The nostalgic 80’s feeling lingered in the air as the cast of South’s winter play, The Breakfast Club, rehearsed for their performance. The library, where the play was held, was anything but quiet as the cast put on their performance.

The play, based on the classic 1985 movie, is about five high school students forced to endure a Saturday detention in the library with their strict detention supervisor. Although the students have drastically different personalities, their shared experience of detention helps them realize that they have a lot more in common than they originally thought.

The cast and crew decided it would be valuable to perform the play in the actual library rather than the auditorium, to maintain a sense of authenticity to the original film, John Cowlin, director and English Teacher, explained. He stressed that although some changes needed to be made to transform the piece from a rated R movie to a high school appropriate play, the ability to preserve the setting was an accomplishment.

“All we really had to do was take out some of the adult language,” Cowlin said. “[I was] looking forward to doing a play that’s not in the theater. [I thought it was] going to be pretty fun.” 

Junior Ellie Donahue, who plays the popular shop-a-holic Claire Standish, recalls the eagerness she felt in the last few rehearsals. Donahue has years of acting experience and a deep passion for theater, and explained that she was excited to perform in a South tradition like the winter play.

“I love to act, and I love stepping into another character’s shoes,” Donahue said. “It’s a really rewarding and fun process to be able to do so, and I enjoy performing every time I’m up on stage.”

Junior Kai Ayush, who performed as John Bender, hoped that his performance and the performances of his fellow actors appealed to a broad audience. He feels the play is geared towards anyone who enjoys seeing the different high school personas represented in the play interacting with each other. Ayush’s character is seen as the fearless rebel of the group.

“I think [the play] appeals to everybody, and it’s very character driven,” Ayush said.

Although not many technical elements were used, Cowlin believes the cast was still able to convey the emotions in the play.

“The ending of the play is the most memorable part because [it ends] with a catharsis where the audience [is left] having felt some kind of emotional reaction to the climax of the story,” Cowlin said.