Croton-Harmon HS to Present 'Museum'

Croton-Harmon High School will present “Museum,” a play by celebrated American playwright Tina Howe, on Oct. 23 and 24.

Local theater director Myrlin Valerio is directing the production.

“Museum,” Howe’s 1978 satirical comedy, takes place on the final day of a group show of three fictional contemporary American artists being exhibited in a major museum of modern art. Over the course of the day, some 40 people walk through the show: art lovers, skeptics, foreigners, students, lost souls, fellow artists and museum guards. The play is about the movement and yearning of these people.

Performances are Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15/adult, $12/student and free for seniors, and may be purchased at the door.

According to Howe’s script notes, “It is my hope that any group wanting to present ‘Museum’ use the large cast size as a challenge and not as a restriction. The play was written to serve the versatility of actors.” Director Valerio chose this play for just that reason — the opportunity to “offer 18 young actors the challenge of playing 40 distinct characters. The actors are more than rising to this challenge, offering characters who are funny, vicious, intense and often moving.”

The cast includes: Aidan Baker, Maddie Barnes, Ben Bauder, Harry Cooper, Haylee Dowd, Meredith Kehoe, Jack Mahoney, William Mahoney, Dante Mancinelli, Sophia Mathews, Reed Oka-Maclaren, Dillon O’Keefe, Sophie Paolicelli, Emily Riedel, Thomas Sinclair, Julie Smith, Sarah van Ells and Mia Villeneuve, as well as stage manager Tom Minett.

To view a video about the production, visit the district website, www.chufsd.org.

Photo Courtesy of the Croton-Harmon Schools