Frankenstein
at Meridian High School

Reviewed on April 26, 2024

McKenzie Phelan
Quince Orchard High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News

A stage washed in green light. Black-clothed figures enter the scene, as piano music plays. Slowly, a young woman approaches a glowing grave, cradling her baby girl.

Thus begins Meridian High School’s production of Frankenstein: a haunting tale of monsters, ghosts, and the women who create them.

Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel of the same name, was adapted for the stage by Danielle Mohlman in 2020. The play centers Mary Shelley herself, as she writes a ghost story to cope with the loss of her child. But when the conflicts facing Victor Frankenstein, his monstrous Creature, and the women who cross their paths begin to mirror those in Shelley’s own life, she must find the strength to give her characters - and herself - the ending they deserve.

The beating heart of the production was Abby Berg, in the dual roles of Mary Shelley and The Creature. As Shelley, Berg made clear the writer’s morbid fascination with her story, narrating even the darkest events with powerful intensity and a twisted sense of delight. This intensity persisted when Shelley faced the world outside her novel, as Berg deftly depicted Shelley’s anguished descent into near madness under the weight of her grief, her husband’s scrutiny, and society’s demands. Berg displayed equal talent as The Creature, contrasting animalistic movement and a melodic voice to create a complex and captivating character. Berg shifted effortlessly between the roles, developing two uniquely engrossing performances.

Also notable were Hugo Ratheau as mad scientist Victor Frankenstein, and Alex Fulgham as his friend Henry Clerval. Ratheau’s brash mannerisms emphasized Frankenstein’s egotism and contrasted nicely with the quiet sensitivity of Fulgham’s Clerval. Fulgham made excellent use of touch and proximity in interactions with Ratheau, revealing the depth of Clerval’s fierce devotion to Frankenstein. And not to be missed was the ensemble, whose synchronized acting enhanced each scene and intensified the show’s chilling atmosphere.

The play’s industrial set (created by Augie Reitmeyer, Avery Pike, Emily Marrow, and Millie Beaudry), consisted of bare metal scaffolding, creating a "skeleton" for the performance. Interactive elements allowed The Creature to climb up, swing on, and flip off the set pieces, emphasizing both his powerful strength and his childlike nature. The set was further enhanced by the work of the special effects team (Naomi Lewis, Millie Beaudry, Carlos Ortiz, and Sean Cuniffe), including projected backdrops which created continuity between Shelley’s world and that of her novel. The team also developed the video projections played during Frankenstein’s nightmare sequences, featuring frightening visuals that arrested audiences' attention. Contributing to the production's ominous mood, original music (composed by student Carlos Ortiz) underscored the show and was balanced well with microphone levels due to the skillful work of sound designers Ashe Stoner, Tyler Jones, and Ortiz.

With passionate actors and exceptional tech, the students of Meridian High School have stitched together a truly unforgettable performance.

Allie Vargo
McLean High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News 2

Lightning flashes. Thunder booms. Worms squirm through the dirt. Creeping slowly from a fresh grave, an eerie green glow illuminates the stage. Welcome to Meridian High School’s production of “Frankenstein” by Danielle Mohlman.

The play, based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 classic Gothic novel of the same name, was originally workshopped at Meridian High School in 2020. Written by Danielle Mohlman, this adaptation follows the grief-stricken writer Mary Shelley as she works to overcome the loss of her infant and the infidelity of her husband. Supported by her mother, the early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley undertakes the writing of a horror novel focused on the concept of creation. But as the story progresses, Mary falls upon one question she cannot answer -- who is the real monster in her story of Frankenstein?

In the role of Mary Shelley, Abby Berg displayed a beautiful range of emotions which left the crowd enthralled. When introduced, Berg shook, wept, and sobbed in the depths of grief; yet when engrossed in the tale, Berg prowled across the stage, narrating the events with cold passion and resolve. As the Creature, Berg’s performance flipped as well. While Berg might not have undergone any physical change onstage, their transformation into the creature was evident. With rippling and animalistic movements, Berg slithered, lumbered, and crawled across the stage, flipping off poles and scaling walls, giving the character the terrifyingly inhuman power which defined the role. Simply by appearing onstage as the Creature, Berg heightened the stage’s tensions, evoking the emotions of a classic horror movie throughout the entire auditorium.

With her level head and encouraging personality, Samantha Grooms, in the role of Mary Wollstonecraft, phenomenally represented the unconditional love, support, and encouragement mothers provide for their children. Her constant presence onstage, completely engaged with the fantastical story of her daughter’s creation, made her role as Mary Shelley’s mother and protector wholly captivating for the audience. Additionally, the bond between Hugo Ratheau, in the role of Victor Frankenstein, and Alex Fulgham, in the role of Henry Clerval, was heartwarming and persuasive due to its honesty and authenticity. The loud, outspoken Ratheau was perfectly paired with the quiet, logical Fulgham, resulting in a duo fated to complete each other in every instance.

