Fans of “M*A*S*H” don’t need to stay awake for graveyard-shift syndicated episodes. Students at Winston Churchill High School are performing it live in prime-time, and junior Amy Tilles thinks the play will appeal to those who love the TV sitcom.
“They watched the show and they know the characters. They might like to see the way we play the characters,” said Tilles, a lead cast member who plays Margaret “Hotlips” Houlihan. “They’ll see some old humor, maybe done in a new way that they might not have seen before.”
Director Jessica Speck found out several years ago that there was a theater version of “M*A*S*H.” “I’ve had it in the back of my mind for two or three years,” Speck said.
“M*A*S*H” fits with a theme of Churchill’s ‘04-05 performances, dramatic renditions of stories best known as movies or television shows. Churchill also performed “The Graduate” and a musical version of “Big.”
Most of the 37-member cast hadn’t seen the movie or television version of “M*A*S*H before auditioning for the play, but Tilles was an exception. “I watch the show occasionally, and I thought that was so cool that we were doing it,” she said.
“IT’S JUST A REALLY fun show,” said junior Jeremy Slevin, who plays Waldaski, a dentist. “We have a lot of fun making it, so I think that will show on stage.”
The play is set in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War.
“Two new doctors, Hawkeye and Trapper, come to the MASH,” Slevin said. “They bring their antics, and eventually we have to bet on a football game in order to send Ho-Jon, a Korean, to medical school.”
“Hotlips” Houlihan is a nurse at the hospital, a straight-character surrounded by comic foils. “She’s very uptight. She didn’t get drafted; she chose to be there,” said Tilles. “She demands respect, and she’s used to getting it, but she doesn’t at this MASH, and she doesn’t know how to deal with it.”
“My favorite part is when I get to run through the audience screaming after I’ve been brought back from the dead,” said Slevin.
CHURCHILL PERFORMS a version that draws more on the outwardly comic version of the sitcom “M*A*S*H,” as opposed to the 1970 movie, which had a very dark side, Speck said.
There is a dark undertone that shows in certain scenes — this is war, and the MASH’s doctors and nurses must treat those wounded in battle. But even the most serious parts tend to take a comic turn, said Tilles.
“We do have some serious scenes,” Tilles said, but even these tend to take a comical turn. “They’re able to pull off the funny lines, even when there’s a serious scene.”
“It’s similar to the movie, except it’s not as rated R,” Slevin said.
One example is how “Hotlips” Houlihan gets her nickname. In the movie, it’s because her kiss with Capt. Burns is broadcast on the radio; in the play, it’s because she’s told she’s breathing fire.
“She just doesn’t get around in the play,” Tilles said.