By Ripon Media in College Days on April 8, 2016
By: Hannah Tetzlaff
A round of applause is owed the Ripon College Theatre Department who executed an excellent performance of Philip Barry’s romantic-comedy Holiday, March 2-5.
The play is about a lawyer named Johnny Case (James Balistreri ’19) who meets and falls in love with the beautiful Julia Seton (JaneMarie Erickson ’16), who hails from a wealthy New York family. Johnny wants to marry Julia and visits her home only to find out that her father Edward Seton (Tekoa Wittman ’18) is one of the richest men in New York with high expectations for her future husband.
After the marriage, Johnny plans to make some money and then take a “holiday” to find himself. This is not an idea supported by Mr. Seton or Julia. Johnny is torn and must decide whether to marry Julia or follow his heart and take his holiday with her sister Linda (Sophie Widman ‘18).
“One of the themes of the play is following your heart rather than following what everybody else tells you to do,” says Holiday Director and Professor of Theatre Kenneth Hill. “Who do you listen to? Do you listen to the way society tells you to live your life or can you make your own decisions? […] One of the lines in the play is, ‘Life’s a grand little ride if you take it yourself.’”
“Overall, I think it was the second best one I’ve seen here, and I thought the acting was superb,” said Ripon CHN’s Advanced Practice Nurse Prescriber Sandie Quaid.
“Holiday’s strengths were in the actors; each one shaped his or her character in a unique and fascinating manner, which made it really easy for the audience to relate and sympathize,” said Tara Shultz ’17. “I can’t say there were any definitive weaknesses. Errors and mix-ups occur with any production, and it’s not exactly something that affects the overall experience in my opinion. Overall, Holiday was truly a success and I’m looking forward to the next production.”
