking of seniors, while Sawyer avoided her most of the night, Catherine's performance as Nancy wins it for this show. Good job, Catherine. Ella and Hayden, I'm sorry for being a terrible son. Good job on everyone who went. Before the year's out, I'll be going to and putting in my two cents about the Keaton Awards, doing a final end-of-the-year retrospective going into detail about my rankings of each of the ten non-improv shows performed this year, and doing a profile on Mr. Yarnell. Until then, never bring waffles to a bat mitzvah.

2021 - 2022 Improv Retrospective

May 5, 2022

Last night, Fifth Wall saw the final improv show of the year. There have been quite a few improv shows over the past year, all but one of which were Fifth Wall shows. (Well, two if you include the 1st Wall performance during the first night of Love of Three Oranges.) These shows have been full of comedy, fun, and reasonably-priced admission.

Let's get this out of the way. The improv shows got better and better over the school year. Each was funnier than the last. It's no secret that I like comedies better than dramas (part of, though not the whole reason why dramas like Curse of the Starving Class and Friday Night Live #1 are ranked lower than comedies like Love of Three Oranges and Trap). Comedies feel more interactive, too. It'd be interesting to see the theater program brave the realm of interactive horror in the future, though this can run the risk of comedy. (Again, Trap.)

There are several fun games in improv shows. Pan Right, Pan Left is a fun one. Survivor is also very entertaining. (Sorry for Red and January, Sammy.) Games where a person has to guess something they should know, like the one where a guy is late for work or the (as far as I know) new one where a news reporter has to guess their location are hilarious. Ones where people tag out others for similar positions but different stories aren't my favorite, because of the constant changing of the plot. I think the simple rewind and fast-forward games are better when a new decision can also be forced onto the participants. Beasty Rap is fun, too, and though it's not one of my favorites, it's nice and entertaining. I recommend it as a second game; not a first impression, but a good warm-up game that foreshadows things to come. It'd also be nice to see Oscar Moment and Director's cut combined into a single game; that'd be hilarious.

I love improv, but there is one game I'd prefer to go away. The game where participants have to omit one letter from their sketches is probably my least favorite of all the games played. The problem with it is simple: improv is about going for it, and this game encourages hesitance. It's fun watching people squirted with water, but the rest of the game isn't as fun to watch. There are a couple of ways you could fix this game. Saying you have to omit a common word, like "I", "a", "the", "and", or "you" might be a good alternative, but it's not a very good constraint in my book. Another possibility is a heckler game where the host can squirt someone for a decision they dislike, forcing them to leave, but that's subjective. I'd like to see some sort of rework of the game, or else its complete replacement with another game.

Finally, let's talk about the decision to make Grant "Pan Center" the new junior improv leader guy. Was this a good choice? Yeah, it was. The only person who I might have considered besides this is Henry, but no other sophomore really has Grant's stage presence. They made the right choice, and I'm grateful for it. I can't wait to see what Grant and Cannon do with the program next year, and I have high hopes for the future of the Blue Valley High School theater program. So until next time, never take a diamond sword to a lightsaber fight.

Love of Three Oranges Vs. Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon: Which is the Better Parody?

May 4, 2022

Fairy Tale parodies are a staple of modern fiction. Monty Python is famous for adapting classic mythology and legend into wacky comedy. When Disney rose to fame (and wealth) for adapting fairy tales onto the screen, Dreamworks created the Shrek franchise that parodied the tropes and ideas of a Disney movie. The musical Into the Woods created a similar story, creating a ridiculous and interlocking fairy tale universe that was quite entertaining. Finally, even Disney itself had gone into the realm of parody, subverting its own tropes in movies like Frozen, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and its own adaptation of Into the Woods. Now, our very own Blue Valley High School has come out with not one but two shows in the same realm of fairy tale parody: The Love of Three Oranges and Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon.

Let's get this out of the way: this is not a comparison of which is the better show. There is little debate as to that being Love of Three Oranges. This is a question as to which show performs the role of parody better, as presented by Blue Valley High School.

