On the weekend of Oct. 23, the underclassmen of Naperville North brought Don Zolidis’ hilarious and dramatic play, The Rehearsal, to life.

The Rehearsal portrays a high school drama club, a struggling teacher and an effort to put on a successful production of the play Guys and Dolls. The melodramatic, and to say the least, unenthusiastic fictional cast makes the task difficult, with colliding personalities and comical teen romance sprinkled in.

It was fresh experience to be drawn out of the cage of the NPAC and into a brand new setting – the lecture hall. The change allowed the cast to more accurately portray high school students inside a high school. More than that, light and sound were flawless as usual, even when being away from home.

I didn’t feel the same sense of professionalism that I have seen in the past–probably due to the younger, less experienced cast. Even one of the first lines of the play displayed the varying levels of acting experience.

There were moments when I crinkled my eyes just a touch, not totally convinced, seeing more of the actor than the character; much of the acting felt forced.

However, there were moments when an involuntary smile crept across my face as I soon erupted into laughter at the accurate absurdity of the scene.

Sophomore Lindsay Cernek, playing a nasty and power-hungry stage manager, was complemented by Morgan, a bitter and snooty actress who wanted to perform Wicked, played by freshman Ingrid Lowery.

Cernek’s character, Julie, attempts to teach the cast one of the dances in the show, which results in an utter failure. Lowery, also in the scene, had me crying of laughter as I watched the rest of the characters struggle to keep up with the tempo of the dance as she performs with perfection, ending with the well-timed, satirically clichéd splits.

It’s always delightful to see actors who highlight the themes of the show and bring out the best in the cast.

Although I felt the stereotype of inexperienced underclassmen creeping in, the continuity of the program was sophisticated and impressive.

Perhaps in the moment maybe not sophisticated; sophomore Michael Winner sang the prologue of The Little Shop of Horrors in an implied setting of the men’s room. But this cast saw an opportunity and took it–bringing back a previous show was exciting for the audience and added energy for the cast.

Luckily, the wit and hilarity from the entire cast outweighed any reservations I had about the acting and genuineness. I continue to look forward to see the theater department’s next offering: the Children’s Play.