By Patricia Beech-
Local audiences were captivated by a production of the teen-oriented stage musical, “Dead Serious about Life” at North Adams High School on Nov. 17-18.
Created in 1988 by Terri Hopton, and performed by the Cincinnati-based Mishpachah, Inc. acting troupe, the two-act coming-of-age story uses music to explore social and cultural issues that particularly impact teens.
Praising the play’s appeal, one reviewer wrote, “It will make you laugh, cry, hurt, fear and feel, but, most of all ‘Dead Serious’ will make you take a second look at life”.
The play’s action centers round a party thrown by the popular captain of the high school football team, while his parents are out of town for the weekend.
Characters introduce serious issues like drug and alcohol abuse, abortion, religion, sex, eating disorders, and suicide with musical offerings like “Party”, “You Were Never My Age”, “Go Get Wasted”, “Make My Life Count”, and “Better Way”.
The 14-member cast and the 10-member backstage Mish Crew, all high school students from Cincinnati area schools, work together to create what one reviewer described as “three hours packed full of reality, hope and change”.
The Mishpachah website describes the production as “upfront” and “blunt”.
The play’s first act opens with the upbeat musical number, “Party”, and ends with a disturbing teen suicide. The second act opens in a funeral home with the number, “Make My Life Count” and ends with the cast singing “Better Way” as their characters come to terms with their choices.
“The final message communicated to the audience is that suicide only creates more problems than it really solves and that there is a better way to live,” says Hopton, the production’s director, who brought the original play to the stage in June of 1989.
“That was over 30 years and hundreds of shows ago,” according to Hopton, “The names of characters, cast members, staff, and volunteers have all changed numerous times. The music has had several face lifts and the script is completely different from the original, but the message of hope remains the same.”
Mishpachah, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1990. The group’s unique name “Mishpachah” is the Hebrew word for “family”. The group consists of high school students from the Cincinnati area who audition to be a part of the organization.
The Mishpachah players have toured more than 20 states and performed at various venues including: the Cincinnati Convention Center, Six Flags over Mid America; the Kings Island Amusement Park; Disney World, various high schools, churches, civic organizations, church camps, parks, shopping malls, and youth events.
The North Adams High School production was sponsored by area churches including: Union Hill Church in Peebles; Church 180, and the Countryside Church of Christ in Seaman; W3CU and Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester; and Satterfield Chapel in West Union.
