By Jenna Szymanski —

“Death Takes a Holiday,” written for the American stage by Walter Ferris, encompasses intense emotion and humor.

Performed by New Jersey City University’s Theater Department, the play was an overall success. The play’s strongest aspects were its actors John Buck, Priscilla Casco and Nicole Colon, the artfully done makeup, and the superb lighting.

However, the play needed to improve on the pacing of the scenes and creating characters that the audience would empathize more with. In the play, the character of Death takes the human form of a prince – whom he killed days before he comes to earth in search of why humans are so terrified of him. He longs to feel human emotion and understand life’s purpose.

Disguised as Prince Sirki spends three days among the houseguests and family of Duke Lambert, during which time he falls in love with Grazia, a young woman longing to find her identity.

Buck, Casco, and Colon highlighted the show with their passionate and believable performances. John Buck’s deep, bellowing voice maintained its charming accent and was audible throughout the entire play.

Buck effortlessly transformed himself into Duke Lambert. This was enhanced by the makeup, making his face look aged and through his well fitting tuxedo. These small details drew me in deeper into his character. His roll was one of the most challenging because, like the audience, he knew Death’s secret.

Buck’s main task was to maintain his character (who is struggling to juggle keeping Death happy) and keep his family and houseguests from finding out Death’s true identity. I felt the use of dramatic irony was thrilling throughout the show.

Similar to Buck, Casco fully transformed herself into the Princess of San Luca who is afraid of losing her daughter. Priscilla Casco’s tear-jerking performance at the end of Scene Three captured the audience, making each person feel the pain of a mother in anguish.

Like Buck, Casco was aged through her makeup and looked like royalty in the faux-silk garments. The mother-daughter team of Casco and Nicole Colon was well received by the audience. Colon’s portrayal of Grazia as a curiously naïve young woman was felt through the warmth of her actions and sweetness of her smile. Her brightly colored clothing and soft lipstick accented her youthfulness and innocence.

Colon captured the essence of Grazia and molded herself into the character. The tone of voice she used was sincere, making her rejection to her suitor Corrado and the goodbye to her mother all the more painful to witness.

The lighting of the interactions intensified the connection between Grazia and Prince Sirki. When their eyes would meet, the light would focus on them, making time feel as though it slowed for the two lovers. The moments between Prince Sirki’s and Grazia were the strongest for actor Lorenzo Williams.

Williams came into his character of Death most fully in the last scene of play, when he slowed down his pacing, became more passionate and spoke more clearly. Similar to Williams, the actor Adam Elgammal most fully realized his character, Corrado, in the last scene. In scenes one and two, Corrado’s love for Grazia feels flat, but when he is going to lose her in the final scene, his voice became stronger, his actions seemed more genuine, and he was able to convince the audience that he truly cared for her and does not want to let her go. Though this emotion was not consistent, it rounded out the play.

As an overall production, “Death Takes a Holiday” was a wonderful performance.