By Haley Burnside, Staff Writer
The Manhattan College Players are gearing up for another semester of production and drama. This fall, they will put on a mainstage play and a Murder Mystery Dinner.
The main production is a gender-inclusive version of “12 Angry Men,” titled the “12 Angry Jurors.“ The play features a cast of 13 student actors.
Martin Marchitto, the director of “12 Angry Jurors” as well as the Players as a club, is excited about the blossoming enthusiasm for the Players this fall.
“We have had a record number of students who have shown interest in Players this semester, including a number of students also involved in the technical side of theatre,” Marchitto said.
Between the two productions, there are 26 cast members and several crew members. The cast and crew are made up of students of varied majors and ages. This fall, freshmen make up about half of the mainstage production cast. Peter Martino, a freshman cast member described the environment at rehearsals so far.
“There’s five freshman, I think, in our ‘12 Angry Jurors’ cast, which is pretty awesome,” Martino said. “There’s not a lead for this show, but Juror Number Eight is the nonofficial lead. Gabby Kasper is playing that role, as a freshman.”
Kasper herself expressed enthusiasm for the production, saying that the crowd can expect to enjoy it.
“I think it will be a satisfying show to watch, morally speaking,” Kasper said.
Marchitto supplied insight about the importance of this show.
“‘12 Angry Men’ was written a long time ago, but the themes are absolutely relevant to our world today.” He went on to add, “these issues and themes will be accessible for the audience to connect with or understand.”
Siobhan Connor, assistant director of the mainstage production, is equally excited about the Murder Mystery.
“October 22 is our Murder Mystery Dinner called ‘Murder at the Pie Auction.’ It’s going to be a big deal,” Connor said. “It’s set in Alaska and it’s about these people baking pies. Someone dies and you have to figure out who the killer is.”
Connor emphasized the interactive aspect of the show.
“It’s very crowd-interactive which is fun for the actors and the audience. It makes for a good time,” she said, smiling. “I think people will enjoy it.”
Current members of the club encourage others to get involved in their future productions.
“Even if singing or acting isn’t for you, people can always work on set and stage production, or lighting,” Connor said. Marchitto agrees that this is a great way for people to join in on the drama and fun.
The Players are in the process of planning a cabaret that will run sometime in December. The theme is to be decided by the Players in the next few weeks. On the horizon for the spring semester is another mainstage production, “Legally Blonde: The Musical.” Students are all invited to audition or join the crew.
The “12 Angry Jurors” show will be running Nov. 10-13 and “Murder at the Pie Auction” will run Oct. 22 in Smith Auditorium.