I was disappointed to see an open mocking of Harry Kagan, played by Colin Sears (’14). In addition, certain lines felt awkward and might have been best left out of the play entirely, such as a student who proclaimed “I am a minority,” which was meant to relay a serious tone but came off as a joke. In particular, I was left extremely confused why the students were being taught English, discussing Macbeth and taking tests in their homeroom advisories. It did not take long for me to realize that I was mistaken in my excitement for the play selection, as it was marred by a terrible script which featured incredibly artificial lines and inconsistencies.

Proctor-Bonbright took the stage by storm with the lead role, and despite being tasked with such a difficult character, performed admirably. The students of Calvin Coolidge High School have no interest in paying heed to Barrett’s lectures or demonstrating even the most basic gestures of respect, but her endless passion for teaching is evident as she attempts to persevere in the most difficult of teaching environments.īarrett develops a relationship with one renegade thug of a student, Joe Ferone, played by David Cress (’13), and attempts to turn a moribund school into a respectable establishment.

Barrett is confronted with a mission that is impossible at first and extremely demoralizing, even to the extent where she interviews for another post. Up the Down Staircase depicts the saga of a freshly hired teacher, Sylvia Barrett, played by Lucia Proctor-Bonbright (’14), and her attempt to navigate a treacherous school plagued by unfortunate accidents, disinterested students and extremely overbearing administration members. I was initially enamored by the idea of seeing a mid-1960s classic adapted to ASL in the first student production of the year.

Author of up the down staircase