Montclair High School's SVPA Presents "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"
Friday, February 7 and Saturday, February 8 at 8pm; Sunday, February 9 at 3pm
The Little Theater at the George Inness Annex, 141 Park Street
Find out what's happening in Montclairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Contact: Brenda Pepper bpepper@montclair.k12.nj.us
Tickets available online at: seatyourself.biz/montclairschoolarts or 1 hour before showtime at the box office.
Find out what's happening in Montclairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," the classic three-act play by Jay Presson Allen, adapted from the novella by Muriel Spark that is considered one of the great English-language works of the 20th century, comes to The Little Theater at MHS for three shows from February 7th through 9th. Performed and produced by students, under the direction of SVPA's Brenda Pepper and with technical direction from Ken Cleerdin, the play, set in Scotland in the 1930s, portrays the profound influence that an unconventional teacher, Miss Brodie, has on a select group of girls. Miss Brodie is determined to introduce the girls, known as "the Brodie set," to the finer things in life, including art, sex and fascism. Showtimes are Friday, February 7th and Saturday, February 8th at 8pm, and Sunday, February 9th at 3pm. Tickets are on sale at http://www.seatyourself.biz/montclairschoolarts. Tickets will also be on sale at the box office at the Georges Innes Annex beginning one hour before each performance.
MHS senior Caroline Friedman plays the role of Miss Jean Brodie. Junior Malik Hall plays the male lead in the role of Mr. Lloyd, the art master. About her choice of the play for this year's winter drama, Brenda Pepper said, "I found the story compelling, age-appropriate" -- it follows a group of girls from age 10 or 11 to 17 -- "and it featured a lot of females, which is always a challenge to accommodate, since there are always fewer males who come out for the play." Pepper says that she has tried to direct the students to be authentic in their roles and to be aware at all times of what their objective is and what they want to portray to the audience in each scene. "The play enabled students to do some great character work and push their own limits, which has been very exciting to watch unfold," said Pepper. "It also required some research, particularly for Caroline Friedman's role, since there is so much poetry, art and historical references."
This promises to be a great evening of theater for an audience 13 years and older.
1/29/14
MS
