This article first appeared in the St. Louis Bearcon, Oct. 24, 2012 - Pattonville High School set the stage with an incredible rendition of “You Can’t Take it With You,” filled with inspiring dialogue and plenty of laughter.
From fireworks and xylophones to snakes, this show depicts a family that is all but average. Written by George Kaufman and Moss Hart, the comedy debuted in 1936 and went on to win the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The story is based on the dysfunctional, yet content Sycamore family. When their down-to-earth daughter Alice falls in love with Tony, who comes from a very upright and proper family, she feels their relationship will never work out because of the drastic differences in their family’s lifestyles. Packed with interesting characters, this comedy has many twists that left the audience teeming with excitement.
The show was led strongly with Grandpa Vanderhof (Jacob Painter) anchoring the family’s wildness. Painter delivered funny one-liners with emphasis and portrayed the family’s caring and respectful head with finesse. Similarly, Alice Sycamore (Kaitlin Grant) was a voice of reason in the household and clearly expressed her love for both her family and fiancée Tony. Also noteworthy is Anna Pirrie, who balanced Penny Sycamore’s spontaneous and effervescent personality with maintaining her character’s role as a nurturing mother figure. Pirrie fully committed to her comical character through her light-hearted mannerisms and inflections. However, some of the relationships between characters were not as defined as they could have been and left the audience confused.
At times, the energy onstage was low because of dragging dialogue, but that progressed with refreshing and hysterical performances by the deranged Russian ballet teacher Mr. Kholenkhov (Dalton McQuay), and the tipsy actress Gay Wellington (Megan Willingham). McQuay’s consistent and realistic Russian accent furthered his hilarious antics. Meanwhile, Willingham’s unexpected personality and behavior brought vitality to the stage. Also notable is Mr. DePinna (Devin Harris) whose impressive comedic relief was characterized by well-timed actions and facial expressions.
The technical elements truly made the play stand out — especially the intricate set. It was amazingly well designed to deal with the challenges of a wide stage. The realistic living areas were well spread out so each character would have their own space, yet made the large distances seem natural. However, when the actors went to the corners of the stage, they were left unlighted and it was hard to see. Nonetheless, the lighting changes between scenes did help to distinguish between what times of day the scene took place. The costume and hair design by Cassie Chandler made the stage come alive with authenticity and resulted in the political and social environment of the mid 30s all the more evident.
Overall, Pattonville delivered a hilarious and moving production of “You Can’t Take it With You” and delighted audiences with the unexpected at every turn.
Bianca McKenna is a student at Parkway Central High. The Cappies program works with students to cover high school theatrical productions.