This past January, Brooklyn Tech heralded its first play since the beginning of the pandemic. For Heaven’s Sake was a captivating performance that tapped into the feelings of social inadequacy faced by many young people after a year in isolation.

The play follows the perspective of Eric, a young man with a troubled past who faced an unfortunate early demise. When Eric arrives in Heaven after his funeral, he is given an opportunity: His previous life record will be expunged before judgment if he returns back to Earth and assists Gerald, an awkward and angsty eighteen-year-old. Gerald is the only person able to hear Eric, who is invisible to all on Earth. Despite the impediment, Eric must help Gerald catch the attention of his love interest, Jeanine. Even with the nostalgic, mid-century feel to the play, it brought up many themes pertinent to high schoolers today. Despite our young ages, Eric’s death encourages us to think about the legacy we will be leaving and our relationships with our loved ones. Gerald’s social anxiety is more relevant than ever as we reach the halfway mark of our first fully in-person school year since the beginning of the pandemic.

The creative use of the auditorium in For Heaven’s Sake was also an especially interesting aspect of the production. From the balcony above the exit doors of the auditorium, dramatic lights illuminated the angels Eric had befriended, looking down upon him as he was aiding Gerald.

Alexander Sturm (‘22), who played Eric, remarked on how the role offered him new responsibilities he hadn’t experienced in previous productions: “It was nice being a leader on stage as one of the oldest cast members.” Sturm had previously performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream back in 2019. Of the recent performance, he was quick to note that “it was a lot of fun working with friends, meeting new people.”

Due to the short time period between the Winter Concert in December and the play, Sturm said the biggest challenge the production faced was “that we didn’t have a lot of time — we had to wait until after the concert was over for [the] stage.” Because of this, Sturm mentioned that it felt like “crunch time” after the holiday break.

Due to the continued risk posed by Covid, the cast wore masks during the performance. Sturm mentioned that “wearing masks was difficult, and we were initially having a discussion about the possibility of going maskless, but Omicron put an end to those talks.” He added that because the cast needed to project their voices further than in previous years, “some people said they could actually hear us better through the masks.”

This school year has been an exciting one for Tech’s performing arts after a nearly two-year hiatus. The school’s production of For Heaven’s Sake was an artfully crafted, fresh, and unique take on what it means to be a high school student today.

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