The Servant of Two Masters Review

The+SCW+Players+before+the+show

Mackenzie McGuire

The SCW Players before the show

If you don’t know me personally, there are a solid five things that really stick out to me at St. Charles West: the school pizza, the teachers and administration, football, girl’s basketball, and theatre.  This week, I got to go get a sneak peek of The Servant of Two Masters, the winter production for the St. Charles West Players.  The play’s main plot follows servant Truffaldino (portrayed by Noah Clark) as he tries to navigate being the servant of two different masters (the title is super self explanatory).  However, it also follows smaller plots within the show such as the feuds between Doctor Lombardi (portrayed by Jake Duffner) and Pantalone (Kieran Hefele); and a story between Silvio (Miko Taylor) and Clarice (Madeline Stockmann).

With that being said, a whole show with this amount of action is no small task, but all genres are covered in this masterpiece.  You can find hints of romance, comedy, dramatic irony, and it takes place in a different time period so some history is involved.  A lot of time, energy, and patience go into making these shows, but it is all worth it in the long run, and the cast’s love for the characters is insurmountable.

“Getting to see the cast slowly bring the show to life with their own spins and interpretations of the lines has been a joy to watch. At first it was a little bit of a struggle for everyone to change from the sadder, slower mood they’re used to, but once they started to settle in it truly came to life.”, says senior stage manager Jessie Strain.  Jessie has been assistant stage manager since junior year and has been stage manager the last two shows.

“To me this show is just so much fun, it’s very different than all the other shows I’ve been in. It’s very fast paced and just so fun to run around in.”, says sophomore Anna-Kate Baumann.

“My character’s name is Clarice. Her love interest is Silvio. Her father is Pantalone. Her personal servant is named Smeraldina. Clarice is very dramatic, bratty, and is flirty/lovey dovey.  Clarice means a lot to me. She is one of the more fun and over the top roles I’ve played and she has a great costume!”, says sophomore Madeline Stockmann, known for her role as Lucy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and continuing to consistently shine throughout her theatre career at St. Charles West.

As for the review, I give this show a solid 10/10: the cast was funny and super engaging to watch, the characters are fun-loving and extremely memorable, and you never really know what was going to happen next and it keeps you on your toes.  I strongly recommend if you’re not doing anything on February 10th, 11th, or 12th, go see it.  It is so worth it.

The SCW Players are also always looking for new people!

“We are very accepting and look forward to new members every year or every show. It helps with being able to speak in front of a crowd and you can show who you really are without anyone judging you.”, says Madeline Stockmann.

“If you want to slowly dip your toes into theatre, the first Thursday of every month we have a club meeting right after school! We release information about the future shows and auditions, and then after we all do a fun activity together. We like to do different things like painting, playing trivia, watching movies, eating ice cream, and much more. It’s never too late to join- we love to see new faces!”, says senior Jessie Strain.