Meet the “Fools”: The Cast of MHS’s Fall Drama

This year’s fall drama, Neil Simon’s “Fools”, is sure to be a great show. The show dates are November 20th and 21st at 7pm and November 22nd at 2pm. We got to sit down with a few cast members to find out what they love about this show and acting in general.

“It’s a really funny show and we have a very talented cast,” says Daniel Pawlak, a senior,  who plays Dr. Zubritsky. “I’m excited because it’s a really big role for me and it’s my last year doing the fall drama”. Daniel is one of six seniors taking part in their last fall drama this year. The other seniors are Lauren Downs, Grace McCulloch, Brandon Morales, Austin Oleson, and Grace Van Cleef.

When asked why he likes acting, junior Michael Bennett, who plays Mishkin, the postman, says, “I can just be a different person… I’m very excited because my character has a lot of funny lines and I like being funny and making people laugh”. One could see evidence of that after Bennett’s last stage role, when he played Thenardier in MHS’s production of Les Miserables last March.

Suzette Oleson, a sophomore who plays Sophia Zubritsky, one of the lead roles in the play, says, “I like that when I’m on stage I can be someone I’m not normally.  I am very excited because I have never actually been a part of a play. Well, I’ve been a part of them, but I’ve never had a role in a play. I like having rehearsals after school because it gives me something to do, and I like meeting new people”.

Bennett thinks the hardest part of acting is, “probably getting a hold of the character that you’re trying to portray because it can be a very easy character, say, one without emotion, but that would still be kind of hard to do”.  Both Oleson and Pawlak agree that learning their lines is the hardest part, “Yeah, I’m not very good at that,” adds Oleson.

“It’s about a bunch of people who live in a town in Russia who are very dumb and very ignorant and just don’t know what’s going on most of the time, and a teacher comes to try and teach them to break the curse that they have been put under… and he falls in love with Sophia, who is his student,” Oleson explains.

“It has a lot of word-play and puns, which I myself love… People like puns,” Bennett remarks.

Pawlak says his favorite part of the production process is when they are “onstage and running through tech and everything and getting the show ready to perform”.

“I feel like if it was full of boring people, it wouldn’t be very fun at all,” says Bennett.

“I’m doing it with a lot of my friends and it will be a really fun time” adds Pawlak.

“Fools” also features the talent of other MHS students alongside Bennett, Oleson, and Pawlak, such as Max Vigotov, Mary Woolley, Max Haupt, Jose Quiceno, Brendan Geier, Maggie Salko, Molly McCarthy, Nikko Chey, and Ruby Murad. For more information about MHS’s fall production of “Fools”, talk to Mr. Oswin or Ms. Holzer, who are both directing the show this year. It is going to be a great show and the cast hopes to see you in the audience on November 20-22!