Yes, yes, the inner city high school stories have been done to death. We know, we know, they’re hackneyed and cliched. But Up the Down Staircase, presented by the RPI players, takes a somewhat different angle on the problem.

Rather than focus on the students as delinquent juvenile offenders, though there are some of those, Staircase focuses on a new English teacher, Sylvia Barrett—played by Alpha Psi Omega member Patterson Rogers—as she deals with a stifling administration, harried colleagues, and the problems of her students.

As a character, Barrett is fully three dimensional; she shows growth as she comes to terms with too-high expectations of herself, her students, and the school. Rogers’ portrayal of Barrett was excellent and definitely a reason to go see Staircase.

Barrett is not the only character who grows in Staircase. One particularly troublesome student, Joe Ferone—played by Mike DiSano—plans to drop out, and insolently challenges Barrett to convince him to stay.

When, in the end, the audience discovers Ferone’s true attitude towards school and his teacher, the surprising amount of growth shown by the troubled adolescent becomes evident. DiSano added just the right amount of Holden Caulfield-esque anger for his part.

Another source of character development is Barrett’s relationship with her charismatic fellow English teacher Paul Barringer. Barringer, played by John Pettengill, is an unpublished writer and one of the teachers that students at the Calvin Coolidge School actually appreciate.

Barrett’s budding romance with Barringer is catalyzed by the actions of Alice Blake, played by Laura Kaplan, a lovesick student who has fallen for Barringer. When Blake takes drastic action in response to Barringer’s inappropriate treatment of a love letter, the relationship between the two teachers goes sour.

All of these conflicts, in addition to the continual presence of administrative hassles, add up to the question of whether Barrett will stay in the ill-funded high school or take a position at a small liberal arts college teaching Chaucer. The answer reveals much about Barrett’s character.

Up the Down Staircase uses a simple, but interesting, set design. The stage is set with Barrett’s classroom, and a small piece of hallway visible on one side, which doesn’t change throughout the play. The most interesting feature of the set is the space above the far wall of the classroom. In the wall are three gaps in which other characters appear, from the principal of the school making an announcement over the PA system to Barrett’s sister reading a letter from the new teacher.

Also appearing overhead were the students in Barrett’s class as they read suggestions they put into the suggestion boxes Barrett installs in her classroom. These suggestions enhance the humanity of Barrett’s students and turn them into a forceful element in the play.

The small crowd of students in Barrett’s class adds a vital element to any story about high school: high school students. Although clearly not as unruly and adolescent as actual high school students, their collective stage presence, and Rogers’ impressive portrayal of Barrett’s reaction to them, unequivocally demonstrate the maddening effect of teenagers.

In particular, the acting talents of Rogers, DiSano, and Kaplan were the talents that carried the play, although all actors played their parts well.

Bob Fishel added an excellent touch of realism and humor with his part as the draconian administrator J. J. McHabe, who at one point reports Ferone for going “up the down staircase,” hence the name of the play.

Overall, Up the Down Staircase is an enjoyable play with some serious drama added for good measure. The play opens this Friday at 8 pm, with a second performance scheduled for Saturday at 8 pm, as part of the events scheduled for Family Weekend.