The Madison Theater Department is performing You Can’t Take It With You on October 2-3 at 7PM and October 4 at 2PM.
By Ryan Stephens
Broadway comes to the Performing Arts Center with theater’s fall rendition of You Can’t Take It With You. Running concurrent with the Broadway run, the theater department will tell the comedic story of the Sycamore family, as written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. Beginning October 2 and continuing through October 4, the Madison community has the opportunity to learn about the family and their struggles they face in 1930s New York City.
“They are a sweet, loveable, eccentric family but not what society deemed acceptable in the ‘30s,” theater director Cynthia McDonald said. “The message is to enjoy life and enjoy each other.”
The story of the Sycamores does more than just provide a message for the audience. Among the deeper realizations for the characters, they also provide a love story on top of it. The characters Tony Kirby and Alice Sycamore, as played by senior Matthew Wiley and junior Alexia Contreras de Castillo respectively, fall in love and provide another layer for the play.
“At first, she is loving for her family but gives them up because of Tony,” de Castillo said. “By the end, she gets with Tony and loves her family again.”
The evolution of characters such as Alice and Tony drives the plot forward; however, the ones that ground the message of the play come through with the head of the family. Grandpa Vanderhof demonstrates the wackier side of the Sycamore family while also retaining the essence of the play.
“He’s a nice 75 year old man,” senior Bradley Fertitta, who plays Vanderhof, said. “[He] learned that the best thing to do in life is to relax and do what makes you happy.”
Overall, You Can’t Take It With You will draw in audiences this fall with the humorous interpretation of the 1930s, but leave a little more, a lesson that they can take with them. With the name of the play, money cannot be taken but instead, the love and relationships one develops over a lifetime should be taken in lieu of it, a message You Can’t Take It With You hopes to reinforce over and over again.