Last season was a banner year for the Sussex Central High School drama department and the Take Two Drama Club.

First, the school presented its groundbreaking production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Simon Stephens, the first professional or non-professional production of the award-winning international classic in Delaware. This was followed by participation in the national Poetry Out Loud competition at the semifinal and state final levels by rising seniors Emma Evan and Brandon Greenlee.

In the spring, as part of the popular Rehoboth Reads community program, rising seniors Tarron Coursey and Gary Bush presented an original adaptation of world-famous lawyer and activist Bryan Stevenson’s teen version of his memoir “Just Mercy.” The presentation, made to middle school students in the International Baccalaureate program, served as Coursey and Bush’s community service project for Sussex Central’s own IB program.

Finally, Sussex Central’s spring musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” broke all SCHS box office records.

“It’s daunting to follow a year of successes like this, but we’re certainly going for it in our 2019-20 season,” said David Warick, SCHS drama teacher.

Warick said this season’s offerings will include the popular “Almost Maine” by John Cariani, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13 and 14; “A Celebration of Jazz” for Sussex Central’s annual Black History Month presentation, Tuesday, Feb. 25; “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” a cult classic, emo-rock musical about the seventh U.S. president, Friday and Saturday, March 27 and 28; and the inaugural Teen Improv Competition Wednesday, May 13, with competing teams from around the state.

“There may even be a few more theatrical surprises around Halloween and Valentine’s Day,” Warick said.

The Take Two Drama Club is an independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization which supports the production of plays and musicals for the students of Sussex Central High School. All ticket proceeds go directly back into production of future shows and to support SCHS students in studying and creating theatre. To make a donation to Take Two, contact advisor David Warick at david.warick@irsd.k12.de.us.