Nickel and Dimed at Eastern Camden High School

Theater: Eastern Camden Regional High School
Show Title: Nickel and Dimed
Opened: November 11, 2007
Seen: November 11, 2007
Reviewer: Valerie Broussard
Submitted: November 18, 2007

Where will my next meal come from? Will I have money to pay the rent? These questions don’t enter into the consciousness of many Americans, but have you ever stopped to think about the people who face these questions everyday? Joan Holden’s Nickel & Dimed which was preformed at Eastern Camden High School last weekend accounts for the 36.5million Americans who do ask themselves those questions.

Nickel and Dimed premiered in 2002 after being adapted from Barbra Ehrenreich’s book “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America”. The story is based on Ehrenreich’s experiences after she decided to go undercover as a minimum wage worker for an article. The three acts each show Barbra in a different setting: a waitress and hotel maid in Key West, a “Magic Maid” and nursing home attendant in Maine, and a salesperson in a Minnesota “Mallmart”. As she travels across the country and through a number of jobs Barbra discovers the harsh reality of life below the poverty line.

Katie Morgan tackled the role of Barbra well, maintaining a steady pace during the entire show. Morgan was best in Barbra’s moments of frustration and bewilderment. Especially in the chaos of the restaurant in the first act, and when the reality of homelessness hits her in the third act.

In ensemble casts like this one, there often many supporting characters who stand out. This includes Christina Terry who gave a believable performance as the world-weary maid Carlie. She was able to bring a sense of age to her role that was often lacking in others in the cast. Alexa Garvey as Maddy, Alex Keith as Holly, and Ardavan Sepehr as Howard also gave realistic performances.

While the show brought to light some very serious issues it was not without its funny moments. Contributing to this was Bobby Ganzman who portrayed George, a busboy with a charming smile and halting English. Pete, played by Nick Dagostino, also added a comedic element to the show with his never ending stream of obvious of lies.

The stage crew led by Christina Pepe made a number of fast set changes which helped the flow of the show greatly. Taylor Marcum’s costumes also contributed to this as there were a number of quick onstage changes.

Nickel and Dimed with its strong message is a hard show for any high school to produce, however Eastern Camden took the task on admirably making for a well-received show.