For this year’s Mohawk theater production, our student body has portrayed the fantasy world of Narnia. It is my great honor to say that the cast and crew did a magnificent job! Based upon C.S. Lewis’s “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”, the first in the “Chronicles of Narnia” book series, tells the tale of 2 daughters of Eve and 2 sons of Adam who discover a wardrobe in one of the rooms in their newly inherited home. The siblings then join forces with a lion named Aslan to defeat the White Witch of Narnia who has bestowed eternal winter in this fantasy land.
Cast as the four siblings, Ava Ford, Taylor Culley, Grady Shay, and Damon Plugh, these students perfectly portrayed the internal struggle with one’s character and expectations. Justin Addicott, the main director in this production, wanted this story to inspire the young cast to step through their fears and create strong acting foundations; skills to serve the students for years to come. Addicott notes that he has been ‘continually amazed with the cast that is full of talent and watching the cast grow through the play productions has been a huge highlight in his career’.
While watching the play, I thought of something very intriguing. I started to see Biblical resemblances in the plot of the play. I have done some research on the story line of the books and movies and they are in fact heavily influenced by the Bible. One paragraph from a later essay that C.S Lewis wrote titles “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s to Be Said”, said this: “Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrumental then collected information about child-psychology and decided what age-group I’d write for; pure moonshine. I couldn’t write in that way at all. Everything began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn’t even anything Christian about them; that element punched itself in of its own accord.” Lewis also asked himself this question, in which he called a supposal: Imagine if Jesus were to go to another world and die and rise again in that world. What would it look like? (Aslan-the Lion. The figuring/ portraying of Jesus)
So, after seeing the play at Mohawk, I urge you to find a resemblance between your fellow student and the characters that they are portraying, in a biblical view.
I would now like to provide a list of some names of lead roles in the play that put on an outstanding performance:
- Ava Ford- Lucy
- Damon Plugh- Peter
- Grady Shay- Edmund
- Taylor Culley- Susan
- Millie Blum- White Witch
- Ellias Shay- Tumnas
- Graham Daubenspeck and Isla Johnson- Aslan
- White Stag- Reagan Stuble
- Dwarf- Drew Brenner
- Unicorn- Addison Brenner
- Mrs. Beaver- Raelyn Organ
- Mr. Beaver- Kase Smith
- Centaur- Peyton Vizyak
- Elf- Avery Young
- Fenris Ulf- Victoria Ramage
- Father Christmas- Max Roseck
Along with many of those behind the scenes that helped this play come to life on stage.
Absolutely outstanding job to all of you! Until Spring!
