Cappies Review: Falls Church High's 'Children's Hour'

• PHOTO (from left to right): Keely Greene, Grace Molinaro, Erika Corcoran; photo by Harley Hopkins
• By Lydia Gompper of George Mason High School

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There is no weapon more deadly than a vicious lie, cutting deep into a previously untarnished reputation. In Falls Church High School's production of "The Children's Hour," these cruel weapons flew from a child's lips to the ears of an entire town, leaving an appalling destruction in its wake.

"The Children's Hour," penned by Lillian Hellman, began its original two-year run on Broadway in 1934, garnering such critical acclaim and success that New York State authorities chose not to enforce a law forbidding any mention of homosexuality on stage. The story, set in an all-girls boarding school, follows the school's two headmistresses, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, as they are accused of being romantically involved with each other by a disturbed, violent young student, Mary Tilford. Dealing with such themes as the importance of truth and the insidiousness of self-hatred, the show takes a dark look at the ruin that can be made of a person's life with something as simple as words.

Falls Church High School has created a commendable production of this heavy piece, dealing well with the show's many physically and emotionally intense scenes. The performers allowed their intensity to swell wonderfully as the plot made its way toward its heart-stopping climax.

The production found two notable highlights in its dual female leads, Trisha Nguyen and Maddie Rumingan in the roles of Martha and Karen, respectively. Nguyen greatly impressed with the lovely natural quality of her acting, handling herself easily onstage. Her character development, however, was what most stood out - she maneuvered the deeply emotional elements of her role beautifully, wowing the audience in her final scene, in which her character, horrified and disgusted with herself, admits to truly being in love with Karen. Karen herself, meanwhile, was portrayed with excellent strength by Maddie Rumingan, whose final confrontation with her character's husband Joseph (Josh Spiegelblatt) was executed with powerfully emotional honesty and desperation.

Other onstage standouts included freshman Grace Molinaro as Rosalie Wells, a young student who is blackmailed by Mary Tilford (Jennifer Vu) into supporting her story about the headmistresses' relationship, and Keely Greene as Mrs. Lily Mortar, Martha's eccentric, dramatic aunt. Molinaro imbued her character with an endearingly quirky, childlike personality, with a touch of "properness" that made her immediately distinct from the sizeable ensemble of schoolgirls. She also roused the audience in her character's more emotionally substantial scenes, creating a thrilling picture of fear and anguish as she cringed away from the sinister Mary. Greene, meanwhile, succeeded in adding a bit of comic relief to this otherwise tragic production. Her straight-backed physicality and purposefully over-dramatic use of her voice created a chuckle-worthy ridiculousness.

This production of "The Children's Hour" also found success with its use of sound effects, designed by Stephanie Murphy. Not only were all effects perfectly timed and well-executed, but they often served well at adding ambiance or mood to a scene, such as with the subtle use of rain sounds during the dreary final act.

Falls Church High School has devised a thought-provoking production of "The Children's Hour," adeptly handling the deep moral and social issues that the play emphasizes. With passionately intense performances from the leading ladies, and mature management of very adult themes, this show was a definite dramatic success.