But the play would not be complete without its amazingly talented ensemble, dubbed The Party, which appeared in the background of almost every scene. While a number of the ensemble did appear in individual roles, the beauty of their acting came from their synchronous movements and emotions. Whether in a party, in the woods, or witnessing reanimation, the ensemble acted to enhance and elevate the show’s set into an interactive and highly engaging tangle of limbs and bodies that served to immerse the audience in the tone of the scene.

The play’s masterful costuming (executed by Sophie O’Hara and the Meridian Costume Crew) coupled with the actors’ ghastly makeup (designed by Paxton Hebblethwaite and Tabby Hermann) absorbed the audience into the haunting, steampunk-esque aesthetic of “Frankenstein.” Similarly, the metal design of the set (created by Augie Reitmeyer, Avery Pike, Emily Marrow, and Millie Beaudry) felt incomplete and vaguely skeletal in a way that perfectly mirrored the plot of the story.

A disturbing yet quintessential tale of the cyclical nature of love, abuse, and motherhood, Meridian High School’s production of “Frankenstein” was an experience so strikingly poignant it could bring the dead to life.

Grace Drost
Chantilly High School
Submitted for publication to Patch-Fairfax, Alexandria

Shadows cast by high industrial beams provide the perfect hiding ground for a creature that wishes to remain unseen, slinking around, feeling aimless and lonely. Meridian High School’s production of Frankenstein was a deliciously dark and meaningful glimpse into loneliness and loss.

Adapted from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Meridian High School’s version of Frankenstein was their own creation, coming alive at the school in 2020. It follows Mary Shelley as she pens Frankenstein, haunted by both real people from her past and the deaths of the fictional characters she writes. A deeper dive into themes of feminism and grief, the show reflects on the lives of both Mary Shelley and the creature, exploring the parallels between author and monster.

Abby Berg was a powerful presence as both Mary Shelley and the creature. As the author, Berg commanded the room, filling each moment with the fight of a tough-willed woman possessing equally strong grief and fear. As the monster, Berg employed lithe, creeping movements, and swung around the industrial steampunk set as if it were the creature's own personal playground. They looked larger than life up on top of the sets, wholly owning the height and intensity of the creature. Samantha Grooms as Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley’s ghostly mother, brought a warm and loving feeling to the stage that contrasted Berg’s cold exterior. She portrayed a woman with a large heart, and both the firm and gentle nature of a mother asking her child to let her go.

Alexis West as Elizabeth Lavenza soared as the representation of a freed woman. She leaned into the soft, demure side of her character in the initial scenes of the show, by the end brandishing a knife and becoming just as threatening as she was reserved. West embodied a determined and solid aura as this version of Frankenstein changed the narrative and gave Elizabeth a way out.

The special effects team, Naomi Lewis, Millie Beaudry, Carlos Ortiz and Sean Cuniffe, certainly understood how to create an atmosphere of horror and anticipation. They set up a voice changer on Berg’s mic, to make the voice deeper when Berg performed as the creature. Controlled live in the booth, the special effects team did an excellent job keeping up with the pace of the show and ensuring the voices switched at the proper times. Projections were also used to set the tone of the show, placing grim backgrounds and terrifying horror movie-esque videos into the scenes to further add to uneasiness. Working hand-in-hand with the special effects was Carlos Ortiz, who spent seven months creating music for the show. Utilizing instruments such as a pan flute, ocarina and acoustic guitar, Ortiz crafted a specialized soundtrack for the one-of-a-kind play.

Amongst the dim blue and green lights of the theater, Mary Shelley’s true character shone as she dealt with grief and loss through her creature. Meridian High School’s production was a heart wrenching exploration into the struggle of dealing with internal monsters.

Will Johnson
Hayfield Secondary School
Submitted for publication to Falls Church News Press

Center stage, down front, and illuminated by eerie green lighting, the audience is confronted by a grave. Looking down into a grave is never comforting. Looking into the grave of a loved one is even worse. In Meridian High School’s Frankenstein, the audience witnesses Mary Shelley’s descent into madness as she stares at the graves of both her mother and of the fictional characters of her own design.

Frankenstein, by Danielle Mohlman is an enthralling twist on the classic story. Premiering as a workshop at Meridian High School in 2020, Frankenstein enjoyed a few runs in professional theater in 2022, only to reappear where it all started at Meridian. The tragic events of the book unfolded as Mary Shelley (Abby Berg) wrote for the ghost of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft (Samantha Grooms). As the book’s events played out, parallels of abuse and neglect were drawn between Shelley’s life and the story of the Creature, highlighted by the fact that the two were played by the same actor.

With the audience's hands grasping at their armrests, Berg gave a standout performance in both roles with an unnerving commitment to portraying the experience of living in an abusive environment. As the ghosts of Shelley’s fictional characters appeared in the study, Berg cried out for a peace that was never given. Their ability to shift between the mannerisms of the Creature and Mary Shelley was seamless, performing feats of dance, athleticism, and balance to simulate the Creature’s superhuman abilities, and establishing power dynamics in the scenes. Berg’s face conjured a mixture of guilt, grief, and helplessness that never lost its gravity.

