Sussex Christian School

Presents “A Night of Foolishness”

On April 27^th and 28^th, Sussex Christian School presented its annual spring drama production. The evening was opened by students in the elementary grades. Students in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 2 started the fun with their rendition of the well-known “Hole in the Bucket”. Students in Grades 3 to 6 followed with “The Dumb Jokes Song”, where the audience was warned that “each of these jokes is funnier than the next.”

In the feature drama, what happens if the village idiot is everyone?   Leon Tolchinsky is overjoyed.  He has obtained his dream job; teaching in a picturesque Ukrainian hamlet.   But there is less to this village than meets the eye.  It has fallen under a unique curse which threatens to entrap Leon as well.  Can he get out before the curse traps him too?

We first meet Leon (played by Kaleb Graham) as he enters the village square of Kulyenchikov, eager to begin his new teaching position. Soon we encounter a number of the village residents: Snetsky the Shepherd (Jordan Gorveatte), Slovitch the Butcher (Marquel Jenkins), Mishkin the Postman (Tia Boyd) and Yenchna the Vendor (Kelsey Cruickshank), as well as the Magistrate (Caleb MacCallum). It doesn’t take long to discover that this village has a serious problem!

The villagers point Leon in the direction of his employer (well, sort of!) and then we are introduced to Dr. Zubritsky (Ben Trouten) and his wife Lenya (Olivia Moss), who desperately want their daughter Sophia (Kaya Sleep) to be educated, and thus have the village curse lifted.

Upon meeting Sophia, Leon’s interest becomes not only academic, but romantic as well. However, he learns from the good doctor and his wife that he would have a rival in this matter; Count Yousekevitch (Josiah Gosman), who proposes to Sophia twice a day.

Perhaps a lesser-known play, this Neil Simon Broadway original proves to be a lot of fun. The cast of ten SCS high school students served up a full helping of comedy, sprinkled with a touch of romance with this full-length two-act play.  

Sussex Christian School is grateful to Professor David Trouten, Director of General Studies at Kingswood University, who directed this year’s production. His assistants, Ginny Trouten and Misty Dawn Weir, along with a number of students, staff and supporters, all worked together to make this a highly enjoyable presentation.