The Maine West High School Drama Department is excited to kick off their season with a bombastic comedy this fall. “Drop Dead!” by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore will premiere on October 13th and also be staged on October 14th, and 15th at 7:00 pm. Tickets may be purchased by visiting mainewesttheatre.seatyourself.
Equal parts murder mystery and farce, Drop Dead! follows a cast of not-so-great actors who want to revive their careers by mounting a new work. However, tensions boil over the night before opening when the show seems destined for failure. Stressed and resentful, some in the company begin turning to murder, themselves, all while attempting to forge ahead with opening night. Drop Dead! is a nonstop physical comedy that takes the idea of “the show must go on” to a deadly new level.
Both cast and crew have spent several weeks building complex characters and sets alike! Student Director Bridget Mcateer says “Drop Dead! is full of dark-humor and is perfect for people who have never been to a show before. Especially since this show is so interactive!” The style of this production is unique. Like other black box productions, the audience will be seated close to the cast performing on stage. Several actors will also be seated within the audience, bringing an interactive atmosphere to the show. Director David Harmon explains that with “the audience up on stage, they are immersed in the action, experiencing everything firsthand!”
The foundation of the show is its humor. “Drop Dead! is a very fun show to be a part of because it has the right amount of humor and just pure chaos,” junior Ben Pluta stated. Senior Abby Wilson says “The cast literally keeps having to stop because we are all laughing too much.” “It also always keeps you guessing on just what’s going to happen next!” Senior Lilly Orrico says “Getting to play an old lady is both challenging and hilarious to do. I’m super excited to see how the show comes together!”
Part of the humor is all the props used in the show. In addition to breaking glass bottles over some character’s heads, there are also a series of fake weapons to maneuver. Junior Daniel Meckes from Tech Crew explains how much work went into the dropping of a sandbag, “We first had to remove the sand from the sandbag and replace it with foam. We also ran into a few other difficulties but when we were able to get it perfected the drop was seamless. I immediately knew the audience was going to love it.” Why is a sandbag falling, you might ask? Come see the show to find out!
While most of the show’s content is appropriate for younger audiences, the themes and situations presented are best suited for audiences 12 and older. Director David Harmon concludes, “This is a perfect show to kick off our season! For those who are familiar, imagine if you combined Noises Off! and Clue, that is the level of mayhem, suspense and hilarity of Drop Dead! This dark comedy will have audiences howling with laughter. The characters are larger-than-life, the fight choreography is on-point, and the killer-in-disguise remains a surprise until the end!”