Digging Up the Boys was the most recent play to hit the Hilltop Theater. Comprised of an all-student staff and crew, the first performance went off without a hitch. In General, the parts of the play were amazing: the acting was the best I’d ever seen, the directing was amazing, but the story left a lot to be desired.

I’d like to start with some praises, because there are many. In general, I think the acting was excellent. That’s weird to say for a play I didn’t like, but I believe every actor did an amazing job, and each of them deserves their flowers. The play revolves around three miners trapped inside a coal shaft after a collapse, and their family members above ground praying for their return. All three of the women (Raina Rothrock, Kinley McGowen, and Hailey Dixon) and the foreman (Sam Coleman) killed their roles, and the applause I gave at the end was genuine. The same goes for the three miners underground (Jay Orosco, Aidan Ellis, and Ryan Pool): you truly earned your curtain call. I think that is evidence of great directing and casting by Sydnie Skinner. 

The set was nice but lacked heart. This play is the first to use the new videoboard in the theater, and while it added more than the prop team could’ve created, it took away the physical aspect of a live performance. I think it could be an amazing tool for the department 

in the future, but it didn’t quite fit with this play. Overall, the set didn’t help or hinder the production, but it could’ve been more.

The largest criticism I have of the play is the story. The playbill states that the author has “hundreds of award-winning productions all over the world,” but I don’t believe this is one. The plot is slow and dragging and feels like it could’ve been performed in half the time, despite being only 40 minutes long. The ending was obvious and was outright stated multiple times by the minors in the shaft. The addition of the drunk “demonic” foreman seemed unnecessary and an excuse to add minutes to the runtime. With a cast this talented, the next play they choose to put on could easily be the best on the Hilltop in the past two years.

I want to reiterate that my problems with this play have nothing to do with the acting, actors, set, costume, tech, production, sound, props, or directing of the play. I actually think this is one of the best-acted plays I’ve reviewed; they were just dealt a bad hand with the script. I look forward to watching this cast’s next work.