High Schools North and South bring drama to their stages in November. “The Sting” will be on stage on Thursday to Saturday, November 13 to 15, at High School North. “The Laramie Project,” an award-winning drama that focuses on issues such as the struggle to overcome hate, bigotry, and violence, will be presented at High School South on Thursday to Saturday, November 20 to 22.
“The Sting” was written by David Rogers, based on the 1973 film by David Ward. When three small-time grifters unknowingly steal from a major crime boss, revenge is the name of the game. Combine skills, luck, con games, counterfeiting, money, and the police for a story about grifters and hitmen. Deborah Goodkin is the director, and the producer is Irene Nemser. Bob Corriveau and Dee Dunn oversee the lighting and stage crew.
“I usually spend a good amount of time reading scripts during my summer vacations in order to find the right play,” says Goodkin. “This past summer, the play found me. I was working at an arts camp, and it peeked out from between the other books on a shelf in the practice room. I am always on the lookout for plays with large casts (to give as many students as possible an opportunity to participate), and this one fit the bill. So, I borrowed it; took it home to read — and said yes.”
Cast members include Devon Austin, Julia Bannon, Kiera Beatty, Jonathan Gelb, Joe Gonnella, Jack Hanna, Sruti Pari, Evan Francis, Lindsay Devlin, Julie Sugar, Arhant Shah, Patrick Varnavas, John Watkins, Niki Roy, Chloe Smith, Katrina Beske, Syona Aggarwal, Trinity Stewart, Anjali Badeti, Reuben Van Eck, Kunal Sinha, Ben Sasportas, Omar Yaknour, Sidd Mavuram, Jake Rosenthal, Pia Pal, Matt Zupancic, Annmarie Diaz, Julianna Yasson, Oishi Bhattacharya, Scott Gelb, Sanjana Tewathia, Holly Beske, Melissa Sternbach, Kellen Kadakia, Maya Vadell, Alex Arias, Kyle Beatty, Alora Eisen, and Ranjan Mahanth.
Stage crew members include Alex Arias, Ben Arias, Akash Bajpai, Hrudai Battini, Denys Bengizu, Moshe Binik, Elena Boal, Julian Chan, Jonathan Chen, Henry Chu, Beatriz Feijo, Alan Gan, Michelle Giang, Dan-Anh Hoang, Abdullah Hyder, Michael Knox, Amanda Lagana, Ashley Marrazzo, Sampoojya Nyalakonda, Deborah Onyuka, Sruti Pari, Riya Patel, Meghana Reddy, Matt Rubin, Tanvi Shah, Maria Silva, Philip Sung, Dennis White, David Yang, and Michael Yang.
The Sting, High School North, 90 Grovers Mill Road, Plainsboro. Thursday to Saturday, November 13 to 15, 7:30 p.m. $10. 609-716-5100. www.ww-p.org.
‘The Laramie Project” is the story of the people of Laramie, Wyoming, and their lives in the aftermath of the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. Shepard was lured from a bar, brutally beaten, and left tied to a fence outside of town. He was found 18 hours later and died, never regaining consciousness. He was murdered because he was gay.
A month after the murder, Tectonic Theater Project members traveled to Laramie to interview local townspeople; to see how it affected them. Their hope was to shed light on the ideas and beliefs that were shaping the nation, and this story became “The Laramie Project.”
The show is directed by Marilyn Mangone Stoddard and produced by Kathy Slothower, with set design by Giuliano Chicco.
The cast includes Sergey Abadjev, Charles Acuna, Adam Bachir, Marco Kaisth, Daisy Chase, Cheryl Chong, Maddie Kartoz, Anish Kokkirala, Emma Kothari, Reilly Linskey, Ryan Linskey, Annie Menninger, Ryann Myers, Robin Slothower, and Alex Valen. Stage managers are Nancy Zong and Carmen Jung. Props and costume mistresses are Alisa Rubinstein, Gabriella Alvarez, and Kolleen Hernandez. Lighting crew members include Sujanesh Jasti, Corbin McLean, Erica Anderson, Monica Xie, Mark Grossmann, Sara Froehlke, Gavin Bowman, and Eujine Lim. Construction crew members are Laura Wolfe, Elizabeth Bryne, Min Soang, and Srushti Ghone.
The Laramie Project, High School South, 346 Clarksville Road, West Windsor. Thursday to Saturday, November 20 to 22, 7:30 p.m. $10. 609-716-5050. www.ww-p.org.
