By MICHELLE LU
The Jericho High School Harlequin Players have done it again with their rendition of “The Butler Did It,” which ran throughout November 20th-22nd in the JHS Little Theater.
The play takes place in the home of the Covington family as they prepare for the arrival of Edwina Corry, a popular writer of mystery novels and an old school friend of Lady Miranda Covington. The preparations are cut short when they discover that their neighbor, Trevor Barstow, has been murdered in their kitchen. Corry arrives at the manor and, due to an accident preventing the police from coming to investigate, decides to use her experience in writing mysteries to actually try to solve the one of Barstow’s untimely death. However, the title of the play derives from the fact that the family butler, Jenkins, is accused of the crime, as he is the only one without an alibi and the murder weapon was found in his pocket. The play chronicles Jenkins’ attempts to solve the murder himself in order to clear his name.
“It was really funny,” said freshman Amanda Luong. “The actors were hilarious, and I thought that their improvisations were fun to watch.”
Seniors Gregory Chestler and Kendra Kirby filled the leads, respectively, as Jenkins and Corry. Junior Deanna Leicht and understudy sophomore Emily Brennan portrayed Lady Miranda Covington, and junior Edward Tan played Colonel Nigel Covington. Junior Emma Mogavero starred as the Convingtons’ daughter, Kat Covington, who dreams of finding escape as a pilot but instead finds herself engaged to Barstow. Junior Vanessa Eng and understudy sophomore Abigail Goldman played Sarah Jane, the maid at the manor who tries to keep her relationship with Barstow a secret. Sophomore Cameron Lashley portrayed Barstow himself, and freshman Henry Lin played Father Timothy, who invites himself to the Covington household to meet Corry. Finally, sophomore Breana Hancock and understudy freshman Maria Grafas starred as the innocent Gram, Lady Miranda’s mother, whom everyone suspects of being senile.
During intermission, many spectators could be heard chatting with friends and attempting to guess who the murderer really was. Audience members found the ending unexpected. Freshman Alisha Kochar said, “The whole time, my friend was like, ‘It was the maid!’, and then it wasn’t the maid.”
The play was loaded with plenty of comedy and kept the audience laughing and sitting on the edges of their seats, eager to find out who the killer really was. Kochar said, “I thought it was really good. It was really funny!”
The Jericho High School Harlequin Players will return in March 2015 with their musical performance of “Shrek.”
