Bethel Park Falls: A Complete Review

Illustration by Lauren Chan

On January 10th and 11th, the Middlesex studio play’s cast brought Jason Pizzarello’s play Bethel Park Falls to life through their acting capabilities that kept the audience utterly captivated. The story follows the lives of sixteen Bethel Park locals and their respective struggles. Each story is connected one way or another, creating an intriguing mystery for the audience to solve while they try to connect the characters and the events that transpired. While the play was introduced by Tom Kane, the true director of this play was Sam Nudler. The cast came together once a week from September to January until tech week. Some of the performers were new to Middlesex theater, and the experience was fresh and exciting.

Each scene demonstrated the work and effort that each actor put into their job. Whether it be the tension between the cheating mayor and his yoga-loving wife (Logan Hoffman ‘27 and Sarah Custodio-Guzmán ‘26) or the chemistry between the unmotivating motivational speaker and the risk-adverse actuary (Sofia Raytchev ‘28 and Chris She ‘27), every character did a fantastic job at making the audience feel like what was happening in front of them was real. 

However, the play did not have the turn out that was hoped for. Although students were given notice that the play was happening, a fair amount of the community did not show up. It seemed that splitting up the grades, while a good idea in theory, resulted in the students having less interest in attending. The intimate size of the theater gives the audience a closer view of the action; however, this also limited the number of possible attendees. The lack of audience members might also reflect that the play itself was not one commonly known. Luckily for the people watching, the thespians made sure that their production would not be an easily forgotten one.

Unfortunately for the people who did not attend the performance, they missed the chance to see what can be accomplished when a group of people work to create something magical. Sophomore Marie Diem, who played the part of Gaia, commented that being a part of the play’s cast throughout the process of putting together the show “makes you feel the deeper meaning of [the play].” During their time rehearsing, the cast members formed bonds of friendship and became a united team. This teamwork is what allowed the actors to function as a group and put on a great show.

It’s safe to say that one had truly missed out by not attending the performance of Bethel Park Falls. The show was a nice opportunity for many of our peers to have time in the spotlight, even if not everyone in the community attended.

Tenny Sprong & Maisie Wands