Cappies Review: 'The Party Hop' At Langley High School

By Sujay Khona of Chantilly High School

Take an exciting trip three years into the future, where humans are still stuck in quarantine! Join Emma, Nancy, and Ava on a night out — or rather a night in — as they hop between virtual parties, and attempt to get Ava her first kiss. Langley High School made this experience just as unexpected, awkward, and hilarious as it sounds.

In "The Party Hop's" version of our future, college parties as we have known them are now a thing of history. Instead, Emma and Ava jumped from hometown reunions to a surprise birthday, to a raging party with their college buddies. Tonight, however, they were joined by Nancy, a transfer student eager to socialize and whose outgoing personality tested Emma's and Ava's friendship as they tried to bring a new person into their group. An added challenge of trying to land Ava her first kiss and there was a night of college kids navigating their new normal through awkward breakout rooms, changing backgrounds, and of course, Tik-Tok dances.

"The Party Hop," written by Natalie Margolin, was unique as it was written to be performed in a virtual setting, of which Langley High School took full advantage.

Emma's (Abhaya Tyrka) and Ava's (Tess Jannery-Barney) conversation instantly drew the audience into their world with the authenticity and familiarity of their performances. This realism was also be attributed to Ava's struggles with her insecurities and her journey through the play. Nancy (Talia-Rose Diorio) was the perfect supplement to Emma and Ava. Her awkward and aggressive nature shone, and behind her annoying behaviors, Diorio created a character with vast emotional depth. Other characters' interactions with Nancy amused the audience, such as her moments with Nora (Gabriella Sanchez). Sanchez did an excellent job portraying Nora's sarcastic moments, and her physicality in wildly chaotic muted Zoom arguments with her husband, Nathan (Gunnar Peacock). Finally, it would be impossible not to mention Jackson (Nicolas Kristensen), Ava's chosen target to kiss. Kristensen's excruciatingly dry performance was incredibly convincing, and the lack of chemistry between Jackson and Ava's character was painfully obvious and all too similar to students forced together in breakout rooms during a modern school day.

The technical elements of this show were just as natural as the acting. The video editing, done by Phia Colabatistto, was clean and effective. She allowed the story to flow, and the cuts were never awkward or out of place. The music during the party scenes was a nice touch as well, and it helped set the atmosphere and never overpowered the actors. Elizabeth Tippen's outstanding directorial choices pushed the show to a new level. Subtle touches, such as the drawn-out beats in the conversations and the staggered entrances and exits into the various virtual meetings, felt very natural and helped ground the show in reality. Other touches, like the well-thought-out background sets, added more depth to the characters. Notable settings included Jackson's room, donning a gigantic flag that proclaimed, "Saturdays are for the boys," and Mary's room, filled with musical theater memorabilia. Even details as subtle as the character's usernames were carefully chosen to contribute to the telling of the story.

Langley High School's "The Party Hop" truly made the best of our undesirable situation and gave us a more hopeful glimpse into the future with familiarity and authenticity.