Share This Post

“Stupid Ghost” sells out final performance

With strobe lights and smoke, the beginning of “Stupid Ghost,” written by playwright Savannah Reich, gave a scary and mysterious impression. It took a silly turn when Ghost, played by sophomore arts administration major Madisen Hone, came out wearing a cardboard sign that read, “Ghost” and Darrin Burnett, a senior student, wore a sign saying “MOTHER (possessed)”. 

The play explores the life of a teenage girl who’s surrounded by two ghosts—one that possesses her mom and one that follows her. “Stupid Ghost” also explores the space between life and death through humorous scenes and loveable characters.

Person wearing a sheet, sunglasses and a tie standing behind a podium.
The lecturer, played by Jase Perkins, gave a mid-performance clear definition of ghosts during his monologue on Oct 12.

When Ronnie, played by Karina Barnes, a sophomore custom major, wearing a sign that reads “Pretty Girl”, first goes into the woods and two ghosts vow not to follow her home and do it anyway, the audience let out many giggles. 

From then on, the audience didn’t fall short of a good laugh. Especially not when John Pierre, played by Todd Hamlett, a senior theater performance major, who wears a sign reading “Teenage Boy”, came out with his guitar and sang a comedic song confessing his love to Ronnie or when the “possessed mother” wore a crazy questionable outfit.

The mother’s outfit in question was sparkly pink heels with an orange dress and leopard-print robe which showcased the poltergeist’s possession of her. Expecting a possessed mother to have a presentable, cohesive outfit sounds outlandish.

Five people wearing white sheets with sunglasses dressed as ghosts dance together.
The cast of “Stupid Ghost” participated in a dance scene showcasing their diverse talents. The cast wore sheets as they danced to Meghan Wall’s choreography in Jewett Center at the Dumke Theater. 

The audience, who sold out the play, seemed to enjoy the cast’s group dancing scene dressed as sheet ghosts. They may not all be dancers like Barnes, but for the night they were, amongst many other roles. This was thanks to the choreography, by Meghan Wall, dance professor and choreographer, which was executed nicely. Fortunately, no one’s sunglasses fell off and everyone’s sheet stayed in place.

Five people stand shoulder to shoulder and clap together.
Cast members Jase Perkins, Todd Hamlett, Madisen Hone, Darrin Burnett, and Karina Barnes receive an appraisal from the audience following their final performance on Oct 12. They each applauded the behind-the-scenes crew.

Maybe the play would have been entirely perfect if Ronnie and John Pierre got their happy ending. Although that isn’t what playwright Savannah Reich had in mind, the characters were too loveable to end in such a sad and fatal car accident scene.  

The cast was rewarded with much applause and a standing ovation from the audience at the end of their closing-night performance.

Share This Post

Kyra Cortez is a junior who enjoys going to concerts and on walks and runs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>