The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

Broken Box Invents a Time Machine

The Broken Box Theatre Company opened with another exceptional production on Thursday, February 3 in the Eagle Theatre. Through the actors’ and actresses’ remarkable performances in “Never Mind What Happened, How Did It End?,” Broken Box members took the audience back in time to the Roaring Twenties, the Ravaging Fifties and the Groovy Seventies.

The curtains open to the porch of the Mitchell household, where the lovebirds Ann Mitchell (junior Amanda Spielman) and Kevin Fredricks (junior Tom Rigodonzo) are perplexed about letting Ann’s parents know about their relationship with each other.

In the meantime, Ann’s mother, Donna Mitchell (senior Christine Do), is quickly preparing for the arrival of her superstar mother Penny Loring (senior Anna Tahran). When Penny enters the house, she reminisces about the memories she has growing up in the Roaring Twenties and reflects on the time when she decides to make a name for herself by becoming an actress. She rejects the man she loves, Edward Garrison (junior Devan Tormey), because she has aspiring dreams. Broken Box members bring these memories to life by re-enacting them in a vivid and engaging manner.

Meanwhile, Ann pops the question to her mother, who is astonished and does not approve. She voices her side of the story by claiming that it’s too young to become committed–an action that she regrets in her own ife.

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The audience follows back to another flashback as Donna reminisces about how she became committed too quickly with Tommy (senior Johnny Hendriquez), who died in the army and left her a single mother. Afraid that her daughter will be left in the situation she found herself, she denies Kevin and Ann’s love.

The audience is quick to notice the differences between the daughter and mother–while Donna believes in staying true to the past and living her life dedicated to her family, Penny believes in making a name for herself and becoming an actress. Penny goes through four divorces and travels frequently for her demanding career.

The rest of the play focuses on how Ann and Kevin decide what’s right for them and attempt to obtain the approval of Ann’s parents. It highlights the idea of compromise and responsibility, as well as the relationships between mother and daughter throughout the generations.

The Broken Box Theatre Company has done an excellent job in creating this production and bringing it to life. Broken Box teacher Nancy Moran has directed yet another superb show, while senior Annalise Tahran delivered an outstanding performance as the lavish Penny in the 70s. Senior Laura Delamare played Penny in the 20s and junior Nikki Kashani played Penny in the 50s. Both did an amazing job in painting a vivid portrait of her character and revealing the progression in attitude throughout the years.

Every member in Broken Box has put in a lot of effort in order to make this play successful. So if you want to travel back in time along with the Broken Box crew, watch “Never Mind What Happened, How Did it End?” and find yourself entertained.

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