On Sunday April 2 and Monday April 3, the Hebrew Academy drama department premiered the play Class Action by Brad Slaight. The cast consisted of many veteran performers as well as newcomers, most of whom were seniors. The show focuses on different elements of high school life.
Class Action stands out from other plays because of its unique structure. Rather than performing a show with recurring characters, the production presents 27 different vignettes, or short scenes.
Some of the first time seniors included Danny Yerushalmi, Judah Neuwirth, Sruly Duchman, Shmuel Kahn, and Serina Motola. Students and fellow cast members alike were pleasantly surprised by their ability to act so well.
“I was really shocked by their action especially in Judah’s monologue ‘Concussion’ and Danny’s ‘Open and Close.’ They really made you feel something. They were sad scenes, and they portrayed the characters really well,” said Avi Kahn (9th).
Senior Danny Yerushalmi was ecstatic to join this play. “I decided to join because Mrs. Berman gave me the idea of the play and it sounded really cool. It didn’t sound like a play, it sounded like real life being performed on stage, so I thought that was amazing.”
Although many newcomers were seniors, there were also two juniors who made their debut in Class Action: David Gilinski and Jacob Rosmarin.
“It was really fun and interesting,” Rosmarin said. “I originally didn’t plan on joining, but after one kid quit, Mrs. Berman asked me to be part of it, so I said yes. Play practice was the most fun for me. It was chill and fun.”
While the fledgling performers took much of the limelight, returning actors also made a big splash. This play was the last play for Sarah Fuchs (12th), who has appeared in every Hebrew Academy play, starting with her days in middle school.
“It was bittersweet,” Fuchs said. “I mean, it was my last high school play ever, so that was pretty crazy, especially because I’ve been in every play in Hebrew Academy available to me even in middle school, so that part was kind of sad. But it was also nice performing again with all my friends and the cast because you build such a big camaraderie.”
Tehila Moore (11th), another returning member of the drama department, expressed her sentiments about Class Action, her fifth play with the Hebrew Academy.
“It was really fun for me to have these new friends in the play with me and new faces are always good,” Moore said. “There were a lot of seniors this play. I’ve known a lot of them for most of my life and it was really cool to see this other side of them but it was also sad. It’s the second semester and it is their first and last play and it is really bittersweet because at the end of the play there is the graduation scene and it hit home for all of us that they are leaving.”
By: Michal Cohen (11th Grade)
For a full review of the play, read “Lights, Camera, Class Action” in this issue.