“Purple Haze” Combines Entertainment and Valuable Message

Drama Club’s Festival Production Showcases SHS Talent

Dani Tyrcha, Contributing Review Writer

Every student at SHS should see “Purple Haze.” The Drama Club’s latest production combines entertainment and a message about the importance of expressing yourself and living without any constraints.  This fantastic play is the first entirely student-written, student-directed piece to be entered by Scituate into the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild (METG) High School Festival.  

Purple Haze” combines the world of Shakespeare with the tumultuous 1960s America by taking its inspiration from William Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer’s Night Dream,” another wonderful play that the Drama Club has performed.  It features Sean Francis as the mischievous fairy, Puck.  His boss, Oberon, played by Darian Heggie, sends him on a mission to prevent the lovely Titania, Peyton Swan, from leaving his cult.  On his way, however, Puck falls into a bit of trouble as he interrupts the love-lives of Hermia (Marley Swartz), whose father, Theseus, portrayed by Alex Kenney, and mother, Hippolyta, portrayed by Madi Parker, have demanded she marry Demetrius (Hayden Startzell).  However, her true love is Lysander (George Malouf).  Puck uses a purple love drug to make Lysander and Demetrius fall head-over-heels for Helena (Eila McCullouch).  Meanwhile, Nick Bottom, played by Abby Hilditch, hatches a plan to undermine the arranged marriage with his band of fairies, played by Noel Connolly, Katie Norton, Robbie Brockman, and Kyle Moon.

The 40-minute play (time required for the METG Festival) kept the audience gripped for the entirety of the play. Using music from Scituate’s own Riptide, a band made up of Scituate High students, which played on stage rather than off, was a brilliant creative choice. The music, costumes, hair, and makeup also helped establish the context of the time period.  The actors fit their roles incredibly well: They were very engaging and made the audience feel as though the outlandish events of the play were truly happening.

The Scituate Drama Club should be truly proud, not only of the amazing show they put on, but for everything it took to get there.  According to the play’s writers, Maeve Chapman, Alex Moon, Callie Moos, and Sean Francis, writing the play was a lengthy process: “Purple Haze” has been in production from the beginning of the school year, and they are still making tweaks.  

The spirit of the 1960’s is one of youth, freedom, inspiration, and hope.  SHS students who wrote, directed, performed, or contributed to “Purple Haze” carried this spirit to new dimensions during this year’s high school festival season.