By Rachel DeChiara ’13, Staff Writer

Just imagine Seniors Jaxon Gruber, Bethany McHugh, and Nikhil Sawhney entwined in a love triangle, and this twisted situation is a mere glimpse of Newark Academy’s 2010 fall drama, “The Heidi Chronicles.”  A dramatic play written by Wendy Wasserstein, “The Heidi Chronicles” tells of a girl (Heidi, played by Bethany McHugh) as she moves from high school through adulthood.  The show will bring an interesting new feel to the drama program at NA.  “It’s a play that has historical importance because it is the journey of a woman, a single woman, an art historian as she looks for meaning in her life…between the late 60s and the late 80s,” comments director Scott Jacoby.  Additionally, “The Heidi Chronicles” was awarded both the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. Writer Wasserstein was actually the first female playwright to win the Tony award for best play.

Last year, “A Flea in Her Ear” was packed with knee-slapping humor.  Yet “The Heidi Chronicles” will offer its viewers an entirely new flavor of humor.  “It’s very funny but it’s a very smart play…it’s also very dramatic.  There are some poignant things; the AIDS epidemic is touched on, relationships, friendships, love, commitment… and done in a topical, sharp, and clever way,” says Scott Jacoby. The play will feature more of the female talent we have at NA, with only a handful of male roles.  This drama will require hard work by both the cast and crew, burdened with the responsibility of capturing decades in a limited number of scenes.  A conspicuous lesbian dressed for combat (Savonne Anderson ’13) and a Jewish Southern belle (Jourdan McGhee ’11), are among the many exotic characters this show has to offer.  Come November 4^th, 5^th, or 6^th to see what happens!