West Boca Raton High’s Jianna Marino

If you are looking for a show with raw, genuine emotion that may cause a heartbreak, this show is for you.

All My Sons is a tragic play written by Arthur Miller. This play was written in 1946 and is based on a true story. The story was told with dark secrets, mystery, and denial that left the audience on the edge of their seats.

Starting off, Jacob Steinger was phenomenal in the role of Joe Keller. His acting was truly mind blowing. He had strong and passionate emotions throughout the show as well as adding comedic relief in some serious moments with his family. Of course we can’t forget Joe’s little dance with Chris, it was an adorable and uplifting moment to end a serious scene. Moving forward, Katherine Rodgers did an outstanding job playing the role of Kate Keller. Her authentic and unhinged performance really captured the intensity of not only her dead son Larry but with the burdening secrets Joe had kept around her. Kathrine did an excellent job with expressing her feelings like crying, yelling, or avoiding the situation in front of her.

Continuing on with Chris Keller (Caden Quinn) and Ann Deever (Catherine Schenk), the chemistry between the two was absolutely astonishing. They had moments of excitement, affection, and devotedness even with the important and significant matters at hand. They were indeed a very cute couple. Other characters like the neighbors Frank Lubey (Jakob Kroll), Lydia Lubey (Sage Sorenson). Jim Bayliss (Rebekkah Merkel), Sue Bayliss (Ella Pierman), and Bert (Xan Blount) also added a sense of comedic relief. Their characters were quite hilarious and really lightened the mood. Some of the female actors playing male roles could have portrayed a little more masculinity by deeping their voices. Other than that, the neighbors did a good job.

Key scenes I would like to mention are the fighting scenes between the family. The actors used stage combat and raised voices at one another. The energy was always consistent and fluid throughout the scenes. Some moments of stage combat could have been more well coordinated.

Lastly, the hair and makeup was great as well. Catherine Schnek, who is also an actor in the show, worked on the hair and makeup for the production. She utilized red lipstick for the young women and had put a beard on one of the female actors playing a male role.

Overall I would say that The Benjamin School did an extraordinary job on this production and I’m curious as to what they will do next.