Blair Academy Players Perform Preppies

The Blair Academy Players performed the musical comedy Preppies on February 19, 20 and 21. The play’s book is by David Taylor and Carlos Davis; music and lyrics by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo.

This rarely performed musical’s claim to fame is the fact that its composers wrote the theme to the television show Cheers. The play is based upon a possible rags-to-riches premise: The richest man in the world, Parker Richardson Endicott III (played by junior Chris St. John) is about to die without an heir for the Endicott Trust (which contains Central Park and Wyoming, among other things), which will pass to his villainous cousins. Endicott draws his lawyer and trusted servants, Joe and Marie Pantry (played by senior Andrew Singh and sophomore Grace Weiner) into a plot. He persuades the Pantrys to raise their infant son, Paul, as Parker Richardson Endicott IV, to be known as Cotty (played by senior Michael Breslin). If he has not been unmasked by his 21st birthday, he may claim the trust. The musical follows Cotty as he makes his way through the schools and social rituals that make a Pantry into a preppy. Standing in Cotty’s way is his nefarious cousin Botsworth Norvil Bogswell III (portrayed by senior Reed Hillmar). Complicating things is the debutante in the middle, Angelica Livermore Atwater, or Muffy (played by senior Carter Ford). The play was student directed by sophomore Abby Salzberg.

Here was a chance to see a forgotten gem that is funny and a satire of the preppy world. The bitingly funny book, the unusual twists of plot, and the charming score made for a pleasant evening for preppies and non-preppies alike. Will Cotty end up getting the girl and the money, or will a true-born preppy defeat the imposter?

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Updated 2/23/09

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