This fall, the Jones theater department performed Ghost Bike as their annual school play, complete with a large cast of actors and directors, a multitude of unique props and a story applicable to teenage life. 

Laura Jaqmin’s Ghost Bike, inspired by the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, follows a Chicago teenager venturing through the underworld to revive a friend who died in a biking accident. Some themes of the play include friendship and loss, which potentially correlates to the experiences of the adolescent audience.

“I think that the emotions of it are very raw and very natural for what high schoolers are going through,” said Alice Kasdan ‘24, one of the play’s lead actresses. “The dialogue is also very natural.”

More specifically, losing a friend or someone close sparks high emotions, which allowed the central theme of Ghost Bike to potentially connect with students. 

“People can definitely relate to this sense of what we do when we’re faced with a huge change in our lives, whether that be someone moving away, or someone passing on like what they did in the play,” said Brennan Roach, head of the Jones drama department.

Grief and growing up were especially honed in on for this production.

“There’s a large connection between that feeling of growing up and moving on,” said Cecil Ryan ‘24, an additional lead in the play. “Then there’s that smaller group of people who can relate to feeling that grief from losing a close friend or family member.”

The overall atmosphere of the play also contained factors which aimed to attract a wide audience and make the production stand out from previous years. 

“It’s a very lively show this year. It has a lot more energy and a lot more moving parts. Compared to previously, there’s a very upward energy that’s really connecting people,” said Ryan.

According to the cast, Ghost Bike’s pivotal humor and dramatics set it apart from other Jones shows.

“It has a really good balance of drama and comedy in a way that I think not a lot of plays often do. For every dramatic moment, there’s something that’s equally as funny,” said Kasdan.

The set and props for the production also attracted attention, giving this play even more opportunities to stand out to its predecessors. 

“It’s got a lot of bells and whistles on it. We’ve got bikes on stage, skateboards, rollerblades, ramps, all sorts of stuff, which is really cool,” said Roach. “As well as a number of cool special effects and things that take us into this underworld of sorts.”

The underworld featured in the show is also inspired by the story of Greek gods Orpheus and Eurydice. 

“The play actually features four different underworld mythologies from world cultures. It’s not just your typical Greek underworld,” said Roach. “We also see Hindu, Buddhist and Norse cultures represented as well.” 

These spiritual and cultural themes place Ghost Bike into a fantasy genre that makes the production unique.

“Radium Girls was more down to earth, but this is a lot more wonky,” said Kasdan. “There are down to earth normal characters, but there’s also lots of crazy deities and ghosts.”

All in all, Jones’s fall play aimed to draw in a wide audience and make relatable connections with students.

“Anyone who gets out and gets on a bike is going to feel a connection to what’s going on in this play,” said Roach.