Audiences will be on the edge of their seats as they watch the twists and turns unfold in Brown County High School’s production of the comedic thriller “Deathtrap,” opening Nov. 1.
“We wanted something that would make the audience jump every once in a while. We wanted them to enjoy the story because it does actually have some comedic overtones,” said Laurie Godfrey, head of the high school’s theater department.
The play was written in 1978 by Ira Levin, a playwright and novelist who also wrote “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Stepford Wives.”
It holds the record for the longest running comedy-thriller on Broadway. It was also made into a movie starring Christopher Reeve and Michael Caine in 1982.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Now, it’s the high school’s turn to take on the dark play just a day after Halloween.
The story follows an older playwright, played by sophomore Landyn Dugan, who was once successful, but now makes a living hosting seminars for would-be playwrights. He then “cooks up an idea” on how to get his hands on more money, involving a younger playwright portrayed by junior Josiah Drew who attended one of his seminars, Godfrey said.
Then, the twists and turns begin.
The “Deathtrap” cast is the smallest Godfrey has directed at the high school, with only five roles.
“I really intended to do a show with more characters, but I read 47 plays to choose this one. I really struggled finding anything that was well written and not obscene,” Godfrey said.
“It’s been a little crazy, because when you have five people in a play, the brunt of the work really hangs on three people hugely. … They worked really hard and I’ll know they’ll get where they need to be. We’re not quite there yet, but by the time we open, we’ll have a show.”
Godfrey said she hopes to see more boys try out for the department’s musical production of “Footloose” in the spring.
“I didn’t have enough to even understudy my men (in this play). … It’s been a struggle with that, although I’m happy with my cast. I’m very happy with my cast, even my understudies. Everything has been very focused. They’ve done a great job. It’s had its good points and its trade-offs,” she said.
The students also will perform a section of this play during the regional theater competition in December.
This is Dugan’s first lead role. He was a member of the chorus in “The Addams Family” last spring. He also worked in tech for “Another Part of the Forest” last fall.
“He is a middle-aged playwright who is very devious and very smart. He knows how to go about what he’s doing,” Dugan said of his character, Sidney Bruhl.
Dugan realized he liked acting after he took Godfrey’s acting class last year.
He was not expecting to land the lead role in this play. “It was more or less just pure shock,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. I love it. It can definitely be stressful sometimes, but it’s worth it.”
This is Drew’s sixth year participating in the theater department as either a techie or playing a part, but this is his first leading role.
“I would say Clifford is very charismatic. He’s kind of the good boy, the good neighbor that lives next door, but he also has a bit of a dark side,” Drew said of his character, Clifford Anderson.
Drew said he was excited when he found out he landed a lead. “I fell in love with the character at auditions. I thought this was the perfect character for me to play,” he said.
“It’s going to be so exciting. Reading the script and acting this all out, it’s the most engaging and fun play we’ve ever done. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s just going to be so spooky right around that Halloween time.”
He said that working with a small cast enables everyone to develop closer bonds than with a larger cast, where students may group with others in similar roles.
“I’ve come closer to these people than I ever have in any other play that I’ve done, so it’s been really beautiful,” Drew said.
Senior Julita Cridlin plays Bruhl’s “bubbly, very supportive wife,” Myra Bruhl.
“I just want the best for my husband. That’s pretty much the overall rundown of who I am,” Cridlin said.
Cridlin played Puck in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” her sophomore year and took a break her junior year from theater due to a busy schedule. She also worked in tech for the production of “Stalag 17” her freshman year.
“I really missed it. I was like, ‘Well, if I don’t try this year, I’m going to regret it if I don’t,’” she said.
Foreign exchange student Sara Osmanova had been in the United States for only two hours when her host mom, Robyn Lawlor, took her to the high school for auditions. Osmanova is from Azerbaijan, which is between Russia and Iran. She had been on a 15-hour flight right before auditions.
She is studying here as part of the Program of Academic Exchange, or PAX, program.
She is no stranger to the stage, though. Her dad and sister are professional actors and her mom is a stage manager.
“I grew up in theater. This is like Russian Drama Theater, so I speak fluently Russian. I speak Russian better than my native language. … I don’t have a fear of stage, but I still have a lot to learn,” she said.
Osmanova said she was “really happy” when she found out she landed the part of psychic Helga Ten Dorp. “She’s very interesting. She’s a psychic. She’s not lying; she really knows what is going on. People are afraid of her. What they are doing, they are trying to hide it. They are afraid of me because I can say everything to everyone.”
Osmanova said Godfrey is not only her director, but a source of support for her.
When people ask her what she likes about the U.S., what Osmanova will tell them is, “The people.”
“From the very first day, she was supporting me. She was like, ‘If you have any problems, you’re an exchange student in a completely new society, if you need help, I’m always here for you,” she said.
“Once, I had a problem with people and I came to her. She listened to me. She helped me. She gave me advice. I like her as a person and a director.”
Osmanova said she enjoys all of the focus on art opportunities offered at the high school.
“I think in my school, we’re more serious with science and serious stuff. That’s why I still cannot decide what I really want to do with life, because I was like, ‘I want to do theater.’ They’re like … I should do science. I should study psychology. Here, for example, I go to photography class and I love it,” she said. “… We have an amazing teacher who gives a lot of advice. … It’s (art education) on a serious level.”
Senior Eli deWeerdt plays attorney Porter Milgrim in “Deathtrap.”
“I am basically just this boring lawyer. I have this pretty interesting scene at the very end. It was kind of weird for me at first,” deWeerdt said without revealing plot spoilers.
“I really am doing it just because it’s a fun thing. … At the beginning of my junior year I first auditioned for the play. I got a role. … One person dropped out of a role, so I had to step up and learn a new role that was much larger in about two weeks. I have one year experience on the stage.”
DeWeerdt wants to become a music educator and has performed with the high school band for the musicals “Hello, Dolly” and “Annie.”
He said people should come out to see the show because it’s a “really fun time.”
“Whenever we’re performing, it’s a great thing to see people who are out from the community just support us. It’s really important for anybody who is performing,” he said
“While it is kind of nervewracking to have a bunch of people watching, you’re really glad whenever you have that many people, because you can really just show them what you’ve been working really hard on.”
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What: Brown County High School theater production of “Deathtrap”
When: Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 1 to 3 at 7 p.m.; Sundays, Nov. 4 and 11 at 2 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, Nov. 9 and 10 at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $5 for students, $7 for adults at the door. Kids 3 and under are admitted free.
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Sidney Bruhl: Landyn Dugan
Myra Bruhl: Julita Cridlin
Understudy: Emma McClintock
Clifford Anderson: Josiah Drew
Helga Ten Dorp: Sara Osmanova
Understudy: Caly Rice
Porter Milgrim: Eli deWeerdt
Understudy: Trista Fields
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