Broken Box performed the play “Never Mind What Happened, How Did It End?” from February 2 to February 4.
The play focused on the lives of three generations of women in one family. It moved forward and backward in time through flashbacks and memories.
In the 1930s, newly graduated 19-year-old Penny (senior Laura Delamare), wants to leave her town to become an actress—something that was unheard of at that time. Penny achieves her dream and becomes famous but gets pregnant. Her daughter Donna (Young Donna is played by senior Shefali Vasudevan and Old Donna is played by senior Christine Do) is left to grow up with her grandfather because Penny is away performing.
When Donna grows older, she falls in love with a boy in the army named Tommy. She later remarries after he dies.
The play actually begins in the 1970s with 63-year-old Penny (senior Annalise Tahran) who is a grandmother when she returns to her family. Ann (junior Amanda Spielman), Donna’s daughter, is 18 years old. The three women have conflicting morals and values. For example, when Ann wants to move in with her boyfriend, Donna and Penny disagree on whether or not she should.
“[Penny’s] known as the fun, quirky grandmother,” Annalise said. “But at the same time, she has fights with her daughter about growing up.”
Because there were three different girls playing Penny, Annalise, Laura and junior Nikki Kashani had to group up and practice perfecting the same hand motions, gestures and sitting postures. This was also true for other characters who were portrayed by multiple people, like Donna.
“It’s [something that’s] never happened before,” Laura said. “We had to group up and work together on one character at different ages … All in all, we all had to be similar.”
The set consisted of a house with three separate rooms: the sun room, porch and dining room, which went along with the three different time periods. The set was built by sophomore Emily Baird’s father. Because the play was set in several different time periods, a variety of costumes were needed, including wigs and flapper dresses for the 1930s.
The play also included cultural elements from the time period, such as the Charleston dance which became popular in the early 1920s. Laura had to learn it and teach it to others for a graduation party scene.
Unlike the pantomime Broken Box performed last semester, this play had a different overall mood. It included couples in love, couples fighting and family problems.
“It’s about family and how even if you’re separated and things come up … you’re always going to be a family,” Annalise said. “We work through our problems or kind of find a way to get past them.”
