Catch the LAHS Olions’ production of ‘The Internet is Distra — Oh Look a Kitten!’ at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday at Los Alamos High School’s Black Box Theater. Photo by Zach Sestric
By KELLY DOLEJSI
Los Alamos
Hey, excuse me.
Yes, you!
Can I have your attention? I know it’s hard with the whole Internet going on and all the pesky things happening IRL (In Real Life), but I saw a show this weekend at Los Alamos High School that you’ve got to see.
The LAHS Olions’ one-act play, “The Internet is Distra — Oh Look a Kitten!” by Ian McWethy and directed by LAHS student Zachary Sestric, is one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in a while. And it’s only about a half-hour long, which means you CAN fit this in between your cat memes and social media dramas.
The script is first-class, but the actors’ performances are really what make the show so good. Leads Abigail Clay and Sirena Quezada are fantastic as Micah and Taylor, two teens caught between reality and its virtual counterpart.
With occasional interruptions from Micah’s Mom — the excellently exasperated Isabella Gletsos — Micah fights a stacked battle against Google, played oh-so-smarmily by Ruben Diaz Himenez, and its trusty algorithm. Micah also confronts some of the most enticing aspects of the Internet, which come to life on the Olions’ stage.
These time-sucking temptations include Boxing Cat, a meme played adorably by Jolene Rose; Instagram, the ever-popular app played ever-so-creepily by Anna Ferenbaugh (who also plays Amazon); and Grandma, the star of a fun game where you try to knock a fragile elderly person off her chair, played with masterly grumpiness by Annabelle Deburgomaster, as well as several other apps and click-bait ads, all played by talented LAHS students.
Do you have any friends whose social media needs are so urgent and pressing that if you don’t respond to their posts instantaneously, the consequences might be greater than those of not finishing your homework? Jenny (Keira Fichtl) and Mark (Ash Sapp) play two such special friends. They are so dramatic, so over-the-top, and so entertaining.
Emmy Smith also “cooks” (as the kids say) as Micah’s — and Jenny’s — brilliant and loyal friend Fiona. Smith’s deadpan delivery is spot-on, and, as a fellow literary nerd, I love Fiona’s dedication to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”.
The show is nearly flawless. I only wish that Aubrey Rushton, playing Wikipedia Contributor, had more time onstage.
Many congratulations to all the entire cast, including Kaitlyn Seitz-Pruitt (Micah understudy), Alyssa Sanders (Mom understudy), Gloria Marksteiner (Announcer, Ad 2, Pinterest), Amelia Dolejsi (Clickbait 2, swing), and Samantha Kranthijanya (Click Ad 2, Swing) — and to the fabulous crew, including Ariela Rittner (stage manager, set designer), Anya Seet (lighting and technical director), Teddy James (assistant stage manager), Lyn Nolen (light board operator), Hanna Waldschmidt (costumes), Ester Keiter (make-up), Viktor Markos (make-up), Emma Justus (hair), and Jakob Gerber (sound).
Additionally, congrats to Olions Sponsor Megan Pimentel for leading this great group of kids.
You have three more chances to catch “The Internet is Distra — Oh Look a Kitten!”: at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday at the LAHS Black Box Theater. Tickets are $10/$8 seniors/$5 students, well worth it to laugh this hard while simultaneously supporting this wonderful club.
Editor’s Note: Kelly Dolejsi is the proud parent of Olions’ member Amelia Dolejsi. Kelly is also a member of the Olions Booster Club. However, nothing she says in this review is biased in any way!