9 Girls: A Play That’s Worth Dying For
She looks up. The fire she holds casts dancing shadows across her face and illuminates the room in a fierce shade of red. The theater cuts to black.
In November, Notre Dame’s theater program produced 9 Girls, a murder mystery set in a post-World War II America. In the play, a group of sorority girls travels to a cabin in the mountains with the intention of enjoying a vacation before their exams. However, things quickly go downhill with the disappearance and murder of their friend Paula. While the police are on the hunt for Paula’s murderer, some of the sorority sisters decide to hunt for clues by themselves.
A clue turns up in the form of a letter mailed to one of the girls, Alice. None of the other girls know about the letter. The next day, when the girls are set to leave the house, Alice’s lifeless body is found in the closet.
At first, it seems like a normal suicide- tragic, but normal. However, to Alice’s best friend Eve, everything is wrong. Eve knows Alice wasn’t suicidal; her life wasn’t perfect, but she wasn’t suicidal. After the police interview all of the girls, Eve begins to investigate the deaths on her own. Though the other girls tell her to stop for her own safety, she knows she can crack the case. Will she solve the mystery?
Students in Notre Dame’s theatre department worked tirelessly from the beginning of the school year all the way through November to make the production possible. Some students also worked behind the scenes; from building sets to designing costumes and makeup to acting, they contributed to all aspects of the play. Lulu Alvarez-Helstrup ‘24 served as Properties Master and Stage Manager. They said “the experience working with the cast and crew of 9 Girls was enlightening and I was able to see the different skill sets and perspectives. It taught me how a show comes together with a group of people.”
It was an experience that spoke to the unity and community at ND. Apollo Easter ‘23 states, “I had a wonderful time in the play, and it really brought the cast and crew together as a team- strengthening our bonds and helping the freshmen to truly feel the school’s motto of belonging.” Easter played the role of Glamorpuss, a hilarious diva who continually engages in spats with her fellow sorority sisters.
9 Girls ran from Thursday, November 11 to Saturday, November 13. The show was fully sold out. It’s safe to say that this show will go down in Notre Dame history; after all, the show was definitely to die for.
