Fools
at Irvine High School

Reviewed on May 2, 2014

NameSchoolPublication/Broadcasts
Fountain Valley High School
Orange County Register
Fountain Valley High School
Orange County Register
Los Alamitos High School
Orange County Register
Los Alamitos High School
Orange County Register
Santa Margarita Catholic
OC Cappies Facebook
Santa Margarita Catholic
OC Cappies Facebook



Nikki Tran
Fountain Valley High School

Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

Irvine's 'Fools' deliver smart production

From the shepherd who has lost her sheep to the postman who hoards the mail, the townspeople of Kulyenchikov show all the classic signs and symptoms of advanced stupidity. They're desperate for a remedy, but even the village doctor is too dumb to cure the malady.

So begins Irvine's production of "Fools" by Neil Simon. This farcical fable follows a schoolteacher who stumbles upon a hamlet in rural Russia where villagers are cursed to dwell in ignorance. With charming personalities and tasteful technical elements, Irvine renders this play on dim-wits especially bright.

Preston Fox steadies himself as the worldly schoolteacher Leon. Sensible and intelligent, he shares his wisdom with a warm smile and calm patience. However, when he asks the villagers about the purpose of life, their idiocy heightens to a point where he can't even bear their antics. Venting to the audience, he clenches his fist, wears a face of extreme puzzlement, and wonders how people can believe that the meaning of life is twelve.

The greatest culprits of this absurdity are Peter Brito and Kinsey Sundstrom who toddle in as Doctor Zubritsky and his wife Lenya Zubritsky, respectively. Their physical humor punctuates their cluelessness, particularly when Brito nags Sundstrom to lower her voice. Stooping closer to the ground in a wide, crablike squat, Sundstrom rouses howls of laughter through her literal interpretation of his request.

More hilarity ensues once Amber Miller, playing their daughter Sophia, enters and captures the schoolteacher's heart. With her head in the clouds and wandering eyes, she brings a childlike quality that makes her performance sweet and endearing.

To counter this pleasantness, Nathan Brown is wicked as the self-aware, self-proclaimed villain, Count Gregor Youskevitch. Also after Sophia's love, he woos her by a guitar serenade. However, rather than strumming the chords, he warbles the notes in a partly lovable, partly earsplitting, and wholly entertaining manner.

The props of Laura Crestol are creative and surprising. Consisting of a coat rack for shoes, an overturned cow for cream, and upside-down canes, these details provide big comedy and add to the nonsensical atmosphere. Likewise, set designers Kinsey Sundstrom and Jason Aguilar suspend reality through their door with two handles and broken clock tower.

A comedic romp, Irvine's production teaches that sometimes smart men can be stupid and stupid men can be smart, but in the end they're all simply "Fools."

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Nikki Tran
Fountain Valley High School

Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

Irvine's 'Fools' deliver smart production

From the shepherd who has lost her sheep to the postman who hoards the mail, the townspeople of Kulyenchikov show all the classic signs and symptoms of advanced stupidity. They're desperate for a remedy, but even the village doctor is too dumb to cure the malady.

So begins Irvine's production of "Fools" by Neil Simon. This farcical fable follows a schoolteacher who stumbles upon a hamlet in rural Russia where villagers are cursed to dwell in ignorance. With charming personalities and tasteful technical elements, Irvine renders this play on dim-wits especially bright.

Preston Fox steadies himself as the worldly schoolteacher Leon. Sensible and intelligent, he shares his wisdom with a warm smile and calm patience. However, when he asks the villagers about the purpose of life, their idiocy heightens to a point where he can't even bear their antics. Venting to the audience, he clenches his fist, wears a face of extreme puzzlement, and wonders how people can believe that the meaning of life is twelve.

The greatest culprits of this absurdity are Peter Brito and Kinsey Sundstrom who toddle in as Doctor Zubritsky and his wife Lenya Zubritsky, respectively. Their physical humor punctuates their cluelessness, particularly when Brito nags Sundstrom to lower her voice. Stooping closer to the ground in a wide, crablike squat, Sundstrom rouses howls of laughter through her literal interpretation of his request.

More hilarity ensues once Amber Miller, playing their daughter Sophia, enters and captures the schoolteacher's heart. With her head in the clouds and wandering eyes, she brings a childlike quality that makes her performance sweet and endearing.

To counter this pleasantness, Nathan Brown is wicked as the self-aware, self-proclaimed villain, Count Gregor Youskevitch. Also after Sophia's love, he woos her by a guitar serenade. However, rather than strumming the chords, he warbles the notes in a partly lovable, partly earsplitting, and wholly entertaining manner.

