Getting rest in Room 203 was harder than senior Izzy Schafer’s character, Beth Hollender, resisting the urge to scream “Sh*t!” when someone brushed against her swollen ankle. Whether a secret affair or a nerve-wracking hour before the Oscars, a duel of divorce or a comedy of ankle-breaking errors, the Advanced Acting Company class’s adaptation of the 1976 classic “California Suite,” written by Neil Simon, never had a dull moment.

“California Suite” unfolded through four separate stories, all set in the Beverly Hills Hotel Room 203. Many members of Advanced Acting portrayed more than one character, reinventing their personas between set changes.

Vignette 1: “Visitor from New York”

This scene threw the audience into an argument between two headstrong ex-spouses who wanted nothing more than to get under each other’s skin. It had been a full year since Hannah, played by Izzy, and William, played by junior Ashym Patel, last saw one another, and Hannah had traveled to California on her own accord with their daughter, Jenny, for her annual visit. Izzy portrayed Hannah as a feisty mother unafraid to challenge William on his more relaxed ideas for their daughter’s future, firing off sarcastic remarks that landed sharply against William’s controlled, composed demeanor as Ashym brought him to life onstage.

Beneath the sarcasm was the ache of two individuals who once loved one another and who had now come to hurt each other. Izzy layered Hannah’s sharpness with flickers of vulnerability through an occasional uneasy pause or a softened tone, balancing intense emotions with delicate moments. Likewise, Ashym’s initial restraint began to crack in moments where his calm composure was overridden by subtle changes in his facial expressions, like a raised eyebrow or a more intense delivery of words, which created a push-and-pull effect between him and Izzy. The tension built to a bittersweet ending when Hannah finally came around and allowed William to spend more time with their daughter.

Ashym discussed how he developed his realistic on-stage dynamic with Izzy. “I think the chemistry aspect partially sprung out of our shared past,” he said. “We’ve done a couple of shows together, and we’ve also been a part of the theater community for a while.”

He added that the class environment also played a key role. “The other part was the class setting itself. [Upper School performing arts teacher Frank] Schneider did a great job of making sure that we had the time to both get to know each other and the characters during class, and we spent a lot of time feeling out blocking and comedic timing throughout that process.”

Vignette 2: “Visitor from Philadelphia”

This scene had the audience cackling thanks to its slapstick chaos, driven by a wife’s obliviousness as her husband frantically tried to hide an affair from the previous night. Millie Michaels, played by senior Kelsey Riordan, was cheerful in her initial cluelessness, but her frustration grew as her husband Marvin, played by senior Marc Abrahams, prevented her from using the washroom. The icing on the disordered cake was the audience’s full awareness of the disaster brewing behind the bedroom door, making for a chaotic masterpiece.

The entire scene became Marvin’s frantic mission to prevent Millie from entering the bedroom and finding the dreaded secret hidden behind the door: the lady from the previous night lying in bed. Despite Marvin’s numerous attempts to push the half-conscious woman out of the hotel (including carrying her to the door and shouting, “My wife—MY WIFE—will be here in 10 minutes”), Millie’s bottled-up anger eventually bursted, leading her to storm into the bedroom. Marvin was forced to confess to his affair while the woman, played by junior Stella-Tate Riccardi-Fitzpatrick, drunkenly snoozed next to them.

Vignette 3: “Visitor from London”

Diana Nichols, played by Kelsey, arrived in California to attend an award show, but frantically panicked about her dress, which looked like an Aurora Halloween costume straight out of Party City. Her husband, played by Ashym, attempted to calm her spiraling before the ceremony. By the time they returned from the award show, wine loosened their tongues, and they fell into a screaming match about ambition and fading love, turning the night from a red carpet extravaganza into a vulnerable discussion around the husband’s inclinations.

Vignette 4: “Visitor from Chicago”

This scene provided the show’s most explosive burst of comedy and left the whole school in hysterics at its tragic misfortune during an assembly preview. The scene followed two vacationing couples whose friendly tennis match ended in a catastrophic injury to Beth Hollender’s ankle.

Izzy captivated audience members through her exaggerated performance and intense, emotionally painful reactions. “Honestly, it [helped] that my ankle was wrapped in ACE bandages [that were] stuffed with Potbelly napkins,” Izzy said. “It reminded me that I was supposed to be in pain.”

Her chaos set the stage perfectly for Kelsey, who played Gert Franklyn, the wife of the other couple. “I love the moment when I was lying on the bed, and all the action exploded around me, or when I sprinted offstage out of nowhere,” Kelsey said. “It was chaotic, but so fun.”

While the actors carried the emotional and comedic weight of the show, the technical work behind the scenes brought the performance to life. Junior Dev Kirk, who ran the lights, said, “There were so many tiny adjustments that made the show come together. Timing the cues— especially since it took place in a hotel room with light switches that didn’t actually do anything—took really close attention to detail.”

Latin’s production of “California Suite” proved that even the most over-the-top, disastrous hotel room mishaps can be spun into a shining performance. The cast never stopped pushing themselves onstage, behind the scenes, and with their dramatic precision. As Kelsey reflected afterward, “My biggest piece of advice is to just keep going for it. You can always improve every time you perform.”