The club will perform four different showings of “A Beggar on Horseback,” by American playwrights Marc Connelly and George Kaufman.

The shows, at the LPHS auditorium, will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, along with an additional 2 p.m. showing on Saturday. While tickets cost $5, the stub can also be used to attend another showing with an alternate cast for free.

If there’s one thing to know about the play, cast members said, it’s weird.

“And chaotic. But it’s very fun,” Lake Placid sophomore Sophia Thomsen said. “If you can stick it out, it’s good. It’s worth it.”

Jim Guglielmi rehearses a scene as a pickleball-playing tycoon in the LPHS fall play at the school auditorium Monday. (Enterprise photo — Grace McIntyre)

The play centers around a struggling classical composer, Neil McRae, and the conflict between creative pursuits and financial security. He has a couple of love interests, a fellow struggling artist and the daughter of a wealthy tycoon.

The play’s director, Brenden Gotham, who also teaches English and social studies at the school, has been directing plays for the drama club for 19 years while also acting in Pendragon and Adirondack Stage Rats productions. He came across “A Beggar on Horseback” when he picked up one of the anthologies off the bookshelf in his classroom.

The play, which premiered in 1924, just became public domain this year, so Gotham decided to update some of the outdated pop-culture references.

“George Kaufman is a great American playwright and this (play) was not as well known, so it was nice to update it,” Gotham said.

These modern references include a neon-clad businessman sporting pickleball paddles, along with snippets of Candy Crush and Miley Cyrus songs. One love interest has a sassy but perceptive younger sister glued to her pink smartphone. The question of whether someone should follow their passion or seek security, however, is timeless.

From left, Parker Scanio, Levi Barney and Sophie Spanburgh rehearse a dream sequence scene from the LPHS fall play, “Beggar on Horseback,” Monday night. (Enterprise photo — Grace McIntyre)

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Seeing double

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In Gotham’s years at LPHS, this is the first time he’s directed a play with a double cast. This is mainly because so many talented students auditioned for the play this year, Gotham said. While it’s been a challenge for the students, but has also been convenient for those who participate in fall sports and have schedule conflicts.

Thomsen, who has participated in drama since middle school, is one of two actors to play the role of Gladys Cady, one of the love interests. She said she has mostly played serious roles in past productions, and enjoys playing a character who is a bit more over-the-top.

“I’m kind of like a maniac for some of this, so that’s pretty fun,” Thomsen said. “It’s fun to not be so serious.”

The double cast gives more students the opportunity to participate, such as Joselyn Hernandez, an 11th grader who joined the drama club for the first time this year. She plays a secretary in the surreal scenes depicting the soulless company owned by Gladys Cady’s father.

“The secretary is kind of tired of life,” Hernandez said. “That’s how I think of her.”

Savannah Corrow plays Mrs. Cady, Gladys’ mother. This is Corrow’s first time in a double cast production and said it has challenged her in new ways. The actors have to develop good communication skills so they can share performance notes and changes with their double. That said, each actor is encouraged to take their an individual approach to the character.

“People should come to both shows because it is supporting the different casts and it is gonna be a little different both nights,” Corrow said. “It’s fun to come see how different actors interpret their role.”