The tale of “Frankenstein” has always been a spine-chilling classic and critically acclaimed favorite of all looking for a story at this time of year. On Oct. 27 in the Little Theater, the freshman/sophomore play, “I Am Frankenstein”, a retelling of “Frankenstein” with some exciting new twists, took to the stage.
“I Am Frankenstein” tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a student studying science at a university. While at school, his mother, Mary, dies, causing Victor to have a life crisis. During this crisis, he accidentally creates a monstrous creature who kills all of the people he cares about, including his best friend, brother and wife. After getting chased to the arctic by the Creature, Victor gets rescued by a sailor but then dies of malnourishment…all while the Creature still lives. At the very end of the play, we see Mary come back as a spirit as she did throughout the play. She explains to the audience that she is the spirit of the author of the original book “Frankenstein.”
The costume choices were really unique. Every character, with the exception of The Creature and Mary, wore all black. This symbolized all the characters being controlled by Mary, her using them as a blank canvas to create the story. The Creature’s costume, a long white gown with bloody scars, was very well imagined by the costume director and looked straight out of a horror film. Mary stood out in a yellow eighteenth-century-looking dress. Blackbirds, characters who mostly surrounded Mary while she made her appearances, wore blackbird masks and black cloaks with hoods. These costumes really helped the audience enjoy the story by helping them further understand the contributions each character made to the world in the play.
The set and stage lighting perfectly suited the show, giving us an ominous feeling. At the start of the play and after intermission, the lights in the theater quickly switched off into total darkness. It scared many of the audience members. And the spotlights on the different actors were seamless as they were moving around the theater.
The set was minimalistic, multifunctional and efficient. An operating bench was able to become a sailboat in no time. A silhouette of an arched opening appeared at the back of the stage the entire show. It enhanced the doomy feel of the set overall.
And of course, who could not love the acting. Freshman Charles Halliday, who played Victor Frankenstein, did an excellent job with facial expressions and characterization skills. Sophomore Nytasha Sharpe, who played Mary, did an amazing job with facial expressions, and sophomore Silas Smith, who plays The Creature, had wonderful stage presence and did an excellent job of incorporating fluid movements to the character.
Overall, the freshman/sophomore play this year was definitely worth watching. Everyone involved made the play engaging and genuinely frightening for the audience.
