Scene from “Alice or The Scottish Gravediggers.”
Written by Emma Torkelson
Emotional, captivating, suspenseful. These are just a few words used to describe this sinister, French melodrama that the cast and crew of Alice or The Scottish Gravediggers put on from October 26 to the 29th. They had been rehearsing since early September, and spent almost every day after school devoting their time to working hard for Ms. Sternling, the director, and themselves so that they would perform a great play.
Alice or The Scottish Gravediggers, set around the time of the 17th and 18th century when body snatching was popular. Body snatching is a practice that many doctors would use to be able to experiment with so that they could practice on real bodies without harming their subjects. Instead of doing it on live human beings, they hired grave diggers to find freshly dead bodies for them and deliver them in secret, as it was illegal at the time.
Our story follows a young girl, Alice, played by Bailey Gerhard, who lives with her aunt, Daisy Battles, and cousin, Peter Punnoose, and has gained the attraction of two men, wealthy Sir Jack Spleen (Andres Kou) and the poor, but still charming, medical student Edward Belton (Tucker Gratton). In an effort to find someone who will take care of her for the rest of her life, and after being extremely pressured by her aunt, Alice decides to marry Sir Jack. However, when a horrible tragedy falls on Edward it is revealed that Alice truly loves him, not her newly wed husband, which causes Sir Jack to rip up their marriage contract and leave.
As the play continues, Alice and Edward spend much time together till he decides to ask her to marry him, which of course she agrees to. But unfortunately, fate is not on the two lovers’ side as Edward is whisked back home to take care of his mother and in that time completely forgets to write to his fiancee. Six months go by and Alice has yet to receive a letter from Edward so with a made up mind, she travels to Scotland to see him.
When Alice decides to go and visit him we learn that he is getting married to a different woman and this breaks poor Alice’s heart. She is so out of it that she doesn’t even realize she is walking into a graveyard with a man her ex-fiancee just hired to find him a dead body. As the story comes to an end, a body is delivered to Edward and when he opens it he finds the face of Alice staring at him, dead. Sadly, Edward cannot take this kind of pain or shock and the play concludes with him also passing away and spending the rest of eternity with his love.
Along with the actors named above, this production features Thomas Derden, Reagan Lankford, Ella Shepherd, Bella George, Grace Workman, Patrick Bibbins, and Riley Page. Crew members include director Jenny Sternling, assistant director and stage manager Natalie Mendoza, stage manager Grace Hobby, and lighting and sound operators Kate Revier and Isabella Sanchez.
Bailey Gerhard performed with great emotion not only in her face and acting but as well as in her voice and body movements. She brought the role to life and created art with her talents up on that stage. Just by watching her performance, anyone could see how much time and effort she put into her role and how she made it her own, demonstrating empathy for her character and the other characters around her. Bailey is a hard worker both on and off stage and has shown her tartlets on stage over the years taking on many challenging roles, including Ginny, Professor McG, and Helga in Puffs and Fantine in Ghostlight, both performed last year.
The role of Sir Jack was played by none other than Andres Kou who did so incredibly well that it left the audience exiting the theater dewy eyed and emotional. Andres embodied his character in a way only he can, making it not just a role but a persona that he adapted to bring the play to life. As the audience sat and watched the play, they noticed that Andres expressed his role’s emotion throughout his body language and it is especially evident in his voice. His portrayal of Sir Jack left the audience craving more of his ability to act and wanting more of his representation of the characters he plays. Bishop Kelly is ready to see what he will bring us in his next performance! Frequent theatergoers may remember Andres for his role of Oliver in Puffs, which was performed in the Spring of 2023, or Jackson Nettles in Ghostlight, performed last fall.
New to Bishop Kelly theater productions, but hopefully not his last time, Tucker Gratton, who assumed the role of Alice’s lover and medical student, Edward Belton, made such an impact on the drama community that if you were to ask someone, “Hey, who was your favorite actor in the play last week?” A majority of people respond with, “Oh my gosh Tucker was amazing! He was so good and I didn’t know he could act like that!” Tucker is not only an incredible actor, but he also does Speech and Debate. Likewise, many performers in the play are also part of other communities and extracurriculars. This just goes on to show how amazing they are by being able to put on such a phenomenal production, but also balance their school work and other activities. Actors truly can do anything and everything they set their mind to!
Overall, the cast and crew of Alice or The Scottish Gravediggers put on a wonderful performance for our school and put in so much time and dedication to keeping theater alive, especially at Bishop Kelly. If you were not able to see this performance don’t worry! In the spring, the Drama Club is putting on Circus Olympus, A Mythical Comedy, and that’s something no one wants to miss!
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