By Mary Ellen Zangara, Special Writer
For this year’s Manville High School Drama Club production, Director Stephen Sallach wanted to give the students some new challenges.
After last year’s musical, “Zombie Prom,” he said he wanted find a play with a focus on dialogue. So Mr. Sallach selected “Bedside Manor,” a comedy with an emphasis on timing and delivery of the dialogue.
”We decided that this year we should focus on the dialogue more to give the students something different to work on,” he said. “It was also a nice challenge to present the students with. We’ve never done a farce before, and farces require very specific timing to make the play work.”
”Bedside Manor” also was chosen because it offered the greatest cast flexibility, he said.
”We have a large number of females in our department, and it is important to Ashley (Assistant Director Ashley Wollesen) and I that we find a play, which can accommodate our large number of female actresses and our small number of male actors,” Mr. Sallach said. “Another reason for choosing this play was that it is a comedy of words. It will force the audience to listen to the subtle one-liners that each character presents.”
That’s been keeping the cast of about 40 students busy for several months preparing for the show, which will be staged March 27 through March 29.
”Bedside Manor” focuses around four interns learning the ropes of what it takes to become a typical doctor. The only problem is “Bedside Manor” is not a typical hospital, and intern Dr. Huggems can’t stop fainting at the sight of blood.
To top it off, the chief of staff Dr. Jekyll feels it is more important to laugh with the patients than to use traditional medicine. There is also the issue of Ms. Eagleye, from the state board, bent on shutting the hospital down. What the interns, staff and Dr. Jekyll don’t know is she has someone on the inside causing problems.
The cast for “Bedside Manor” includes Lindsay Zaccardi as Dr. Jekyll; Rebecca Burke as Nurse de Farge; Casey Shields as Dr. Fred; Dave Janovsky as Snapgrass; Keegan Forke as “Sweets”; Claire Kondash as “Huggems”; Alyssa Silcox as “Pinch”; Nick Kita as “Bum”; Kate Harodetsky as Ms. Eagleye; and Becky Astorga, Charles Phuangthong and Evanna Tchir as the manor’s patients.
Also, Sima Isachenko will appear as Anyanka; Russell Grimm as Dembo; Natalie Lewicki as Nurse Barton; Meagan Giannotto and Rebecca Giannotto as the “Band Aides”; Drina Hartmann as Nurse Nightingale; Ana Isachenko as Ms. Pepto; Eddie Yakobchuk as the police officer; Anna Castro as Molly Moran; Audriana Formanowski as the young wife; Derek Sanchez as the young husband; Sunny Piscadlo as “Gypsy Moth”; Cassie Nerger as the TV personality; and Jessica Sanchez as the camerawoman.
The performances are March 27 and March 28 at 7 p.m. and March 29 at 2 p.m. at the high school auditorium. Tickets are $5 for students and senior citizens and $8 for adults and can be purchased at the door or by calling Manville High School at 231-6806.

