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Players Overcome obstacles during performance of “Guys and Dolls”

Mel Mignucci
Video Editor

Staples’ Players has done it again with their fall musical, Guys and Dolls. Overcoming illness, injury, and ill-timed childbirth, they managed to put on a show of their usual phenomenal caliber.

It seemed that a person could develop the flu from more than just lying in wait for marriage, as sung by Miss Adelaide, played by Eva Hendricks ’11. Illness was rampant, as demonstrated by the mandatory wearing of surgical masks during practice, and widespread use of the masks at school during the week of Nov. 16th.

On opening night, cases of swine flu and other miscellaneous diseases ravaged the cast.

“We went from having a full cast to having 9 people go home sick after the first act,” said Jon Morris ’12. Some actors were even drafted to act because of emergency absences.

Working in such close quarters and being under such tremendous stress may have induced the spread of illness. Interestingly, the illnesses in no way affected any of the actors’ accents, which were difficult to pull off in the first place.

On Friday, Nov. 13th, word spread quickly throughout the school that Players director David Roth’s wife went into labor. The director was suddenly unable to direct neither opening night, nor any of the subsequent performances until the penultimate show on Thursday, Nov. 19th.

Players president Caley Beretta ’10, assisted in his place backstage, taking over entirely for Roth. Roth’s baby, Lucy, was born opening night, just seventeen minutes after the curtain rose.

However, the least foreseeable event occurred during the Sunday matinee performance when Max Stampa-Brown ’10, playing main character Nathan Detroit, tripped onstage and sprained his ankle. Already sick with the flu, Stampa-Brown went on with the show by improvising a limp and a need for a cane during the second act. Luckily, his ankle healed quickly and by the latter half of the performances Stampa-Brown was able to perform as rehearsed.

Regardless of the numerous obstacles, the show was a great effort and an incredible success. With directors of One Acts casting actors right now, it would behoove everyone to wash hands frequently, to not share food or drink, and to stay healthy during the winter in apprehension of the possible illness to come.

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