Through SATURDAY, 5/5: Elephant Man Opens at GMHS

The George Mason High School Theater Arts Department presents the Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, opening Thursday, May 3rd at 7:30 pm. The show runs through Saturday, May 5th.  Tickets are $8 for students and seniors and $10 for adults.

The play is directed by seniors Bryan Ward and Rebecca Thackrey and produced by Theater Arts Director Pamela Ricker.  The Play is set in London’s industrial revolution of the late 1800’s, and tells the story of Joseph Merrick, known as The Elephant Man, who had a bone disorder which caused him to develop terrible deformities.  Merrick was a side show freak until he was rescued by Treves, a surgeon at the London Hospital.  The play examines issues of people’s fear of the unknown and prejudices based on appearance as well as our intolerance of perceived imperfections of all kinds.

The play is a serious drama and will be staged with creative lighting, projections, and short animations to create the settings and communicate the themes. Technical support will be by John Ballou and the George Mason Technical Theater Crew, as well as Mr. Ballou’s classes. Starring roles include Sean Driggers as The Elephant man, Samuel Blagg as Dr. Treves, Emma Pierce as Lady Gomm, Joseph Warren as Ross and Kikki Skotte as Mrs. Kendall.  The supporting ensemble brings the size of the cast up to 40 in all.

This is a very intellectual, symbolic, and challenging script and the George Mason cast is more than up to the challenge of bringing it to life. There should be striking and impressive technical elements to the show as well, which promise to make it a memorable piece of theater.