The tale of two married traveling actors struggling to reclaim stardom in the 1950s theater and Hollywood scenes, Ken Ludwig’s Moon Over Buffalo certainly stands a challenging endeavor for any cast to attempt due to its extensive character development and lightning-fast dialogue. Its combination of quick-wit and slapstick comedy, physicality, and the eccentric personalities of its characters make this piece especially difficult for a high-school ensemble to successfully execute.

For the Strawberry Hill Players, though? Not a problem.

Full immediate disclosure: I am no theater critic. I am not trained to analyze the intricacies and subtle yet imperative details of a piece that a more experienced critic would inspect. I am, however, a normal guy who was in the mood for a good show. I cannot go into detail about and criticize aspects of drama which I do not understand.

I can tell you, however, that I was thoroughly entertained and enjoyed every second during my experience sitting front-row for this flawlessly coordinated performance.

It was not until after the show did I find out how demanding the roles of the characters in this piece were to take on. I was quite surprised reading about the difficulties many actors face in mastering the development of its dynamic characters. That surprise was due, largely, to the actors making it look so natural. For the duration of the play, high school students had me convinced that they were a bickering middle-aged couple. If conveying a relationship such as that one between two eccentric characters in front of a live audience is indeed difficult, it certainly was not obvious based on the ease with which the two main actors seamlessly fell into their roles. It was a pleasure to enjoy the performances by an entire cast of truly talented actors fully immersed in the personalities of their characters. Might I add, the most pleasant of which, in humble critic’s opinion, was Will’s hilarious drunken stupor.

My applause also extends to the production staff and drama club officers for putting together a truly stunning set. From the beginning of the first act to end curtain, the Stamford High School auditorium ceased to exist in the 21^st century; rather, the backdrop of the stage transformed the viewing environment into a bright, comfortable home straight out of the 1950s. It was the perfect setting for the onset of shenanigans that began to ensue. Every detail from the elegant 18^th century portraits hanging on the walls to the black rotary phone thoroughly encapsulated the aura of a 1950s, upstate-New York home.

As somebody fairly unfamiliar with drama throughout his years at Stamford High School, I can confidently contend that I was more than pleased with my experience at the Strawberry Hill Players’ rendition of Moon Over Buffalo. The acting blew me away with stellar performances from the entire cast, top to bottom (Brian, you make a mighty fine law-interpreting womanizer). I was beyond impressed with the splendid backdrop and spot-on costume design; I truly felt as if I had been sent back 60 years through a time machine. Although I am still a newbie in the realm of theater criticism, one thing is for certain:

I am very ready for our school’s next great production.