The birds truly have flown south for the winter as Jesuit Theater finished their fall production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest this past weekend. Overall, over 800 people attended the productions throughout the four nights the show premiered.
The play is based off the novel written by Ken Kesey which also became a film in 1975. The play, which is two acts long, is considerably shorter than the book or movie because it was only meant to last about an hour to an hour and a half. The story is about an overbearing and controlling female nurse named Ms. Ratched and a rebellious patient named McMurphy. With the help of his new best friends in the ward, McMurphy cracks down on the crone. According to the two ladies who starred as Nurse Ratched, Adrian Collins ´14 and Gabi Stewart ´13, the nurse is “cold, harsh, manipulative, and heartless.”
It takes lots of hard work and time to conduct such a theatrical feat. Two great men dedicate their time to manage Jesuit Theater. Mr. David Myers and Mr. Joe Howard ‘04, director and assistant director respectively, helped direct the fabulous play. Not only did they invest many hours into its creation, but students from both Ursuline and Jesuit devoted many hours in rehearsals into what became two outstanding productions.
About 60 students auditioned for the parts, but only 33 students in total were awarded roles in the play. At most, there were only 13 students on stage at one time; therefore, Myers decided it would be best to have to separate casts performing on their own nights. Mr. Myers explained that “having two casts has a lot of benefits: there’s more opportunity for actors on campus; actors get to be in dialogue with each other about the part; and if an actor gets sick, the show can still go on.”
One cast, “Cast Nest” premiered November 9th and 17th whereas the other cast, “Cast Cuckoo” performed the 10th and 16th. No matter which night it was, all four performances had full houses. Not only did the actors’ friends and families attend the shows, but the “Jesuit faculty and staff ordered 128 tickets for themselves and their families. That’s a record for us, and I think it indicates a high level of support for arts on campus,” commented Mr. Myers.
The scenery was magnificent. The story takes place in Seattle, Washington in the 1970s, in a State Mental Hospital Day Room. Mr. Myers’ fall Stagecraft students built the stage as one of their projects. Throughout its construction, each student was required to build at least one object that would contribute to the set. Beautifully crafted walls gleamed in the lighting behind the actors as their voices projected into the audience sitting in the Lecture Hall.
“The crew behind the scenes was another integral part of such a successful production,” said Howard. “From the construction of the set to the props to the lighting and sound, all of the technical aspects were perfect.” In addition, the light fixtures and cues were created by the talented Mr. Myers and Andrew Lanham ‘13. In addition, Rose Mannas ´14 from Ursuline produced the show and managed sound cues.
After a brilliant set of performances to set the ball rolling, Jesuit sure expects great things to come from Jesuit Theater!
