'Is He Dead?' Mark Twain Play Comes Alive At John Jay High School

CROSS RIVER, NY — Mark Twain famously said, "The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter." The John Jay High School Theater Workshop presentation of a Twain-penned Broadway play is set to prove that axiom live on stage.

From the Katonah-Lewisboro School District.

John Jay High School Theater Workshop presents "Is He Dead" on November 16, 17, and 18, at 7 p.m., with a Saturday Matinee on November 18, at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students/senior citizens and can be purchased for each performance beginning one hour before curtain in the theater lobby.

The comedy, written by Mark Twain in 1898 and produced on Broadway in 2007, introduces Jean-Francois Millet, played by senior Alec Schwartz, a painter in Paris who is facing financial ruin. His friends hatch a plan to drive up demand for his work; Millet follows their advice and mourns his own demise as his widowed twin sister!

"Is He Dead" is directed by Bill Friedman, produced by Amanda Adamo, and features an all-student crew led by Stage Manager Marina Meineck. Cast members are Memphis Bradford, Sophia Cheng, Samantha Donnelly, Aya Greenspan, Tahlia Koenig, Ela Mehra, Lily Mostero, Ollie Pezone, Francis Jackson (Jack) Pryor VI, Maclain Rockett, Cade Schwark, Alec Schwartz and Adina Talenfeld.