The props of Laura Crestol are creative and surprising. Consisting of a coat rack for shoes, an overturned cow for cream, and upside-down canes, these details provide big comedy and add to the nonsensical atmosphere. Likewise, set designers Kinsey Sundstrom and Jason Aguilar suspend reality through their door with two handles and broken clock tower.

A comedic romp, Irvine's production teaches that sometimes smart men can be stupid and stupid men can be smart, but in the end they're all simply "Fools."

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Ryan Rogers
Los Alamitos High School

Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

Irvine's "Fools" Is Spellbinding

The town of Kulyenchikov is more than just a quaint village in Ukraine; it is a prison to the poor villagers who are bound by an old curse that suspends them all in eternal stupidity. Irvine High School's production of the comedy "Fools," by Neil Simon, reveals that intelligence can be just as blissful as innocence.

After the schoolteacher Leon Tolchinsky arrives in the town of Kulyenchikov to break the hundreds-year old curse binding all of its citizens to endless dumbness, as many teachers have tried and failed before him, Leon realizes his quest will be much more difficult than he intended. But once Leon meets the village girl Sophia Zubritsky, a hilarious moment with rainbow lights and sensual music by Christina Rolfe, Leon realizes he will do anything – including breaking a curse – to marry Sophia.

Preston Fox plays the valiant and impatient Leon with incredible energy and focus, like when he leaps into the audience to eavesdrop on another character. And Amber Miller provides a wonderful, calm contrast as the beautiful Sophia, with an absent-minded grin and wide eyes. The two create unforgettable moments, both funny and sweet, from when Fox bangs his head on a book, when Miller twists her face into a frown from thinking too hard, to when Miller calls Fox to her balcony numerous times to have yet another kiss.

Nevertheless, the entire cast, from the ensemble to supporting parts, shine in their roles. Peter Brito and Kinsey Sundstrom, playing the caring parents of Sophia, create a memorable duo constantly receiving laughs from the audience with their gargantuan physicality and precise comedic timing. Additional hilarity comes from Nathan Brown who plays the feared Count Gregor Youskevitch, whose family is responsible for the curse. With a flourish of his arm and a conceited smolder, Brown proudly strides the stage with incredible gusto.

The stage is beautifully adorned with Kinsey Sunderstom and Jason Aguilar's detailed set and Laura Crestol's witty props. Including a cuckoo clock tower and swinging walls decorated in askew empty picture frames, the alluring stage becomes the epitome of a town void of intelligence. And Eric DePalma's stage management moves the set silently during scene changes and calls cues seamlessly. Finally, with Amber Miller's subtle period costumes, the audience is propelled into the late nineteenth century.

Irvine High School's "Fools" is one that no one will forget.


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Ryan Rogers
Los Alamitos High School

Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

Irvine's "Fools" Is Spellbinding

The town of Kulyenchikov is more than just a quaint village in Ukraine; it is a prison to the poor villagers who are bound by an old curse that suspends them all in eternal stupidity. Irvine High School's production of the comedy "Fools," by Neil Simon, reveals that intelligence can be just as blissful as innocence.

After the schoolteacher Leon Tolchinsky arrives in the town of Kulyenchikov to break the hundreds-year old curse binding all of its citizens to endless dumbness, as many teachers have tried and failed before him, Leon realizes his quest will be much more difficult than he intended. But once Leon meets the village girl Sophia Zubritsky, a hilarious moment with rainbow lights and sensual music by Christina Rolfe, Leon realizes he will do anything – including breaking a curse – to marry Sophia.

Preston Fox plays the valiant and impatient Leon with incredible energy and focus, like when he leaps into the audience to eavesdrop on another character. And Amber Miller provides a wonderful, calm contrast as the beautiful Sophia, with an absent-minded grin and wide eyes. The two create unforgettable moments, both funny and sweet, from when Fox bangs his head on a book, when Miller twists her face into a frown from thinking too hard, to when Miller calls Fox to her balcony numerous times to have yet another kiss.

Nevertheless, the entire cast, from the ensemble to supporting parts, shine in their roles. Peter Brito and Kinsey Sundstrom, playing the caring parents of Sophia, create a memorable duo constantly receiving laughs from the audience with their gargantuan physicality and precise comedic timing. Additional hilarity comes from Nathan Brown who plays the feared Count Gregor Youskevitch, whose family is responsible for the curse. With a flourish of his arm and a conceited smolder, Brown proudly strides the stage with incredible gusto.

The stage is beautifully adorned with Kinsey Sunderstom and Jason Aguilar's detailed set and Laura Crestol's witty props. Including a cuckoo clock tower and swinging walls decorated in askew empty picture frames, the alluring stage becomes the epitome of a town void of intelligence. And Eric DePalma's stage management moves the set silently during scene changes and calls cues seamlessly. Finally, with Amber Miller's subtle period costumes, the audience is propelled into the late nineteenth century.

