Willowbrook presents spring play, ‘A Lie of the Mind’

On March 18 and 19, Willowbrook presented its spring play, “A Lie of the Mind.”

According to www.dramatists.com, the show tells the story of two desperate families connected by the marriage of the son of one (Jake) to the daughter of the other (Beth). As the play begins, Beth, brain damaged after an act of domestic violence by Jake, is being tended to by her parents, Baylor and Meg. Jake sends his brother, Frankie, to Montana to see whether Beth is alive, but Beth's father, mistaking Frankie for a poacher, shoots him in the leg and takes him prisoner. Thereafter, the tensions and enmities that motivate the two families grow increasingly disturbing and dangerous.

Frankie falls in love with Beth, but her brother, Mike, is determined she no longer have anything to do with her husband or her husband's family. Meanwhile, the distraught, hysterical Jake (back home in California) is nursed by his possessive mother, Lorraine, and his sister, Sally. Having gotten Jake back from Beth, Lorraine is determined to keep him with her forever, but Jake soon recovers and sets out to regain his wife. In the end, however, his will fails, and Beth stays with Frankie. Lorraine burns down her house and departs for Ireland with Sally, and Jake, bereft and alone, seeks communication with his deceased father by dispersing his father’s ashes into the moonlight – hoping to find order and meaning in the present by coming to terms with the past.

“I had always wanted to direct this play,” said Director Regina Wathier. “It wasn’t a safe choice, and I wanted everyone to take a risk.”

The cast and crew also competed in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Drama & Group Interpretation Sectional competition on March 21 and finished in 3rd place. Wathier said this was the second time Willowbrook competed in that event, and the team consisted of 55 students.

Senior Alex Lapinski played Frankie, senior Jack Corkery played Jake, senior Olivia Baumann played Beth, junior Mariana Martens played Meg, junior Mathew Tantilla played Baylor, freshman John DeAngelo played Mike, freshman Genevieve Corkery played Sally and senior Erin Sulla played Lorraine.

“This show is filled with mature content and combines realism with expressionism,” Wathier said. “It was definitely a challenge, but the team did an amazing job.”