Category Archives: High School Theatre

“When evil comes into the world, it is the job of the witness to turn it to love.” This quote is from Cincinnati Christian Schools’ first show of the 2018-19 school year, THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE, which debuts on October 19th. It is not the usual story that graces a high school stage. It is filled with sorrow and grief, yet the themes are cathartic, compelling, and gripping. The actors have been working hard for the past three months on developing authentic portrayals of hope, mourning, trust, and endurance.

The play tells the story of a mother from New Jersey who is roaming the hills of Lockerbie, Scotland, looking for her son’s remains that were lost in the crash of Pan Am 103 in 1988. She and her husband meet the women of Lockerbie, who are fighting the U.S. government to obtain the clothing of the victims found in the wreckage. The women, determined to convert an act of hatred into an act of love, want to wash the clothes of the dead and return them to the victim’s families. Their plea brings them up against George Jones, the American government representative in charge of the warehouse storing the remains from the Pan Am 103 crash. The play is loosely inspired by a true story, although the characters and situations in the play are purely fictional. Written in the structure of a modern Greek tragedy, it is a poetic drama about the triumph of love over hate.

“The story is powerful, the script is beautiful, the characters are convicting, and the context is startling,” said Leah Perry, the head of the department and director of this production. “But, it’s the performances and work of the students that make me proud to share this show. It’s worth it to be reminded of joy, faith, hope, and trust. It’s worth it to expose yourself to the hard, the painful, the uncomfortable, the awkward.”

The show is performing at the Fairfield Community Arts Center, where the stage has been made to look like the hills of Lockerbie, Scotland, and running water will flow down a creek into a pond. Completely built by Cincinnati Christian Schools students in their Technical Theatre class, the students are looking forward to submitting their production into this season of Cappies.

Cincinnati Christian Schools’ production of THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE will definitely be a tear-jerker due to the mature and very capable performances of the actors. The play has been advertised with the hashtags “#tearsarefree” and “#ticketsarenot.” Know that as an audience member, you are stepping into an environment of great energy and a driven motivation to educate you on what you may not know or remember about a terrorist attack which spurred on great fear in our country. The purpose of theatre is to create a space where challenging and provoking perspectives can be introduced to the public, and THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE offers just that.

Featuring Luke Schlake as Bill Livingston, Merrick Heid as Madeline Livingston, Maggie Brown as Olive Allison, Parker Wilhelm as George Jones, Olivia Reese as Hattie, and Mackenzie Turner, Briahna Bush, Abigail Bowling, and Megan Ramsey as the Women.

Directed by Leah Perry.

Show Dates:

• October 19 at 7pm
• October 20 at 1pm & 7pm

Tickets: $15 students:
http://sa1.seatadvisor.com/sabo/servlets/EventSearch?presenter=COF&testingCookie=true

Cincinnati Christian Schools Theatre Department Website: https://www.facebook.com/CCStheatreboosters/?ref=bookmarks