First, let's look at the shows' relationships to what they are parodying. With Love of Three Oranges, we see an affectionate parody of classic stories of good and evil. Though it has a fairy tale feeling, the play is more a parody of fantasy stories. Meanwhile, Brothers Grimm is a clear parody of Brothers Grimm stories, with snide comments toward their adaptations by "the Mouse". Oranges has an advantage here in the theme department, but for now, the more specific parody Brothers Grimm is going for gets it the point.

Next we need comedy. While Love of Three Oranges has many fantastic jokes (including the chef with the massive breasts), Brothers Grimm has more jokes that reference the thing it's parodying. As a parody, Grimm gets the point.

In our next category, we have characters. Despite the facts that Grimm follows the same characters throughout their lives to the beginning of time, and has fantastically amusing acting, I found myself more invested in the characters of Oranges. Point Oranges.

In the theme department, Brothers Grimm lacks a noticeable theme. On the other hand, Oranges's theme is revealed in a villain scene where they talk about how people enjoy good vs. evil, mass appeal comedy more than deep, artsy, "good-for-us" dramas. It depicts the virtues of popular entertainment and makes it case well, while also showing more affection for that which it parodies than Brother's Grimm. Point Oranges!

Now for setting. This is hard. Brothers Grimm gives its actors different accents and the story different tones depending on the fairy tale's land of origin. That said, the fantasy world of Oranges, while not fully fleshed out, is wildly entertaining with its supernatural elements and strangely ineffective pantheon of gods and demons. Point Oranges.

Next let's look at an element both had: a narrator, the storyteller key to these sorts of tales. In the aforementioned Into the Woods, the narrator plays a comedic role late in the story by being a sacrifice to the giant. Julia Denny plays the narrator role well, but there's a bit of confusion onto her role as narrator vs her role in the story, and she doesn't play as well off of Fata Morgana (bum bum bum blat) as Sara's narrator in Brothers Grimm does with Owens. Despite Julia's spiffing jacket, point Grimm!

Finally, let's tackle plot. Similar to parody plays like Potted Potter, Brothers Grimm changes the format of the sketch with every performance. Like its similar predecessor at the school, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, the show redoes the entire performance at the end. However, unlike that show, because it did the whole play backward in the first place, the "redevelopment" at the end had plot necessity, making it paradoxically less funny. The plot itself is disjointed in places, and different actors playing the same part broke the mega-play concept. It does follow the plot of the work its parodying, but this can be its detriment in places, because it seems to refuse to do anything strong and unique with the story structure of the individual stories, and its attempt to make up for this in the largely play doesn't solve the problem.

Meanwhile, Love of Three Oranges sees a plotline in the form of one curse immediately followed by yet another curse by the same witch on the same character who enlists the same jester to help him solve it. It does make an excellent point on why these witches never put on another curse when the first one is broken. The show even acknowledges that its secondary villains who hope to claim the throne aren't really a part of the second act until the end. Overall, the first and second halves of the story feel fairly disconnected, especially when the curse of the three oranges comes in as yet another plotline even later on. Both plots were something of a disjointed mess, but at least the disjointed plotlines of Oranges were united by a common team of villains who are charismatic and interesting, leading to a more satisfying resolution regardless of whether the heroes or villains win in the end. Point Oranges.

And with that, the better play is remembered as the better parody. I love both of these shows and if I could see them again, I would in a heartbeat. That said, I think that if they were both scheduled for the same night, I might have to go Oranges, because it's a better parody and a better play. At least, the BVHS performance was. The original script, at least from what I've heard, is weak but leaves enough empty space to add skits. The BVHS team really shines in what they add to Oranges, and while it doesn't improve the parody angle all that much, it certainly makes the play better. As I said to Owen after Brothers Grimm, the sophomores were constrained by a good script that kept them from improving upon it. That said, Henry's Survivor routine, scripted or otherwise, was hilarious. As usual, I have high hopes for the theater program going forward.