Under the direction of senior Erin Birchfield in her directing debut and senior Jess Kniskern and produced by faculty member, Makala Vest Witten, the Christiansburg High School Blue Demon Drama Department over the weekend presented The Outsiders, a classic novel loved by readers of all ages. The stage version was adapted by Christopher Sergel from the book by S.E. Hinton.
The novel and the stage adaptation tell the dramatic story of two rival high-school groups, the Greasers and the Socials. The former is from “the wrong side of the tracks” while the latter bunch is the school’s wealthiest kids.
Greaser Ponyboy, played by Nicklas Bissey, and greaser Johnny, played by sophomore Nate Birchfield, find their young unexpectedly and suddenly changed when they are involved in a brawl that results in the death of a “Soc.” Their friend and fellow Greaser Dallas, played by senior Malaki York, comes to their aid, but what follows is a spiral of heroism and tragedy. Some of the Greasers seek redemption, but others meet more tragic ends.
The Blue Demon Drama Department will return to the stage on Saturday, Feb. 29, at 7 p.m. with a production of an offbeat play about love and “not quite” love titled Almost, Maine. This production will be presented at the June Bug Center in Floyd.
Almost, Maine, is a town so far north it’s almost not in the United States; it’s almost in Canada. And it almost doesn’t exist because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it’s just . . . almost. One cold Friday night in the middle of winter, the residents of Almost find themselves falling in and out of love in the strangest ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. Love is lost, found and confounded. And life for the people of Almost, Maine, will never be the same. In Almost, Maine, it’s love. Almost, but not quite.
