Last week, Montgomery's Drama Production class performed in A View from the Bridge, a play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. This play tells the story of Eddie Carbone and his conflicting and damaging feelings for his niece, Catherine, while remaining in an unhealthy marriage with his wife, Beatrice. Their story is set in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a small, blue-collar fishing port in 1955, and is narrated by the lawyer, Alfieri. The lives of the Carbones when Beatrice's cousins Rodolpho and Marco immigrate from Italy to find work in America and disrupt the relationships Eddie cared so deeply about.
The dialogue in this play was heavy, emotional, challenging, and most of all loud. As the play went on, the acting only became louder and louder, and better and better. August Curtis (below right), playing Eddie, gave an incredible performance. His many monologues were expertly delivered, and he was able to portray many different relationships with other characters very well.
There were four other main characters in this story (above left). Starting on the far left of the picture is Beatrice Carbone, Eddie's wife, portrayed by Ava Rudesill. Rudesill's performance was heartbreaking and tear-jerking. The theme of lost love was apparent in her performance. She especially shined at the end of the play, as you could feel the urgency in trying to protect her niece and keep her husband sane. Catherine, played by Willa Navarro, was a girl in her young teens trying to gain independence. Navarro (far right in the picture) had excellent chemistry with Curtis, Rudesill, and her love interest. Navarro gave you a character you couldn't help but root for. Catherine's love interest Rodolpho was played by Hayden Byrne (middle front). As the youngest in the cast, Byrne had the least experience in acting, but that didn't stop him from giving a great performance. He gave the character innocence, had an excellent repartee with his other cast members, and gave the audience a lovely rendition of Paper Dolls by the Mills Brothers. This whole story was narrated by the lawyer Alfieri, played by Sean Cooper. Cooper and Curtis were explosive when on stage together, but Cooper was able to carry long monologues by himself to give you an interesting insight into the play. Altogether, this show had an amazing cast of actors who all gave riveting performances that you stuck with you after leaving the theatre.
While there were only a handful of leads in the play, there was a large ensemble cast who helped shape the ambiance and set the scene of Red Hook, Brooklyn. The constant moving of workers and housewives going about their days and their chores gave you a good picture of what a blue-collar town would look like.
Another memorable part of the play was the lighting and sound, done by Jay Porton and Jasper Silviera. The flashes of red in times of peril startled the audience and added to their growing sense of danger.
In conclusion, this whole production was well done and a pleasure to watch. More honorable mentions go to director Chris Schloemp, stage manager Jay Porton, assistant stage manager Moss Gage, and everyone else involved in the production. This was a 5-star performance, and I would keep an eye out to catch this class's next masterpiece.
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