BRHS Theater Students To Present 'The Dining Room'

BRIDGEWATER, NJ —The Bridgewater-Raritan High School Theater Arts Department will present "The Dining Room" from Friday through Sunday.

Performances will be held at Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s auditorium at 7 p.m. on both Jan. 26 and Jan. 27. The matinee on Jan. 28, will begin at 2 p.m.

Tom Gunning, who serves as the director of the Bridgewater-Raritan High School's Drama Club explained the challenge that these student actors were up against.

"The play is a challenge because our students are playing characters in multiple acts," Tom Gunning said. "They have to explore different roles."

"Yes, an actor may play the part of a grandfather in one scene and then play a kid in another," said Teresa Gunning, who is directing this performance with her husband.

The actors are cast in a total of 18 scenes in "The Dining Room," which is a play by the American playwright A.R. Gurney.

According to Wikipedia, the play is a comedy of manners, set in a single dining room where 18 scenes from different households overlap and intertwine. Presumably, each story is focused around a different family during different time periods, who has in their possession the same dining room furniture set, manufactured in 1898.

The summary also stated the play tells the story of the dying and relatively short-lived culture of upper-middle class Americans, and the transition into a much more efficient society with emphasis on tradition and more emphasis on progress.

Sidak Chahal, a Bridgewater-Raritan High School junior, has relished the quest to play various parts. She shared her feelings during a recent rehearsal session that was held in the high school’s auditorium.

"I like playing different characters. In one act, I am a rich old lady, and then in another, I am a maid," Sidak said.

She is intrigued by the theme behind this play.

"We explore a lot of different people from the upper class and from the rich to the workers," she said. "There are a lot of family structures. We see how the old guard wants to keep the family in place but the young family members want to break free as the years move on to the present."

This is Sidak’s fourth performance on stage but she has enjoyed playing various roles during the rehearsals.

"It is very interesting," she said. "I never did a show like this before but it is different and super fun."

To watch the performance by the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Theater Arts, tickets can be purchased in advance at: https://our.show/brhs-tad-room.

Advance tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $14 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. Senior citizens who live in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District are admitted free with proof of residency.

Here is a list of the production cast and staff:

Cast:

• Alvarado, Jayleen
• Andrews, Evan
• Aponte, LJ
• Beck, Grant
• Castillo, Ava
• Chahal, Sidak
• Falcon, Charlotte
• Fisher, Libia
• Gaffney, Tim
• Maloney, Julianne
• Marquardt, Amalia
• Murray, Franny
• Pelc, Matthew
• Puszkin, Rebecca
• Saini, Jasmine
• Shahane, Agastya
• Shoaf, Oliver
• Weinstein, Aaron
• Zagare, Josh

Staff:

• Pedroso, Julia
• Student Director
• Jimenez-Heymann, Matthew
• Stage Manager
• Fitzgerald, Brianna
• Assistant Stage Manager
• Saini, Harjas
• Assistant Stage Manager
• Hassouna, Emilia
• ASM Intern
• Lu, Indiana
• Technical Director-Sound
• Scaglione, Isabella
• Technical Director-Lights
• Hoff, Caitlyn
• Properties Master
• Nowakowski, Christina
• Assistant Properties Master
• Hathaway, Ava
• House Manager
• Csik, John
• Assistant House Manager
• CREW:
• Violet Dunsavage
• Richa Sorathia
• Addison Lewis
• Anisha Amin
• Natalia Placek
• Ava Burns
• Tia Sharma
• Jordan Velasco
• Mattingly Niles
• Sinjin Niles
• Anya Murdock
• Oliver Martinez

— Submitted by Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District

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