‘Vanities’ takes the stage

By Kelsey Mayid | gargoyle@flagler.edu

The Flagler Theatre Department’s upcoming show “Vanities” is an insightful play about three small-town girls who are growing up together, and growing apart, during a turbulent time in history, said Alicia Mangelsdorf, a senior theatre major and the play’s stage manager.

“Vanities,” written by Jack Heifner and directed for the Flagler stage by Jean Rahner, is a bittersweet comedy that follows the “maturation process” of three close friends through high school, college and into adulthood during the 1960s and 1970s. Senior Audrey Holeman plays Mary, who Mangelsdorf described as “rebellious and outspoken.” Sophomore Maggie Ballard plays Kathy, “who is very organized, and everything must go her way,” and senior Annie Cantore plays Joanne, who is “kind of the driving force of the story, especially with the ending.”

This is Mangelsdorf’s second show with Rahner as a director. “She [Rahner] is really good about finding inner motivations to help the actors transition into their characters,” Mangelsdorf said. “She is very personal as a director.”

Vanities runs about two hours with two, 10-minute scene changes. During these intermissions, the actresses remain on stage at their vanities, making their physical changes of the passing time in front of the audience to music from each period, Mangelsdorf said.