Nick Dear’s Frankenstein, which is distinctly different than the original book written in 1818 by Mary Shelley, was a major hit for the Fossil Ridge High School theatre department, and the dramatic performances Thursday-Saturday, November 17-19 left many students highly impressed as they exited the show. Mary Andel, a senior, stated that the play was, “dark, intense, and extremely well executed. It was better than I thought any high school could pull off.” Many actors and other theatre members have been calling the show the best they have ever been a part of – tickets for the Friday performance sold out online, and on Saturday night they had to turn people who didn’t buy their tickets ahead of time away, because so many students and parents wanted to see the show.

The play centered on the Creature, played by junior Caleb Martin, and his creator, Victor Frankenstein, played by junior Chris Martella. It followed the Creature from his first days of being, as a confused and unintelligent mute, through his process of meeting both friends and foes, learning to speak and read, and finding and confronting Frankenstein. Also featuring senior Elizabeth Woolner as Frankenstein’s soon-to-be bride and sophomore Lucas Feuer as Frankenstein’s father, the play took many surprising twists and turns, leaving the audience unsure of what to expect next.

Daunting music and projected sceneries put on by multiple tech crews helped add to the suspensefulness of the play. Visions of snow-capped mountains and dramatic lighting effects gave the audience a good sense of setting, making them enraptured by what they were seeing on stage. By far one of the best aspects of the play was the job done by the makeup crew, led by juniors Alyssa Ankney and Katie Doing, especially the makeup covering the Creature. It transformed Martin from a normal high school student into a gruesome and mysterious monster.  

With so much going into a show, stage manager Greenley Slater was both sad and happy for it to have ended. “I was relieved it was over because of how stressful shows are, but I am also sad because theatre is my life and that part is over,” Slater said. Slater claimed, “We put a lot of work into the show and it was definitely worth the outcome.”