The Notre Dame Academy production of The Mouse that Roared played to four audiences last week.  Mrs. Jan Fitzpatrick, adviser to the Drama Club, directed the show.

The play’s setting is during the Cold War era and includes mysterious mice, small unknown countries, powerful and scary new weapons and a crazy mad professor.

The Mouse that Roared is a satire of the politics of war and casts a new light on why a nation might attack the United States.

The play opens with a man, Tully Bascom, trying to give a tour of the Fenwicken National Forest. He is called away to the throne room where Count Mountjoy, Benter, and Queen Gloriana are discussing how their economy has been troubled with the sale of a new fake wine in America that copies their own.

The queen devises a plan that sends Tully Bascom and Grand Fenwick soldiers into America to lose a war so America will have to rehabilitate Grand Fenwick with funds.

Overall, the cast did a great job with their parts and rarely screwed up. Joe Weber, a senior who played Count Mountjoy, had a mishap where he knocked over the table in the scene while yelling about an air raid. However, he did such a good job in covering up the mistake that, when asked, the audience had no idea it wasn't supposed to be a part of the play.

Joey Wolf, a junior who played the professor seemed like the most natural of characters and "found the play to be quite a fun experience, something new.”

While on stage he seemed to be acting as himself and later commented, "My favorite aspect was being able to grow a beard and act like a crazy professor."

The cast also did a good job with pausing when the crowd would laugh or applaud them.  The actors did a nice job of taking their character and really making the audience believe that they were that character instead of just showing them the character.

All the actors did an exceptional job, but the one role most liked by all of the audiences was General Snippet played by Jonathan Scolare. The freshman stole the show with his outrageous dialogue and ability to almost always yell when reciting dialogue.

I must comment on the unseen stars of such a production because I am somewhat partial to the crews as I have worked on tech teams. 

The back stage crew did a nice job of clearing the stage and setting the stage efficiently. Best of all, they were quiet! Sound did a nice job of working around the actors’ cues and vice versa goes to the actors for  working around sounds’ cues.

The lighting crew did a good job of showcasing the actors while they were on stage. Olivia DeMeuse, house manager, said, "I had a lot of fun. I loved working with everyone. It took a lot of time but it was worth it in the end."

Cullen Blindauer, a senior who was sound director, said, "My favorite aspect of the play was seeing the many after-school rehearsal hours pay off in four excellent performances. I will miss being part of the play next year, as the two years that I have helped out with the fall play I have always had a great time.”

In conclusion, The Mouse that Roared was a great show to go see over the last weekend. The cast and crew did a fine job of putting on the performance. If you missed it, I would highly recommend seeing next year’s play.