An explosive night of laughter: NGU’s production of “You Can’t Take It With You”
Trinity Adams, News and Feature Editor
“You Can’t Take It With You” follows the story of a family that is filled with many lively characters. From actresses to playwrights to firework enthusiasts to tax evaders, this family has many different hobbies, some of which aren’t legal. When the youngest daughter, Alice, organizes a dinner with her potential in-laws, things take a turn for the worst.
This will be director Joshua Scott’s fourth production at NGU and he hopes that it is a night that brings laughter but also emphasizes the importance of family.
“At its heart, this production is about what truly matters – relationships over riches, experiences over status and choosing joy. I hope the audience leaves not only entertained but also reminded that wealth and possessions are fleeting, while love, family and genuine happiness endure. The Sycamores may be eccentric, but their commitment to embracing life’s adventures with open arms is something we can all admire,” Scott said.
Scott explained that when this play came out in 1938, many of the things that make this family stand out have become normal in society today. The idea of women writing plays and men not paying taxes shocked the audience when it first debuted. Despite changes in societal values, the message of the play can still reach audiences today, which is that relationships are more valuable than money.
For sophomore Rebecca Panagiotacos her role as Penny Sycamore, mother to the main character Alice, is one that she is quite familiar with.
“I actually played this exact character before in high school, so it’s really great to see the difference between what I was able to do in high school and what I can do now that I’ve had some training,” Panagiotacos said.
She mentioned that in high school she had to “fake” a lot of her acting, not knowing how to connect to the hobbies of the character. In the play, Penny Sycamore writes plays and paints, but she is not very good at either activity. For this production, Panagiotacos has begun writing bits and pieces of the play that fit something that her character might approve of. She has also spent time researching and learning how to operate a typewrite
In the play, Penny Sycamore is a connecting piece in the family. The character is authentically herself and also encourages her children to be themselves. Although this show is a comedy, it does have to deal with family turmoil, and for Panagiotacos, that has been the most difficult thing to prepare for.
“The most difficult part is when I really have to delve into her emotions which are less fun to experience. There is a bit of heartbreak at the end, although it doesn’t end in heartbreak, but there are some of those more challenging emotions to bring out,” said Panagiotacos.
Junior Sadie Beaumont’s role is Alice, the youngest daughter and main love interest, is a lot different from the other love-struck girls she has played. She said that many of the roles she’s had have felt pretty generic as a love interest, but Alice is a bit more quirky.
“They [other characters] are a bit more straight-laced, they come from nice families and they are shy. Alice is very quirky. She comes from an eccentric family. She kind of tries to hide that about herself, especially to impress her love interest,” Beaumont said.
This is Beaumont’s fifth NGU production, but it has introduced her to a different creative side. She explained that in preparing for this role she has been able to experiment with the quirks of her character. She tried creating different body movements and the way she says certain lines within the script.
“We’ve also done little things for the show like play around with props that our character specifically would have that aren’t necessarily props in the show. I always keep a little locket on me, which was my choice. It has a picture of Tony [her love interest] and that helps me get into the mindset of playing Alice,” Beaumont explained.
“You Can’t Take It With You” opened on February 20 and runs until March 1. Three days are left to see it: Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This production offers family-friendly laughs while also showing that a family can be a colorful cast of characters, but it is important to remain true to yourself.