Irvine High School's "Fools" is one that no one will forget.


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Katelyn Biberacher
Santa Margarita Catholic

Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Irvine High School Delivers a Spell Breaking Performance of "Fools"

There's a new man in town, and he is not quite like the average villager of Kulyenchikev. What sets him apart from the others? His intelligence. In "Fools: A Comedic Fable," by Neil Simon, Leon Tolchinsky must race the clock to break the two hundred year curse of stupidity and inability to love on the village. Once arriving in town, Leon meets his future employer, Doctor Zubritsky, and his wife, Lenya. The couple introduces Leon to their beautiful daughter, Sophia, whom he is instantly infatuated by. During Leon's 24-hour struggle, Sophia must become educated, or worse, marry a Youskevitch to save the village from their dull-witted lives.

Leon Tolchinsky (Preston Fox) sets the show into motion with his powerful stage presence and focus. Tolchinsky's obvious Russian accent is remarkably delivered by not only Fox, but also the entire ensemble. In addition to their exceptional accents, the comedic duo of Doctor Zubritsky (Peter Brito) and Lenya Zubritsky (Kinsey Sundstrom) are lively animated throughout every scene of the production. Gestures like making hearts behind Leon and Sophia, and Lenya's positioning into a squat as she lowers her voice contribute to the absurdness of both characters. The Zubritsky's daughter, Sophia Zubritsky (Amber Miller) is excellently portrayed as a sweet young girl through her constantly clasped hands and her radiant smile.

Other characters making exceptional performances include the town vender, Yenchna (Lily Barek) with her comically late response times, Snetsky (Zena Khesbak) the Sheppard with her wide-eyed expressions, and the Magistrate (Jason Aguilar) with his weary, elderly voice. The most humorous of them all, Count Gregor Youskevitch (Nathan Brown) keeps the audience in continuous laughter because of his sly facial expressions and the hysterical strumming of his unstrung guitar.

Technical aspects of the show include Stage Manager Eric DePalma's flawless timing. Every light and sound cue are hit at the perfect time, making the show run extremely smoothly. Another notable aspect of tech is the inaudible set transitions as the Zubritsky house opens and closes. Inside the Zubritsky house are silly, disarranged decorations such as shoes hung on the wall, a backwards clock, and a door with handles on both sides that develop an idea of just how preposterous the village of Kulyenchikev is.

Overall, the students of Irvine High School deliver a stunning example of what life could be without brains.



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Katelyn Biberacher
Santa Margarita Catholic

Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Irvine High School Delivers a Spell Breaking Performance of "Fools"

There's a new man in town, and he is not quite like the average villager of Kulyenchikev. What sets him apart from the others? His intelligence. In "Fools: A Comedic Fable," by Neil Simon, Leon Tolchinsky must race the clock to break the two hundred year curse of stupidity and inability to love on the village. Once arriving in town, Leon meets his future employer, Doctor Zubritsky, and his wife, Lenya. The couple introduces Leon to their beautiful daughter, Sophia, whom he is instantly infatuated by. During Leon's 24-hour struggle, Sophia must become educated, or worse, marry a Youskevitch to save the village from their dull-witted lives.

Leon Tolchinsky (Preston Fox) sets the show into motion with his powerful stage presence and focus. Tolchinsky's obvious Russian accent is remarkably delivered by not only Fox, but also the entire ensemble. In addition to their exceptional accents, the comedic duo of Doctor Zubritsky (Peter Brito) and Lenya Zubritsky (Kinsey Sundstrom) are lively animated throughout every scene of the production. Gestures like making hearts behind Leon and Sophia, and Lenya's positioning into a squat as she lowers her voice contribute to the absurdness of both characters. The Zubritsky's daughter, Sophia Zubritsky (Amber Miller) is excellently portrayed as a sweet young girl through her constantly clasped hands and her radiant smile.

Other characters making exceptional performances include the town vender, Yenchna (Lily Barek) with her comically late response times, Snetsky (Zena Khesbak) the Sheppard with her wide-eyed expressions, and the Magistrate (Jason Aguilar) with his weary, elderly voice. The most humorous of them all, Count Gregor Youskevitch (Nathan Brown) keeps the audience in continuous laughter because of his sly facial expressions and the hysterical strumming of his unstrung guitar.

Technical aspects of the show include Stage Manager Eric DePalma's flawless timing. Every light and sound cue are hit at the perfect time, making the show run extremely smoothly. Another notable aspect of tech is the inaudible set transitions as the Zubritsky house opens and closes. Inside the Zubritsky house are silly, disarranged decorations such as shoes hung on the wall, a backwards clock, and a door with handles on both sides that develop an idea of just how preposterous the village of Kulyenchikev is.

Overall, the students of Irvine High School deliver a stunning example of what life could be without brains.



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