At 7 p.m. the lights dimmed as Stephanie Frettwell and Cathy Yount entered from stage left to introduce the last night of the maroon casting of the fall play,  “The Hollow.”

The play started with some light humor to set the mood as Brooke Vasconcellos’ kooky character Lady Angkatell came out in an old-fashioned blue dress as her first costume for the night. She spoke in a shrill high voice and looked around the set with eyes as big as a full moon. I laughed as Lady Angkatell continuously became confused and lost her train of thought.

However the laughing stopped just as quickly as it started when John Cristow (Travis Longacre) was mysteriously shot and killed in Act II, Scene II.

As the play continued everybody in the theatre was on the edge of their seats (including myself) as they quietly whispered among themselves trying to figure out who could have be the murderer. It seemed to me as though it was the odd character of Edward Angkatell (Alex Clark) because up until the time that John was murdered he had been horribly jealous of John for having the woman of his dreams, Henrietta Angkatell (Caitlin Shantz).

However, I believe the entire audience was surprised to find out the person who killed John was his own wife herself, Gerda Cristow (Maddy Stockell). Gerda acted on killer instincts after seeing her husband sneak out one night to go visit his former love, Veronica Craye (Rachel Henry).

We were even more surprised to find out that Henrietta had known all along. It became became even more intense when Gerda tried to poison Henrietta by slipping something in her drink once she left the room. Especially after Henrietta had tried to help Gerda hide the last piece of evidence from the police. Unfortunately Gerda ended up drinking after the poisoned glass herself and her life ended as well. And of course the show ends with a laugh as kooky Lady Angkatell ends with the quote: “Oh! Has she?” while making a beheading motion with hand as she looks down at Gerda’s lifeless body. “How fortunate.” She smiles her creepy smile as the lights go back on.

All in all, the entire play was outstanding and the whole cast did an excellent job. It was a great mix of humor and seriousness. The costumes were great and looked good on everybody. Everybody spoke loud and clear so the dialogue was easy to follow and understand.

Having more than one week of shows worked great to provide multiple opportunities for people to get tickets. “The Hollow” was an excellent choice for a high school play, and it was even better because it was the first play of the year. I’m pretty sure that it will attract everyone who came to see “The Hollow” to come to see the next show, “Bye Bye Birdie” since many of the same students plan to audition, beginning Dec. 8 after school with Mr. Rick Eldredge.