From country people to “city folk”, The Beverly Hillbillies is a hilarious story of a family going from rags to riches. The Clampetts are a wacky group of people who are content with their lives in the Ozarks. They soon find that their land is filled with rich, greasy oil and sell it off for a whopping million dollars. With little thought, they decide to move out to the hills: Beverly Hills that is. They have to adjust to life with their wealthy, judgmental neighbors as well as handle the weight of having an overwhelming amount of money.

The play had humorous elements within it such as the country accents contrasting with the stereotypical snobby accents. As a result, sometimes it was hard to understand the lines if you sat near the back, but the actors made up for this since they were speaking loudly. The jokes had a good amount of corniness and some of them really struck home with the audience. The plot was intriguing because it was goofy but made the audience wonder what was coming next. 

By far, one of the most notable pieces of the production was the set and its props. 

The director of the play, Mr. Stauffer said, “We’ve been working really hard on this and Dakota Mumford, our tech director, built an impressive set.” 

I would note that when the grand mansion set design was revealed, I heard several oohs and aahs from audience members. Additionally, the costumes were spectacular and accurate, bringing the world of the play to life. Sound and light cues additionally seemed well placed and executed by those who were running them. 

Overall, this play was exceptionally well done by the actors, directors, and tech crew who put it together. Admittedly, it wasn’t my type of play to begin with, but it eventually charmed me enough to change my mind. It was a good show to debut the students’ talents as well as Seaman’s new management within the theatre department.