The Creature’s dynamic with Victor Frankenstein (Hugo Ratheau) was filled with a toxic tension of unrelenting hatred. Ratheau fluidly navigated both sides of Victor, the warm and the cold. His pensive and analytical moments with his best friend and perhaps something more, Henry Clerval (Alex Fulgham), were a perfect complement to the moments of the show when the character is panicked beyond belief at what been created. Ratheau and Berg worked in tandem to represent the cycles of abuse that women at the time endured.

The performance as a whole was greatly enhanced by the sound (Tyler Jones, Ashe Stoner, Carlos Ortiz) and special effects (Naomi Lewis, Millie Beaudry, Carlos Ortiz (sfx), Sean Cuniffe). The Creature’s voice had a chilling overlay that helped set apart that element of Berg’s performance. The sound team worked with precise timing, creating a seamless transition between the characters. The student drawn projections also served to set the scene, with befitting color palettes for scene changes, such as vibrant greens and blues for a picnic or an empty gray background in Shelley’s home. The projections also enhanced the production through recordings of characters during pivotal, hair-raising moments of nightmares and chases.

The whole performance was underlined by a bone-rattling score composed by student, Carlos Ortiz, over a period of seven months. The scene of Shelley’s child dying as an infant was accompanied by music played in reverse, providing an unsettling tension with a combination of strings and electric instruments, creating an unrelenting aural pressure.

For a story that is already so well known, finding a fresh take should have been a challenge. Meridian High School embraced that challenge and exceeded expectations with a bold approach to piecing together a monster of a show that evoked empathy while also being a horrifying display of humanity’s shortcomings.

Ella Greene
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Submitted for publication to Gazette Leader

Hunched over a lab bench, a desperate scientist mixes and researches and experiments constantly, until one day, the creation wakes up – what will it do now? Hunched over a cluttered desk, a bereaved author writes and cries and works constantly – will the story ever be told? Find out the answers to both questions at Meridian High School’s entrancing production of Frankenstein.

An adaptation of the classic novel, Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein’s attempt at reanimation as he copes with the death of his mother. The newly invented Creature escapes, causing violence as he rues humanity for his existence. Danielle Mohlman’s unique version, developed at Meridian High School in 2020, features the author, Mary Shelley, and ties her struggles to the Creature’s experience.

Abby Berg as Mary Shelley morphed between Mary and the Creature with a smooth, chilling grace, giving both characters a creepy delight as they searched for justice through their individual torment. From heartbreakingly grieving for a dead child to brashly confronting mother Mary Wollstonecraft, Berg’s use of a melodic voice punctuated by growling frustration established a powerful yet scared author. When acting as the Creature, Berg sunk into a crouch, head angled while slinking across the stage or scaling the set. Both characters featured a tortured smile as they released their anger, whether it be through Mary Shelley’s piercing shouts at Mary Wollstonecraft or the Creature’s violent attempts to serve justice to the Frankenstein clan.

Hugo Ratheau as Victor Frankenstein and Alex Fulgham as Henry Clerval created a dynamic rich with tension. Ratheau used sweeping gestures and motivated movement around the stage as he grandiosely described Victor’s experiments or devastatingly grieved the deaths of his family. Meanwhile, Fulgham’s earnest and fearful Henry remained hunched and skittery, sweetly urging Victor to let him in with encouraging hugs and a shaky voice.

The show’s ensemble surrounded the set’s scaffolding with intense glares, expressionless faces, and a haunting stillness. As they leaned on structures to watch the Creature and Madame DeLacey together, their eyes followed each movement while otherwise being immobile. Their laughter in party scenes echoed as they faded back into the set discreetly.

Meridian’s use of technical elements created a haunting atmosphere. The Special Effects (Naomi Lewis, Millie Beaudry, Carlos Ortiz, Sean Cuniffe) used digitally drawn projections throughout, creating disorienting, abstract backgrounds with wide brush strokes. The projections generally took a dull grayscale theme, emphasizing the sweeping bright green and pops of red and purple during the Creature’s times in the forest. Through their use of color, the projections were inextricably tied to the Creature’s state of mind while maintaining the same theme throughout.

Using sharp angles, the set design (Augie Reitmeyer, Avery Pike, Emily Marrow, Millie Beaudry) crafted a steampunk, minimalist set reminiscent of a jungle gym. The all-black pipes and jointed connections created distinct outlines against the abstract projections and provided room for actors to climb, swing, or lurk throughout the show.

The lighting by Naomi Lewis was simple yet masterful, heightening suspense with carefully created shadows and silhouettes. Colored lights reflecting off the set’s black pipes brought a supernatural glare to the scenes, while angled beams cast shadows shifting with any movement onto the faces of the party members as they haunted Mary Shelley. During Frankenstein’s disorienting and harrowing dream, Victor himself was entirely silhouetted, amplifying his terror as the projection flashed in the background.

Meridian High School showed that even through seemingly insurmountable grief and fear, one should always continue writing their own story.