Between the Lines
Falls Church High School
Photo credits: Gary Rubin
Having a fictional crush is inevitable.
For some it might’ve been Draco Malfoy, or it could’ve been Percy Jackson.
Of course, for others, it was Jess Mariano from Gilmore Girls… I can’t be the only one.
For Delilah McPhee, it was Prince Oliver from “Between the Lines.” Despite being a junior in high school, she held tight to the elementary fairytale, and even more tightly to the dashing prince inside its pages. Who would’ve thought that Oliver would start talking to her… and that she could hear him?
Or, better yet, that he was utterly and inexplicably in love with her?
Falls Church High School brought the wit, charm, and shocking reality of “Between the Lines” to life. Balancing a juxtaposition of zany characters and down-to-earth themes, the cast and crew took to this whirlwind of a show with buckets of enthusiasm and heaps of heart.
That’s enough of an author’s note: let’s get to the prologue!
Photo credits: Gary Rubin
Between the Lines
Based on the YA novel of the same name, “Between the Lines” first premiered as a musical in 2017 at the Kansas City Repertory Theater. It ran for an off-broadway stint in 2022, and now occupies high school auditoriums around the globe--in addition to middle schools, thanks to the newly-released JR version.
So, what’s the story about?
After Delilah’s parents went through a divorce, she’s forced to live with her seemingly absent mother and faces a slew of school bullies on the daily. Her only solace is a book titled “Between the Lines,” which stars a handsome prince named Oliver. Delilah wants nothing more than to join him and live out her fairytale dreams, but soon comes to realize the power of rewriting her own story.
Think of it like “Mean Girls” meets “Matilda” meets “Shrek,” but make it a fanfiction. Quite the conglomerate!
This Production
First, I’d like to give a heavy-handed round of appplause to Kristina MacFarlane and the Set Team for the beautiful backdrops and designs of “Between the Lines.” From the detail on each stone of Princess Seraphima’s tower to the intricate shading on Delilah’s roof, every element of the set was thoughtfully executed. One particular piece I loved was Delilah’s bedroom, which had an opening in the flat to act as a window. When Delilah crawled through to the other side of the flat, she was able to sit down on a sloped surface, and turned to face the audience for scenes that took place on her roof. The overall setup made for clever, quick transitions.
Ellie Whitfield commanded the stage as Delilah McPhee. Her adorably awkward nature around her classmates gave way to powerhouse vocals in numbers like “A Whole New Story,” where Delilah grew into a confident young woman willing to fight for her own ending. Her raw relationship with Juliana Esen’s Grace was one of my favorites of the show; the two navigated the rocky waters of their mother-daughter dynamic with admirable skill. While it wasn’t uncommon for the two to erupt in a screaming match, Esen truly shone in her pure rendition of “Start Again Tomorrow;" a lullaby during a flashback that tugged at the heartstrings.
Izzy Martin was perfectly pretentious in the role of Allie McAndrews/Princess Seraphima. Martin’s whiny pout and pointed glare illustrated the classic role of a mean girl--especially alongside Ellie Child’s catty Janice and Miles Alexander’s cunning Martin--and her dramatic outbursts as a princess were played with expert comedic timing. Her interactions with Jackson Sites’s Ryan/Frump provided excellent levity, and made for a fan-favorite couple.
From the moment I spotted Sites’s tap shoes at the beginning of “Out of Character,” I knew great decisions had been made.
Sasha Wendell was another standout as the eccentric Ms. Winx. Her performance of “Mr. Darcy and Me” opposite Michael Greco was side-splitting: from Wendell’s hilarious infatuation to Greco’s effortless jazz split, it was a rollercoaster of a number from start to finish. Even still, both Wendell and Greco found the space to genuinely care for Delilah as Ms. Winx and Dr. Ducharme; they fostered a heartwarming support system for her throughout the show.
Another person Delilah could count on was Jules, brought to life by Penny Mollen. Mollen injected each comeback with punchy sass and a healthy dose of sarcasm, belting out “Allie McAndrews” with unmistakable punk-rock energy.
Finally, Zachary Napoli brought the larger-than-life persona of Prince Oliver to the stage. He made himself heard from the very first “HELLO!,” and crafted a unique prince who yearned for a different story. Opposite Whitfield, the two played both tongue-in-cheek and dramatic moments as a couple, and successfully built a root-worthy relationship: one that ignited audience gasps during a twist later in the show.
Who is it For?
“Between the Lines” truly lives for its novel’s YA audience, but that’s not to say that families and younger kids won’t equally enjoy the story. The show’s themes of family, friends, and taking control of your own narrative would resonate with any viewer, and the company at “Between the Lines” did a wonderful job bringing these themes to the forefront of the story.
I will say, a few lines in this script had my jaw dropped. It’s extremely obvious that this show was written within the past 10 years, since the script utilizes modern slang and social media to the absolute max. That being said, I thought the students at Falls Church did an excellent job bringing the story back to earth and making the characters relatable. Bravo, FCHS!
I’d recommend this show for all ages. While high school and middle school audiences will understand it the most, there’s no language or violent content that would limit the show from any particular viewer.
Though their production of “Between the Lines” has since come to a close, be on the lookout for the announcement of Falls Church HS’s spring play!
Visit https://www.fchsdrama.org/ and follow @fcspotlighttheatre on Instagram for information about the program.