Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite 

I hated middle school—and so did Jo Firestone ’09 and Dylan Marron ’10. The good news about their new play, “Ridgfield Middle School Talent Nite,” that went up last night in the WestCo Café, is that we’re not in middle school any more. 

“It’s like a Civil War reenactment,” Firestone said. “You’d watch it and enjoy the action-packed plot, but you’d definitely rather not re-live it yourself—the fiberglass bayonets are still just a little too sharp for comfort and ease.”

While a middle school reenactment doesn’t involve watching fun fake explosions and pathetic people traipsing around in authentic 1860s outfits, it does celebrate a terrible period in history more than it ever should be celebrated. 

The key difference between these two reenactments—other than the obvious, of course—is that “Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite” is going to make you laugh for reasons other than schadenfreude. 

“There can be some unbelievably intense rivalries among the young women of the eighth grade,” Firestone said. “You should expect to see magic and Katy Perry—or one in the same?—and watch out for signs of puberty. It certainly catches them off guard.”

Basically, as Firestone says, if you hated yourself in middle school then come see this show. I couldn’t agree more. 

“Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite” will be performed Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., in the WestCo Café.

Who: Wesleyan guitar students…and you.

What: Presenting their most recent work, and playing music from around the world.

Where: World Music Hall

When: Friday, April 17 at 8 p.m.

Why: Because if I learned anything from summer camp, it’s that guitar players are all hotties and cool kids. It’s too late for most of us to be either one, but at least we can ogle them from afar…

How: Free!