HDA presents "Our American Cousin"

The Hopkins Drama Association delighted audiences with its fall production of Our American Cousin, performed from October 16–18, 2025, on the Academic & Performing Arts Center stage. Directed by Mike Calderone, the cast presented the fast-paced comedy with skill and aplomb with excellent comedic timing, gorgeous period costumes, and impressive accents. Behind the scenes, a dedicated technical crew ensured every prop, set change, costume adjustment, and sound cue ran seamlessly.

Originally written in 1858 by Tom Taylor, Our American Cousin is a spirited British farce that lampoons the contrasts between American brashness and English refinement when a boorish American unexpectedly inherits an English estate. The play also holds a notable place in history as the performance President Abraham Lincoln was attending at Ford’s Theatre on the night of his assassination in 1865.

Hopkins Drama Association 2025 Presents
Our American Cousin
Written by Tom Taylor
Directed by Michael Calderone

Sir Edward Trenchard (Lord of the house) .........Alice Valente  ‘27
Florence Trenchard (his heir)  .........Beatrix Vassilev ‘27
Asa Trenchard (The American Cousin)  .........Xander Ciminiello ’27
Lord Dundreary (a house guest) .........Vincent Sze ‘27
Capt. De Boots (a house guest)  .........Walker Stollenwerck ’27
Mrs. Mountchessington (a gold digger) .........Tai Candelario ‘26
Augusta (her daughter) .........Chaima Arouna ‘27
Georgina (another daughter) .........Fiona Wiman ‘28
Harry Vernon (Flo’s sailor fiancee) .........Erika Berliner ‘28
Mary Meredith (Flo’s cousin/dairy maid) .........Greta Lee ‘28
Mr. Coyle (the estate manager)  .........Karolina Jasaitis ’27
Abel Murcott (his clerk)  .........Jack Beauclair ‘27
Mr. Binny (the butler)  .........Annie Zhang ’27
Mr. Buddicombe (valet) .........Matteo Vinci ’29
Skillet (the cook) .........Naomi Schwartz ‘28
Sharpe (the maid) .........Meg Harper-Mangels ‘29
John Wickens (the handyman) .........Aaj Desai ‘29

Technical Director .........David Kenton
Costume Design .........Jaysen Engel
Scenic Design .........Emi Onorato ‘28 & David Kenton
Sound Design .........Arjun S. Phatak ‘28 
Light Design .........Camille Bahr ‘28 & Lily Lu ‘29 
Props Master .........Irene Kim ‘28
Production Stage Manager .........Cora Turk-Thomas ‘26
Asst. Stage Managers .........Natalie Billings ‘27 & Saisha Ghai ‘27
Asst. Director .........Miri Levin ‘26
Technical Assistant .........Jackie Labelle-Young
House Managers .........Bar Avraham ‘26 & Molly Calderone ‘27

Stage Crew
Livia Balkan ‘27, Susie Becker ‘28, A. Valentia Casella ‘27, 
Katherine Cella ‘28, Sophia Dossantos ‘27, Emily Galvani-Townsend ‘29,
Estelle Hammarlund ‘27, Gemma Iaccarino ‘26, Ben Kruger ‘26, Anjali van Bladel ‘27

Costume Crew 
Maia Cort ‘28, Amaya Flores-Montero ‘29, Roya Gendron ‘29, 
Angel Lu ‘28, Veronica Vece ‘26 

Props Crew 
Kayla Song ‘27, Evan Galvani-Townsend ‘27

Special Thanks
Special thanks to Clan Calderone, Avery Williams, Robert Smith, Jemma Williams, Karen Silk, John Roberts, Hope Hartup, Hopkins Maintenance Crew, Hopkins Art Department, Hopkins Security, and anyone else we may have overlooked. 

The producers wish to thank Goodspeed Musicals Costume Collection & Rentals for its assistance in this production.

I have always felt there has been a gap in my knowledge of the Lincoln assasination. Everyone knows the events of April 14, 1865 took place in Ford’s Theater 160 years ago; but what of the play? Our American Cousin was the comedy smash hit of the decade and this Good Friday’s performance was to be Actor/Manager Laura Keene’s 1,000th time playing the lead character, Florence Trenchard. Aside from its long running success, Our American Cousin was a jewel in the crown that was Laura Keene’s career. While not the first female actor/manager (a role similar to a producer and theater owner today), she was the first internationally recognized American woman with that responsibility and title. 

Laura Keene saw potential in Our American Cousin but thought it needed some tweaking. In an unusual move, Keene purchased the exclusive rights to perform the play and then went about rewriting the script and adding comic moments. While companies today are not legally allowed to alter copyrighted plays, back then it was more of a free-for-all, and companies often improvised new bits during live performances. However, since the script is currently in the public domain (generally over 100 years old), we are allowed to make changes to the script to update jokes. For example, Asa enters looking for “soft soap,” something the Brits back then found unusual. Today, however, who doesn’t have soft soap in their homes? Therefore, to make the reaction of the British characters make sense, we changed “soft soap” to “saddle soap.” 

The tragedy of the day was made only more so when held up to the style and fame of the comedy being presented. I chose this play to start the 2025-26 season because it has a relatively big cast, its flexibility in editing,  the fact that it’s a comedy, and because of its historical importance. My hope is that you enjoy the performance as it was originally intended and place the last piece of the puzzle in this picture of American history.