Summary Of The Play 'John Lennon And Me' By Cherie Bennett

“Well, I am not average. I am extraordinary.” John Lennon and Me was performed at The Kentucky Center, by Stage One on February 7th. The play was written by Cherie Bennett, and produced by Peter Holloway. All of the actors that performed were incredible, even though they were all only in high school. I thought the play was very good, even with it’s minor flaws.

The play was about a girl named “Star”, which she came up by herself, her original name “Stella Grubner”. Star had cystic fibrosis, a medical condition where mucus builds up in the lungs. She just had gotten back to heart house, and wasn’t so keen on it. Finally, a new patient arrives, Courtney, who becomes her new roommate. Star tries to show off to Courtney at first, but eventually they become friends. Star is realizing that she can be liked. Later on, Star starts to become even sicker, which Courtney doesn’t know about at all. Star has a bad night, and Courtney finally knows about her sickness. Then, Courtney is almost out of the Heart House, but actually seeing
the play will tell.

I really could believe that the characters were who they said they were.
They all acted like 13 year olds the entire time, they got excited like that age does and looked like that age. They also seemed very close, they all talked like they were best friends and knew each other for quite some time. Their voices were very clear and loud, because I could hear them, even if the audience was clapping or even whooping.The actual lines were very smooth with each other, none of it seemed abrupt or too early. Talking about clear lines, Ava Duval (Star) didn’t have any trouble with her lines, and was very connected with her body movements. When she broke the fourth wall, she moved very smoothly and connected. All of the actors in fact, did a great job with their body movements, and they stayed completely still when the fourth wall broke. Overall, all of the actors were engaging to watch, with all of their facial expressions and silly
antics.

I really liked the acting, but I thought the props could be improved. I thought that is was interesting how they incorporated the Flunkies (Star’s imaginary bodyguards) into the prop moving. But, the lobby was really undefined, and the viewer didn’t really know what it was. The props were also a little shaky at times when the actors moved, but I could understand why. Still on the subject of props, I really liked how they had Star’s body dummy come in right before thumps and how they could just turn the set and have a new . Moving on to costumes, I was totally confused, they looked like they were from the 80’s: high- waisted pants, plaid skirts. But, they were talking about Taylor Swift and the song Let it Go, which were definitely not from the 80’s. There were also a lot of sound effects in the show, may it come to when she’s about to get thumps, or when the doctor comes in. They were all very good, and really conveyed the mood that was needed.

The play could get a little boring at some times, but then would bring the viewer’s attention back. For example; when Star was talking to Courtney, which felt very long, and then she would break the fourth wall. I felt like the audience had the same experience, also. But overall, John Lennon and Me was a play about a tragic disease, but had inspirational scenes and happy moments. It showed the viewer that he/ she can do anything no matter what. I would recommend this play for someone who loves silly scenes, which there is a lot of! I would also recommend it to someone who loves sad, inspirational scenes.