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David & Lisa
By Lauren Stabile, Editor
A
bitter, germophobic, OCD patient and a young schizophrenic woman
with multiple personalities, a mental institution, and young love
may sound like a comedy, but David and Lisa is anything but funny.
This heartwarming play of acceptance and tolerance, currently
performed by El Segundo High School's drama class, features Michael
Martinez as David and Kelly Moody as Lisa. David and Lisa is based
on a black and white movie written by Eleanor Perry and was first
released in 1962. It proved to be a very popular film, earning over
five times its production cost in the first week alone. The movie
was soon adapted into a play by James Reach. Hopefully, this success
will be translated to the Little Theater stage. Director Ms.
Hedayat says, “It was a really precious play for a small theater and
I jumped at the opportunity because I liked to add different media
to my plays. I think it’s important for people to realize that the
plays we put on are by the students, for the students, and we
appreciate it when kids get fellow students to come and support us.”
The disturbed teens are students at
the Berkeley School, a rehabilitation center for the young and
mentally unstable. David, the only son in a wealthy family, is
plagued by his fear of being touched. Lisa, on the other hand, is
perfectly normal except for her multiple personalities; one of her
many selves speaks in rhymes and insists that others respond to her
in the same manner. The play maps the rollercoaster of progress and
regression that comes with such an unlikely and crazy love story.
The 40 some years since the movie
have welcomed many advances in psychological treatment. Today,
David would be treated with medication and many of his fellow
patients would not even be considered psychiatric cases; they would
be the average nerd, flirt, and juvenile delinquent that strolls the
streets of Los Angeles. No matter how dated the subject matter,
there is no doubt that David and Lisa is superbly performed by ESHS
Drama. Michael Martinez excellently portrays the plights of a
troubled teenager trying to live a normal life and Kelly Moody pulls
off the multiple personalities of her character with ease; any
derivation from her interpretation of the character would seem
ridiculous. The supporting actors carefully added depth and a sense
of humanity to the hardships faced by the protagonists. The entire
cast seemed to mesh and the various behind-the-scenes on-goings and
on-stage actions ran smoothly. Senior Brenna Parker, playing
therapist Maureen Hart, proudly states, “The cast is great, we just
deal with stress so we’ve grown together really well through this
play.
ESHS Drama is usually successful with
its productions and David and Lisa is no exception. Not only as a
show of support for fellow students, but everyone here at El Segundo
should see David and Lisa for its intriguing plotline and touching
message. “I loved the show!” Junior Aubrianne Rose exclaimed. “It
was a witty, heartfelt story.”
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