While most people have only limited recall of their time in the classroom, the cast and crew of the spring production at Becker High School are putting the polish on “Up the Down Staircase”, a play that will serve up a memory-jogging view of life in the high school trenches when it opens its two-day run in the BHS auditorium next Friday, May 16 at 7 p.m. Additional performances are set for Sat., May 17 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Tickets are on-sale now in the Activities Office at BHS, $8 for adults, $6 for students and senior citizens, same price at the door on show nights.
“Up the Down Staircase” is a play by Christopher Sergel, based on the best-selling 1965 novel of the same name by former New York City teacher Bel Kaufman.
It uses fast-paced dialogue and bits of letters and notes read aloud to create a portrait of the eternal struggle between the teachers and the taught.
Synopsis: New teacher Sylvia Barrett arrives at Calvin Coolidge High, a madhouse NYC student repository, tasked with teaching English to a tough inner-city class. She struggles to reach her students, and to cope with an arbitrary and seemingly addled bureaucracy at the same time. As the play develops, she realizes that the kids are starved for both education and understanding. But will she stick with them, or bolt for a more genteel private school?
Academy Award winner Sandy Dennis played the role in the 1967 movie, which won her several international awards.
The play deals with both sadness and joy, and issues of life and death as well as education. There are also many very funny lines, as in the suggestion box question that asks: “You think it's fair when a teacher takes off five points on a test just because I misspelled his name wrong?"; or the out-loud book report that confidently states: “We study myths to learn what it was like to live in the golden age with all the killings."
Director Joe Rand makes his BHS debut with this production. He has appeared with the Lyric Arts Theatre in Anoka, where he is a member of the Actor’s Council.
He has also been a State Fair educator, served as the Arts-In program director for Dakota County, and is currently the Sherburne County 4-H Program Coordinator. Tech.
Direction is again being handled by Rich Kimmerle, who produced memorable sets for “Joseph” and “The Little Mermaid Jr.” earlier this year.
Cast List
Sylvia, Makayla Graning; Bea, Kassidi Andres; McHabe, Tanner Stewart; Paul, Matt Nelson; Dr. Clarke, Aidan Christensen; Ellen, Alexandra Kimmerle; Ella, Gabrielle Proefrock; Frances, Alyssa Olson; Charlotte, Angelica Anderson; Mr. Bester, Joshua Drury; Sadie Finch, Laura Niday; Lou Martin, Andy Johnson; Lennie, Nick Norgaard; Carole, Carly Pruszinske; Alice Blake, Tali Neidenfeuhr; Vivian, Katelyn Holstad; Rusty, Joshua Tiegland; Linda, Victoria Shueller; Jose Rodriguez, David Szabla; Carrie, Kate Berning; Harry, Austin Hill; Jill, Alaina Nelson; Rachel, Celia Mix; Elizabeth, Haley VanZee; Charles, Ryan Summerdorf; Edward, Ethan Quill; Joe, Joey Kimmerle; Helen, Megan Graftaas; Fran, Anna Landsverk, and Katherine, Allyna Storms. (Tanner Stewart will be unable to perform in one of the shows due to a dance conflict, with Anna Landsverk stepping into his role while Sarenity Klein will replace her as “Fran”.)
