The feel-good play of the 1930s, “You Can’t Take It With You,” performed by George Mason High School and directed by Pam Spicer, had audiences rolling with laughter last week.
The feel-good play of the 1930s, “You Can’t Take It With You,” performed by George Mason High School and directed by Pam Spicer, had audiences rolling with laughter last week.
In the Sycamore house, many may doubt the sanity of the family, but by the end of the show, these nonsense characters are like any embarrassing family we all know and love.
Mother Penny is eight years into her playwriting career, having never finished one. Paul Sycamore, married to Penny, is the family inventor making fireworks in his basement, with the help of Mr. DePinna, who dropped by to talk to Paul years ago, and never left.
Twin sisters Essie and Tessie pass time by making “Love Dream” sweets and dancing across the living room. They take daily lessons from Boris Kolenkhov, who escaped Russia before the revolution. He still teaches, even though he knows neither of the girls have any future in dance.
Grandpa is the life of the Sycamore household. He decided years ago that working was overrated and no fun. Mason senior Jack Brorsen brings life to the play as Grandpa from his first entrance.
Playing beautifully alongside Brorsen was senior Kate Potrykus, as Alice Sycamore, caught between the love of her life and her adoring, out of control family.
Brorsen and Potrykus brought the loudest roars from the audience, and the play’s true message.
Both families are arrested during the second act, which, with brilliant help from the Mason stage crew, ended the act with a bang, literally.
Tony tries to tell Alice that he still loves her, even though the family ruined Kirby and Co.’s reputation. Alice, however, decides to leave, and never return.
The sound and tech crew enhanced the magic of this 1930s classic family feud, bringing to life the sounds of exploding fireworks and gun shots throughout the first and second acts. They had audiences jumping at the surprise attacks.
Every character played their part throughout this fast-paced comedy, from Gay Wellington, played by Charlotte Lathrop, the friendly drunk whose only role was to pass out on the couch for an entire act, to the stubborn Mrs. Kirby, played by Laura Peppe, who stands up against her husband with the truth. Every actor brought perfect chemistry, and in the end, as an ensemble, drove the moral home to the audience.
Before Alice can leave, Tony’s father has come to finish his duel with the Sycamores. Before long Grandpa and Mr. Kirby find themselves arguing over what happiness truly means. Mr. Kirby realizes that there is no point in living life if you can’t enjoy yourself, and that is the life you can take with you.