Fall beckons in the 2015-2016 theatrical season here at Hollis Brookline High School. Students will audition for the famous stage comedy, You Can’t Take It With You, on Thursday, Oct 1, from 2:30-5:30pm in the theatre wing of the high school. Audition packets, which may be picked up from Barbosa in room 361, are required to audition. However, students do not need to prepare a monologue for this audition.

The play debuted on Broadway in 1936 and won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It transports the audience into the story of an eccentric New York City family, the Vanderhofs, and their dysfunctional, though hilarious, misadventures. You Can’t Take It With You will be co-directed by Matthew Barbosa and Hollis Brookline Middle School’s history teacher and drama instructor, Greg Parker.  

Boasting a cast of twenty, this play is a distinct change from the drama that typically runs in autumn. “We wanted to get as many people involved as possible,” explains Mr. Barbosa, “One of the issues with straight plays is that they’re usually about eight characters.” A comedy such as this promises to be intergenerational and approachable, he believes, as the co-directors tackle their first show together.

“I think Barbosa and Parker are in for a treat,” says Lisa Bumpus ‘16, President of the HBHS International Thespian Society, “The talent this year is immense, and I’m so excited to explore the new dynamic.”

Barbosa foresees himself and Parker as a theatre dream team, with a “yin and yang” level of balance. “I’m going to work really well with him, which is what I’m looking forward to,” Barbosa adds. Parker started and continues to run a theatre company of his own in Cape Cod, MA, and has a robust skill set of not only directing, but building sets, managing business aspects, and costuming for plays.

With so many activities competing for students’ attention, the fall play has managed to generate heightened interest; about thirty audition packets have been requested and distributed to the student body thus far. A large number of choir students have expressed interest in acting for the upcoming performance. Many uninitiated performers have also approached Barbosa, making the pilgrimage to Room 361 in order to meet him and discover more about becoming a part of the theatrical season.

The theatre department looks forward to not only creating a well-balanced cast, but to fostering the acting skills of our HB students, and welcomes auditionees with open arms.