George School Presents Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet

GEORGE SCHOOL PRESENTS GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA, GOOD MORNING JULIET

NEWTOWN, PA— George School will present Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet by Ann-Marie Macdonald on Friday and Saturday, November 8 and 9 at 8:00 p.m. in Walton Center Auditorium. The performance is free and open to the public.

Written in 1988, Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet is a comedy that tells the story of Constance Ledbelly, a doctoral candidate working on her dissertation which claims that Romeo and Juliet and Othello were originally comedies written by a playwright other than Shakespeare. She claims that the only thing that makes them tragedies is the absence of a fool. Through her research Constance is somehow taken back in time and she finds herself living in each of the plays. In the end, she discovers that it is she who has been the fool—and her original views are changed.

“What led me to choose the play wasn’t the crazy story line,” said Maureen West, theater teacher. “It was the way Ann-Marie has interwoven contemporary speech with actual lines from both of those Shakespeare plays.” The integration of language provides the basis for the theme of the year, and the use of language in this show in particular has proven to be a challenge for the students.

“It’s not Shakespeare but it’s written using Shakespearean language so it has been hard to make sure the jokes are coming through,” said Amanda Frischmann ’15, “It’s weird but it adds a level of interest to the play—there are definitely levels of jokes, those that the average person will understand and those that only hardcore Shakespeare enthusiasts will get.”

Hope French ‘14, who plays Desdemona, agrees that the use of language is one of the most interesting parts of Ann-Marie’s play. “It’s specified in the script which lines are taken from the original Shakespeare plays and which she has written in. It’s cool to see how she has written things—it’s very similar but you can also tell [which lines are hers] because they have a modern twist.”

This combination of language has forced the students to find a balance between modern and Shakespearean characterizations that lends itself to a humorous storyline. In the end, the play is a comedy of errors that will appeal to the audience’s sense of humor.
“It’s all the fun of a Shakespeare play with the fast pace and energy of a modern play,” said Jake Malavsky ’14.

In addition to the hard work of the actors, the stage crew has been busy building a set that caters to the three very different settings. Scott Hoskins, along with his Stagecraft and Design students will help seamlessly transport the audience to each location through both their imaginative set and their creative use of lighting and sound. The show is directed by Maureen West and features costumes designed by Linda Bee.
 
Founded in 1893 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), George School, a rigorous coed boarding and day school for grades nine through twelve, educates students from more than twenty-two states, forty-five foreign countries, and a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, and economic backgrounds. Through its commitment to diversity and the Quaker values of equality, integrity, and peacemaking, George School inspires students to be led by their own truths while respecting and appreciating opinions and beliefs different from their own. George School was one of the first schools in the United States to implement an International Baccalaureate diploma program.