The Lincoln Log

In our modern-age society countless people search the Internet to find themselves a sweetheart, looking on various websites and services that devote themselves to finding you someone to complete the “hole” in your life. Websites such as eHarmony.com or match.com or any mediocre through-the-internet dating scene for that matter falters in comparison to good ole’ fashioned matchmakers like Dolly Levi, a character in Abraham Lincoln High’s spring play, “The Matchmaker,” written by Thornton Wilder.

This play once again, does not prove to disappoint. The seats for this play were more than packed on closing day. Waiting lists for tickets were even required and unfortunately, many people were turned away due to the lack of seats.

 The magic of the play happened inside the Little Theater, where no seats were left empty. True, the delay for the play to commence was quite long, but it was well worth the wait.

  Matchmaker Levi (played by Jennifer Amaechi) profits in not only a monetary sense by setting people together, but also takes an indulgence to her job. She is one of the many centerpieces in the play that ties every character together, a charming character Amaechi plays perfectly. Levi is partially responsible for the final engagement between Ermengarde, Vandergelder’s niece, and Ambrose Kemper, as well as the engagement between Cornelius Hackl, one of Vandergelder’s workers, and Irene Molloy (played by Vicky Lee), the woman who was originally supposed to be engaged to Vandergelder.

 Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker are hilariously witty and charming, with their humorous antics. The characters are cute and bring a considerable amount of laughs to the play.

Throughout the play, there are many hilarious and witty slapstick situations that the drama group gives more than justice to. From mistaken identities, to separated lovers running away together, the play has it all and the actors performed it to its fullest extent. “The Matchmaker” was anything but amateur; it was unlike what somebody would expect from a high school play. The actors were very realistic and their voices really shot out making the play clear and toned.

What I like about this play is that there aren’t just two main characters which the play revolves around, but many, all with different stories and play different roles in this story; who all find themselves a match in the end. There are several main characters involved in their own situations, which tie in with each other. Among the other characters are Horace Vandergelder (played by Brandon Yu), a cruel, money- obsessed local merchant in Yonkers , New York , who has hired Levi to find him a perfect wife. In the end, he discovers that Levi is his perfect wife and they get engaged. The play is as comical as it is appealng. In the end, everybody gets paired up together, hence “The Matchmaker,” and like most plays, draws to a close with a lesson.

Among the many things “The Matchmaker” focuses on, its main idea is love and the pursuit of finding someone complementary to the other. Not necessarily an old-fashioned concept, but still extremely charming and a great theme for entertainment. From its chaotic scenes to its romantic acts, “The Matchmaker” is surely a hit.