Students in George School’s Theater Performance and Stagecraft classes presented Betty MacDonald’s whimsical comedy The Egg and I on Friday and Saturday, November 5 and 6 in Walton Center Auditorium on the school’s campus.

Drawing on the author’s experience living on a chicken farm in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, The Egg and I takes a lighthearted look at the adventures of the MacDonald family as they adjust to rural life. The play is based on Betty MacDonald’s bestselling 1945 memoir of the same name, which was also adapted into a 1947 film starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray.

The play centers on the characters of Betty, her husband Don, and their two teenage daughters, Anne and Joan. Betty is eager to help her husband achieve his dream of living on a farm, but unprepared for the reality of a dilapidated home without running water or electricity, where the family must put in long days of grueling farm labor.

According to George School theater teacher Maureen West, director of the play, “In the wake of World War II, Betty’s hilarious misadventures as a backwoods farmer’s wife were a welcome relief to readers who were more than ready for a reason to laugh.”

Betty was played by Liz Reynolds, a senior from Haverford, Pennsylvania. “She’ll do anything because she loves Don,” Liz said of Betty, describing the play’s heroine as someone who maintains a positive attitude despite her challenging circumstances. “She laughs at herself most of the time,” said Liz.

Aside from the trials of farm life, Betty and Don must also deal with their daughters’ not-always-positive opinions of the family situation. Joan, in particular, is not pleased. “She’s a normal fifteen-year-old girl,” said Chloe Sonnenfeld, a senior from East Hampton, New York, who played the role of Joan. “She’s overly dramatic about everything that happens. She’s stuck with her family, and she gets sick of them.”

Along the way, more than one unusual character crosses paths with the MacDonalds. There are the Outdoor Girls, a troop of hiking enthusiasts from Seattle who end up camping indoors at the MacDonalds’ house when bad weather catches them by surprise.

“We end up making life difficult for the MacDonalds, particularly Betty,” said Sabrina Schell, a junior from Newtown, Pennsylvania, who played Lolly, one of the Outdoor Girls. “We’re not trying to be malicious, but our presence is problematic.”

The MacDonalds also get to know Delicate Daisy, played by junior Abby Brecher of Yardley, Pennsylvania. “I’m a neighbor who helps them out throughout the whole play,” said Abby, describing Daisy as overbearing, nosy, and a hypochondriac. Daisy’s obvious health and strength stand in stark contrast to her hypochondriac fears, and provide a number of laughs.

During the course of rehearsals, the four actors playing the MacDonalds worked to bring the family relationships to life in a realistic manner. “We learned to really work as a team and collaborate with each other,” said Ramya Pratt, a senior from South Fallsburg, New York, who played Anne, Betty and Don’s seventeen-year-old daughter.

Drew Pedersen, a junior from Far Hills, New Jersey, describes the play as a comedy of errors. “The experience is quite painful for these people,” he said of the MacDonalds. Drew, who played the role of Joan’s friend Ross, is also one of two student directors who assisted Maureen in organizing and taking notes on rehearsals.

“It’s quirky and it’s fun,” said fellow student director Emily Bell-Matassa, a junior from Forest Hill, Maryland, of the play. “The hardships bring the family closer together.” Emily also played the role of county agent Miss Linden.

Ultimately, the MacDonalds realize they can learn to lead a simpler life. Maureen West notes that the play gives the audience “a chance to recognize that sometimes the truest treasures in life are intangible—those that we achieve through commitment, tenacity, and love.”

Stagecraft teacher Scott Hoskins was the scenic and lighting designer for the production. Costumes were designed by Linda Bee Stockton, and props were managed by David J. Abers.

The Egg and I was the first of eight performances organized by the George School Arts Department during the current academic year. The Arts Department offers twenty-eight arts courses in ten different visual and performing arts forms, with Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate course options. For more information about the arts at George School, and a complete schedule of performances and exhibits, visit http://www.georgeschool.org/arts.

About George School
Founded in 1893 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), George School, a rigorous coed boarding and day school for grades nine through twelve, educates students from twenty-one states, thirty-seven foreign countries, and a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, and economic backgrounds. Through its commitment to diversity and the Quaker values of equality, integrity, and peacemaking, George School inspires students to be led by their own truths while respecting and appreciating opinions and beliefs different from their own. George School was one of the first schools in the United States to implement an International Baccalaureate diploma program. For information about admission, please call 215.579.6547 or visit http://www.georgeschool.org.