Head Over Heels Review

By Mia Queenan ‘27 (Reporter)

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Thoroughly amusing and utterly ridiculous, Friends’ Central theater brought to us the audacious musical Head Over Heels this March. Originally conceived by Jeff Whitty and then adapted by James Magruder, Head Over Heels made its debut at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015 before playing on Broadway from July 26, 2018, to January 6, 2019, for a total of more than 100 performances. The play takes its inspiration from The Arcadia, a book written in 1580 by Sir Philip Sidney, but its soundtrack consists exclusively of music from the popular 1980s rock band, The Go-Go’s, creating an interesting mix of past and current culture. 

The opening act set to “We Got the Beat” was choreographed by Elijah Teel ‘26 and introduced a curious “Beat.” This Beat embodied the very essence of the Arcadian kingdom, where the musical is set, and was revered by all Arcadians. Shortly after, King Basillius, played by Elijah Teel ‘26, received a prophecy from the oracle Pythio, played by Olwyn Palumbos ‘26, who spoke of a coming danger; the kingdom was at risk of losing its Beat if they could not stop one of four specific actions from occurring. King Basillius, believing that he could fix everything without keeping anyone but his faithful viceroy, Dametas, played by Henry Snedeker ‘27, apprised of the situation, took his family and embarked on a secret mission to stop the fourth prophecy (“You will meet and make way for a better king”) from coming true. Unorthodox was the journey that followed, full of unexpected twists and turns and personal epiphanies that forever altered what for so long had defined Arcadia.

As the name would suggest, Head Over Heels is a play about love. It follows the romantic relationships of King Basillius and his wife Gynecia, played by Hannah Seidel-Nini ‘26, and of Pamela and Mopsa, played by Kourtney Moore ‘27 and Maya Gerstein ‘26 respectively, as well as the tumultuous romance of sophomore Lucas Hoffmann’s Musidorus and Philoclea, played by Jules Barrial ‘26. These unions each represent different cultural and societal issues. King Basillius is deeply sexist and arrogant, causing Gynecia to feel unsatisfied and unseen in their relationship. Princess Pamela is renowned for her beauty and receives many male suitors, but struggles internally with her sexuality, and she and Mopsa worry that their love will not be accepted. Philoclea, another daughter of King Basilius, finds love with Musidorus, her best friend whom she had known since childhood, but the disparity of their classes threatens to keep them apart. 

Head Over Heels would not have been possible without the diligent work of both cast and crew to make the production as memorable as it was. FCS’s stage crew, led by Jerry Kapral, created beautiful sets that invited the watcher into Arcadia and enriched the play immensely. Students Monica Taylor ‘25, Elijah Teel ‘26, Margot Shea ‘26, and Kaelin Day ‘27 brought the spirit of Arcadia to life with their choreography. And, of course, without director Megan Schumacher welcoming the challenge of this unique play, none of this would have been possible. 

I look forward to seeing what else is in store for us this year as the theater program takes on Bad Auditions by Bad Actors this spring!

Courtesy fcs_theater on instagram