This year’s 9th and 10th-grade play, Bart and Arnie, directed by Drama Teacher Keith McDonald, explored the nuances of relationships, perspectives, and roommates through unrestrained hilarity, joy, and scenes outside of an audience’s wildest imagination. A reference to beloved roommates, Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street, this show was a story about people and lives they lead, centered around these two complex characters navigating New York City. “It’s sort of like Waiting for Godot meets Sesame Street, where it’s sort of non linear. It’s sort of zany.” said McDonald. This production was written by Adam Szymkowicz, a renowned playwright and friend of McDonald’s from Julliard, and will be performed for the very first time here at Poly.
The benefits of a show like this are that it lends itself to a lot of creativity and flexibility, especially given that it has never been produced before. “So it’s two characters, Bart and Arnie. But you can see we’re not doing two, because the way he wrote it, it could be two to forty,” said McDonald. This show had six leads and cast members: freshmen Lucy Fleishhacker, Isaac Wise, Taylor Moore, Hannah Bienvenu, Aviva Treister, and Mick Waldman.
This set greets its audience with the backdrop of the New York City skyline, colorful walls, and furniture. When asked about the methodology behind this set, created by Theater Manager, David Higham, McDonald remarked “the idea with the set is that it starts also in a very like, sort of two dimensional, cartoonish way, and then as the play progresses, it gets more, quote, unquote real. Maybe it gets a little like crappier. We lose some furniture, kind of bring in these, like, big walls, as if their apartment wasn’t ever really nice.”
The vibrancy of the production was also easily spotted in the costuming done by professional designer Kim Griffin who has put on many successful shows in and out of Poly over the years, including Bye Bye Birdie and the Putnam County’s 25th Annual Spelling Bee. As a good designer can do, Griffin’s costumes catered to the many eccentricities of this show. “We have an alien abduction. We have a ballet. And so everybody, as they journey through the play, their costumes get more realistic. So they start very cartoony, then they move into, like a middle stage, and then they move into, like a sort of black and white kind of vibe,” said McDonald.
The lead actors also described the experience of creating this play, the rehearsal process, the cast and the friendships created, and what they hope to present to the Poly community.
Wise spoke to The Polygon about what it has meant to be in this cast. “Well, I think, the fact that this is a small cast has really contributed to it, because its moved very quickly. And our cast is pretty tight because it’s so small and the rehearsals are long. We’ve had them almost every day, but I think they’re gonna put on a great show.” Bienvenu expressed similar admiration for the community they created in an email, writing that “my favorite part would be the people and the ambiance the whole set has. We are all good friends and it makes this production so much more fun.”
Wise also spoke about the play as a whole. With a title as striking as this, the first thing one would notice is the reference to Sesame Street; however, it absolutely has many more layers and depth than that. An exploration into perspective and purpose, Bart and Arnie displays a clever balance between comedy and real-world analysis.
“Well, I think a lot of people might not recognize it, which nobody does, because it’s just the first time its ever been performed, but it’s actually a series of vignettes and it really has nothing to do with Sesame Street. Although many people might disagree I think it just tells a cartoonish story in a realistic setting. And I think if you had the chance to watch it, that you would enjoy it.”
This show, which held auditions in early September, came together in a little over a month, and as every performance does, competed with the previous expectations and opinions of every other production put on. With its dedicated cast and endless resources, this show was well-geared towards success, the final question being: “How will they turn six actors and a never before seen script into something people want to come see?” In opposition of that final barrier, this show had already achieved some major successes even before its opening night. It took exactly that – just six people, all balancing other extracurriculars, and produced something primed to be thoughtful, hilarious, and original. The joy and anticipation was exactly what pulled in the audience.
Wise weighed in on this when asked what he was most excited to show the Poly community saying, “I am most excited to surprise people. Because I think right now, many people don’t want to come because it’s something they’re not familiar with. But I think if you saw it, it would blow your mind, because it’s actually a real story with a deep meaning.”
Additionally, lead actor Moore commented on how this show allowed people to feel represented within its characters. The “different experiences,” as Moore put it, are especially prevalent given that so many performers will be portraying the same two characters, opening them up to many interpretations by both actor and audience.
After two great performances, it is clear that Bart and Arnie is a show like nothing the Poly community has ever seen before and is undoubtedly one to remember.
