As the winter comes to an end, many sports and after-school activity practices prepare for their hard work to pay off in a series of games or performances. This is always the case for the Liberty Thespians who have been busy with rehearsing for their spring play: You Can’t Beat the House by Pat Cook.

The show takes place in the high school commons on March 30th, 31st, and April 1st at 7 p.m. Ticket prices are $4 for students and $5 for adults and will be sold during lunch a week before opening night. The theatre department and new director Ms. Willis are excited and hopeful for the development of the show.

The group has dedicated time and energy into bringing the show to life. When two minor-league burglars, Merle (Jake Denunzio) and Howie (Jack Barrett), realize that the house they’ve just broke into is up for sale and before they can leave prospective buyers, Conrad (Blake Phillips) and Glenda Spears (Maria Hufford) enter the home.

In this split second decision that may or may not save the two burglars from time in prison, they pretend to be real estate agents, until the REAL real estate agent shows up (Heather McClanahan). The screwball comedy revolves around one mishap after another as the two burglars juggle the act until they get the chance to escape, until a cop (Nick McClanahan) shows up looking for two suspicious characters in the area… oh yeah, and the place is haunted too!

The mix of oddball characters features Lillian (Zoe Raye & understudy Paxton Linnemeyer) as Glenda’s pushy mother, Madame Zenobia (Alyssa Fay), Brittany Marie (Abby Hankins), and Fern Larraby (Alex Ovares).

“Theatre has intensely impacted my life, it has been my favorite part of high school so far and there is where I’ve met some of my life long friends,” Hufford said. “I did a lot of theatre and acting in middle school but fell out of it because of the environment, joining this group and coming back into a new atmosphere in high school was so much better and the friendly environment really makes practice less of a chore since we are all so close.”

Alyssa Fay has been a part of 3 shows at Liberty and soon to be 4 after this upcoming performance. “I was brought into an audition because my friends didn’t want to go alone and somehow grabbed a part in a show,” Fay said. “I ultimately liked it and lines are easy to remember and the meaning of theatre to me has really brought me out of my shell and I kept coming back to audition because the people there were all so welcoming and I’ve finally found a group where I fit and feel at home with, without theatre I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”