The Library
Cast of Characters
Caitlin Gabriel . . . Allie Novell
Nolan Gabriel . . . Anthony Marando
Elizabeth Gabriel . . . Tara Rewis
Dawn Sheridan . . . Peri Dunefsky
Ryan Mayes . . . BeeJay Aubertin Clinton
Marshall Bauer . . . Alex Bridgeman
Father Dunston . . . Kevin Hudson
Detective Washburn . . . Jordan Sanders
Nurse . . . Tatiana Mendez
Surgeon/Special Master Thornton . . . Todd Latoski
Publisher . . . Molly Wuerz
Written by Scott Z. Burns
Staged at Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park
Directed by Bridget Lindsey Morris
In the aftermath of a Columbine-like school shooting, the lives of school students, their family, and the community are forever changed as the media report from the scene and sides are taken. At the center of controversy is 16-year-old Caitlin Gabriel, who is accused of directing the killer, Marshall Bauer, to an A/V closet near the library at Golden Valley High School, where he killed several students and a faculty member.
Much could be written about the play itself – whether the media, in its hurry to report the news, uses less caution in what makes it into print or on air; whether the only truth to the story is what was first reported or the final result of an ongoing investigation; whether it is okay to exploit the victims of a tragedy to make a buck; – but it is the cast and the staging that are the true stars of Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park’s production of The Library.
To say that the theatre itself is “intimate” is an understatement. The stage is small and the cast often moves on- and off-stage, sometimes with props, in front of those seated in the front row. However, what could be a limitation allows for the audience to feel as though they are more than just onlookers to the action on stage – they are truly participants in the drama, unseen members of the community.
Director Morris begins the play with a set full of props and then made the bold decision to strip them from the stage little by little until there is a bare minimum and the cast performs in the style of reader’s theatre. As the play moves toward an ending that is as explosive as the beginning, the props find their way back on stage.
The play was cast well, with Allie Novell and Alex Bridgeman in lead roles. Novell portrays Caitlin Gabriel as a young woman who is often certain of the truth of the events on the day of the calamity to protest the coverage but also with enough doubt that the vulnerability of her situation is evident. Whether he is confronting Caitlin in a flashback scene or he is creating mayhem in the Golden Valley High School library, Bridgeman’s Marshall Bauer is appropriately intense and angry at the world for its perceived injustices.
The rest of the cast is no different. After Novell and Bridgeman, the roles played by Peri Dunefsky and BeeJay Aubertin Clinton are captured most in the web of drama. Dunefsky portrays Dawn Sheridan, mother of one of the students who was killed. She makes her daughter into a martyr in an effort to have her daughter leave a legacy and refuses to entertain any other thoughts that would lessen her image of her daughter. Ryan Mayes, as portrayed by Clinton, is a senior at the high school who is struggling with the fact that he lost a younger brother in addition to friends. It is a statement he makes early in the play that provides the impetus for what follows in Caitlin’s life.
Anthony Marando and Tara Rewis give strong performances as Caitlin’s parents, who have their own relationship struggles to deal with while helping Caitlin adjust to her life’s new status quo and quest for the truth. Todd Latoski’s and Tatiana Mendez’s characters provide a Greek Chorus in the form of the surgeon and nurse who, while providing the commentary (and changing opinion) needed to move the play through jumps in time, treat Caitlin after the initial shooting and needed follow-up surgeries.
Jordan Sanders, Kevin Hudson, and Molly Wuerz have small but necessary roles as the detective in charge of the investigation, the smarmy pastor at the Gabriels’ church, and the publisher of a book written about Joy Sheridan and the tragedy. They each provide an outsider viewpoint to the tragedy that aptly mirrors society – the one searching for the truth, the one who wants to leave things as they are and move on, and the one seeking to make a profit from what happened.
The play will end its run with five performances beginning Thursday, January 14, and ending Monday, January 18. Ticket and play information can be found on-line at Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park or on Facebook. If an evening of thought-provoking drama is what you're looking for, this is the place to find it in Winter Park, Florida.
Rating:
Much could be written about the play itself – whether the media, in its hurry to report the news, uses less caution in what makes it into print or on air; whether the only truth to the story is what was first reported or the final result of an ongoing investigation; whether it is okay to exploit the victims of a tragedy to make a buck; – but it is the cast and the staging that are the true stars of Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park’s production of The Library.
To say that the theatre itself is “intimate” is an understatement. The stage is small and the cast often moves on- and off-stage, sometimes with props, in front of those seated in the front row. However, what could be a limitation allows for the audience to feel as though they are more than just onlookers to the action on stage – they are truly participants in the drama, unseen members of the community.
Director Morris begins the play with a set full of props and then made the bold decision to strip them from the stage little by little until there is a bare minimum and the cast performs in the style of reader’s theatre. As the play moves toward an ending that is as explosive as the beginning, the props find their way back on stage.
The rest of the cast is no different. After Novell and Bridgeman, the roles played by Peri Dunefsky and BeeJay Aubertin Clinton are captured most in the web of drama. Dunefsky portrays Dawn Sheridan, mother of one of the students who was killed. She makes her daughter into a martyr in an effort to have her daughter leave a legacy and refuses to entertain any other thoughts that would lessen her image of her daughter. Ryan Mayes, as portrayed by Clinton, is a senior at the high school who is struggling with the fact that he lost a younger brother in addition to friends. It is a statement he makes early in the play that provides the impetus for what follows in Caitlin’s life.
Anthony Marando and Tara Rewis give strong performances as Caitlin’s parents, who have their own relationship struggles to deal with while helping Caitlin adjust to her life’s new status quo and quest for the truth. Todd Latoski’s and Tatiana Mendez’s characters provide a Greek Chorus in the form of the surgeon and nurse who, while providing the commentary (and changing opinion) needed to move the play through jumps in time, treat Caitlin after the initial shooting and needed follow-up surgeries.
Jordan Sanders, Kevin Hudson, and Molly Wuerz have small but necessary roles as the detective in charge of the investigation, the smarmy pastor at the Gabriels’ church, and the publisher of a book written about Joy Sheridan and the tragedy. They each provide an outsider viewpoint to the tragedy that aptly mirrors society – the one searching for the truth, the one who wants to leave things as they are and move on, and the one seeking to make a profit from what happened.
The play will end its run with five performances beginning Thursday, January 14, and ending Monday, January 18. Ticket and play information can be found on-line at Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park or on Facebook. If an evening of thought-provoking drama is what you're looking for, this is the place to find it in Winter Park, Florida.
Rating:
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