Calling in the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Hayden Christensen, Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Michael Cera and Jake Gyllenhaal, “This Is Our Youth” gives the Your Lost Flamingo Company some big shoes to fill.
“This Is Our Youth”, written by Kenneth Lonergan, focuses on the lives of Dennis Ziegler, Warren Straub and Jessica Goldman, all in their early twenties living in 1982 Manhattan with no idea about their futures.
“It’s really relatable, especially to college students,” said LJ Cohen, a junior studying English who portrays Dennis in the play.
Dennis, the charismatic, good-looking bully; Warren, the troubled, dejected 19-year-old; and Jessica, the defensive yet insightful teen, all find themselves at the end of the 1960s liberal way of life at the dawn of the Reagan Era, a time full of conservative actions and thoughts.
“It’s about making mistakes and realizing they have consequences when you become an adult,” said Jeff Koch, a sophomore studying English creative writing and the director of the production.
Caught in the awkward stage that exists between adolescence and adulthood, the characters encounter the trials that all college-age students face: What should I do with my life?
“It is funny, but it has a lot of emotion,” said Ben Fliger, a junior studying chemical engineering who plays Warren in the show. “It parallels what we are going through now.”
Though the play is set in 1982, audiences for years to come can sympathize with its themes of growing up in this ever-changing world.
“It’s about youth and the way people view it – how we all see it differently as a time to do different things,” said Nikki Rodriguez, a freshman studying theater who plays Jessica in the show.
“This Is Our Youth” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”are two of the three performances Your Lost Flamingo Company have produced this semester. For the spring, one musical, two straight plays and a series of student-written short plays are all on the agenda.
“We are always looking for original productions, which don’t come about that often,” Koch said. “Anytime we get student-written plays, they get very serious consideration because we love having productions done entirely by students.”
mg986611@ohiou.edu
