‘Suite Surrender’ Smashes Expectations

Photo+by%3A+Peyton+Matteson

Photo by: Peyton Matteson

Caroline Kivett

The spring play, Suite Surrender, opened Feb. 16 and closed Feb. 18 and featured two casts. This review only covers the opening night performance. 

The main plot line revolves around a long standing rivalry between two popular singers. The two women, whose hatred of each other is renowned and above all feared in this fictional scenario, sparks an avalanche of bewilderment as the rest of the characters scurry around trying to keep the two singers from running into each other during their accidental stay in the same hotel suite. 

The craziness is further amplified by the other characters’ relationships, including a bell boy enamored with one of the singer’s assistants, an obsessed reporter, and a very temperamental pet dog.  

Although the play started off slow as each character was introduced, the wait was worth it in the end. Act 2 really ramped up the intensity and the timing of the jokes, rewarding the audience’s patience with a steady stream of laughter. The play wraps up with a heartwarming but surprising plot twist. 

Other fun highlights of the performance included a dramatic opening statement from Director Brett Young and an intermission teaser for Act 2 from Assistant Principal Andrew Worthington. 

An additional element that was particularly unique to this play was the singing and dancing number at the end along with some short solos scattered throughout. The bouts of song were placed well occasionally, but otherwise felt random and unnecessary to the play. 

Farces are typically categorized as such for their physical comedy and this play embraced that title. From fake slaps to very real kissing, this play fully leaned into the aspects of physical humor and it paid off. The audience could not stop cracking up at the over exaggerated acting. 

This particular performance featured few noticeable technical mistakes, an achievement worth noting after a prop door fell off its hinges during a previous performance. One other slight critique is that because the actors did not have mics, some lines were lost in the quietness of certain actors and the volume of laughing and clapping by the audience. 

Overall, the play itself was extraordinarily hilarious and left me wanting to return back another night to watch it again.