“The thing about trains… it doesn’t matter where they’re going. What matters is deciding to get on.”[1] Thus comments the 
conductor in the Christmas movie The Polar Express. This year’s Sophomore Dinner was definitely a train not to be missed. The sophomores took their guests on a London-bound train in the World War II era – an elaborate and enjoyable ride.
During the dinner, the guests discovered that not only were they on an imaginative train to London, but they were also taking part in a murder mystery staged by the sophomore class. Splendidly acted scenes, singing, video recordings, and clues of all sorts kept the guests riveted as they tried to determine who the murderer was.
One of the most stunning feats of the night was the theatrics performed by the sophomore class in acting out the murder mystery. The cast was wonderful with Katelyn Anderson, Anna-Marie Kai, Claire Snyder, Mary Felsheim, and Joseph Lee playing servers on the train; Joseph Warnert playing Sabastian the train master; Sophia Harne playing Miss Darrow the investigator; Dominic Suprenant playing Sir Price the politician who was murdered during the dinner; Faith Lamontagne playing Retorica Plain the politically active teacher; Aaron Beecher playing Ace the card player; Julia Anthon playing Miss Fortune the train singer; Hannah Lanier playing Lemon Drop the maid; Rose Phelps playing Violet Ladie the love-sick girl; and Catherine Orlowski playing Fox E. Ladie the overbearing mother of Violet.
Catherine Orlowski ’21 remarked of her character Fox E. Ladie, “She was such a fun character, it was just easy to play her.” When asked her favorite part of planning the dinner, Catherine responded that she loved seeing all her classmates bring their inspirations and talents and work together. As the night approached, things became a bit nerve racking, but as the evening drew to a close with dancing, Catherine found on the whole it was wonderfully satisfying.
Among the guests at the dinner, Brigid Baughman ‘22 certainly agreed that the night was truly a wonderful one. Enjoying the dancing, acting performances, and the strawberries filled with cream cheese, Brigid afterwards referred to sophomore dinner as a wonderful break from the everyday college life, a “step out of the ordinary.”
Indeed, the sophomores of the class of ’21 truly swept their guests off on an amazing train ride that night; a train ride that cannot better be described than by the words of the aforementioned Brigid: “It was above and beyond, it was wonderful.”
– Contributed by Adriana Smith ’22.
[1] Zemeckis, Robert. The Polar Express (2004.) Quoted by Quotes™ © 2001-2019 STANDS4 LLC. https://www.quotes.net/mquote/74124. Accessed February 9, 2019. Web.