Last Words Brought to Life in Student-Written Play

‘Why Did God Make Sparrows?’, a student-written and directed play based on the real diary of a young man’s final year battling cancer, will run one night only on June 4 at 7 p.m. at .

In 1975, 18-year-old C.J. Smith, Jr. passed away after a struggle with cancer, leaving behind family, friends and a journal he kept over his final year of life.

Last summer, Drew Pfiefer, who had been Smith’s best friend, lent the journal to his daughter Kelsey, a junior at Whitefish Bay High School. He’d been given the journal by Smith’s family.

Kelsey Pfiefer was inspired by Smith's last words that she decided to write a play based on the journal.

“I was talking with my dad. My parents have the most interesting stories. We started talking about the journal, and my dad let me read it. The way C.J. writes is so distinctive. It’s so imperfect that it is perfect. I thought, ‘I can make a story out of this.’ That was my real life inspiration,” she said. “He was my father’s best friend growing up.”

In fact, the character Jim, played by Kelsey’s twin brother Patrick, is based on their father Drew. Kelsey also has a part in the show.

The play takes place in Borden, Indiana, where Smith lived. Pfeifer traveled to Indiana to interview Smith’s three sisters and mother for the play.

“[Smith] died fourteen days before his nineteenth birthday. He was the nicest, purest soul. He never said a bad thing about anyone. He really cared about his community,” she said.

 Pfeifer said she not only wanted to pay tribute to Smith, but tell the often untold story of the struggle his friends and family shared, and the stress on those relationships.

 “The journal starts when he was diagnosed with cancer. It was a private struggle in the 70s. Disease was a taboo subject. None of his friends knew. He was just trying to get by, graduate high school, and be in theater, too. It’s not only about his internal struggle; it’s about his family’s struggle.”

 The story is broken up into vignettes depicting the relationships between Smith’s friends and family, but his journal entries are the thread that ties them all together, Pfeifer said.

“Family is a huge part of it – how they all come together with faith, love, humanity and humor.”

 Pfeifer wrote most of the play last summer, and while it is based on the journal and stories Smith’s family and her father told her, a lot of it is also fiction, she said. The title, 'Why Did God Make Sparrows?,'  comes from a short story Smith wrote in his journal.

She worked on the play with playwrights from all over the country, including Tracy Letts, winner the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A family friend at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago contacted the playwrights.

 “Every single one got back to me,” Pfeifer said. “They gave me great advice and I channeled that into the show.”

John Coleman, theater manager, agreed to let Marc Hunter, senior, cast and direct the play.

“Marc has a sense of humor that makes even the darkest scenes funny,” Pfeifer said.

Hunter, who has been the lead in many productions at Whitefish Bay High School, said the cast is strong and pulls through on both the serious and more lighthearted moments.

“It’s important for it not to be gloomy,” he said. “[The cast] run the full gamut of emotion.”

Hunter said he knows what it feels like to lose a loved one, as he lost his grandmother to cancer.

“I can relate to the dynamic of a group of kids stricken by an issue they have to confront and struggling day by day,” he said.

Pfeifer said it is a challenge to act a part in the show. “Part of me doesn’t want to disappoint,” she said. Smith’s three sisters are coming to see the show.

 “I want to do the best I can to show them, ‘this is the show I want to put on’ and honor C.J.,” she said. “I have so much tied into this.”

“I’m over the moon proud – not just because Kelsey wrote it but because it is kind, compassionate and in the end, we hope to raise some money for teenagers who want to be leaders,” said Christy Callahan Pfeifer, Kelsey’s mother.

All profits from the show will go to the C.J. Smith Memorial fund, which supports youths with interest in leadership and ministry in the Catholic community, Pfeifer said.

 Tickets are $7 at the door, or pre-order for $5 by emailing whydidgodmakesparrows@aol.com.