GHS Students Bring Laughs with Spring Play

The Glennallen High School theatre students presented their spring play, My Cousin Lino, on May 7, 8, and 11 at the GHS auditorium. In this comedy, two siblings, Jonathan (Nicholas Patrick) and Katherine (Izzy MacDonald), have to pretend that Jonathan’s bumbling friend Robert (Roman Aguila) is actually their refined Italian cousin Lino.

Aguila has performed in four other GHS theatre productions, mostly in comedic roles. However, his performance as the outlandishly accented fake Italian cousin was his most exceptional yet.

Patrick and MacDonald, also well known on the GHS stage, performed well off each other, with MacDonald’s character attempting to maintain an air of normalcy and respectability while her brother continues to push the farce to its most extreme and comical limits.

Several high school girls played respectable society ladies, with hair and costumes impeccably designed to fit the 1920s setting. The only obvious anachronism of the evening was the recurring mention of Lino’s commercial transatlantic flight from Italy, which would not have fit the time period. 

Nola Debler and Connor Johnson played notable roles as the household maid and butler, while Jason Carty pulled off a fabulous Texas accent and Katelynn Terrell had the audience laughing on multiple occasions. 

After the final performance on Monday evening, theatre director Misty Rude honored and acknowledged the seniors in the play, giving the students opportunities to talk about their favorite roles, embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions, and friendships made on and backstage.

My Cousin Lino was written by Bill Yowell and directed by Misty Rude. GHS students Jorgen Eggebroten and Morgan Kosbruk were the stage manager and assistant stage manager, respectively.