Farmington High School Students 'Get Smart'

Don Adams charmed television audiences as Maxwell Smart in the 1960s crime comedy, Get Smart. More recently former The Office star Steve Carell dazzled people as a bumbling spy who somehow finds a way to get the bad guys in the 2008 film rendition alongside Anne Hathaway as Agent 99.

Now audiences will get Farmington High School senior Alex Sieklicki as Maxwell Smart as Get Smart comes to the Farmington High School stage.

"I think Max Smart is an interesting character because he thinks he's James Bond, but he's really not at all. He's really an idiot to be honest, so it's fun showing him thinking he's the best but really messing things up," said Sieklicki, who watched both the television show and the movie for character research, drawing more influence from the show in his performance. "Steve Carell in his version was a lot more idiotic, actually. In the old TV series, he was smarter than he seemed and got more done."

When asked what he did to bring the essence of the original Max Smart to his character, he said "self confidence." 

"A lot of self confidence. Just thinking that he's always right, that I'm always right, which comes from my personal life also, I would say,"  Sieklicki said. "He thinks everything he does is the best and it usually ends up working out for him."

Confidence in his unconventional methods and the signature trusty shoe phone do indeed seem to do the trick, as well as teamwork with his colleague, Agent 99.
Amanda Morris plays his partner, Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon in the television series and Anne Hathaway in the movie), the biggest role she says she has ever landed.

"I love Anne Hathaway. I've been walking around for a month being like 'I'm Anne Hathaway," Morris said. "But basically, I watched the old shows and in the old shows she kind of goes along with Smart and everything. In the movie, she's more intelligent. And to this, I put a little bit of sass. I put intelligence, but whenever Smart does something really stupid, which he does a lot, I just look at him and I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?' And I just look out at the audience like I can't believe I need to work with this man. But then at the same time, coming from the movie's perspective, and I think the show, I do have this little 'even though he's a fool, he's charming.' I tried be a little more sexy with the part." 

The play adaptation is based on the first two episodes of the television series, capturing "the comedic conundrums that Smart finds himself in as he fights the forces of evil: KAOS," according to a statement provided by Kathleen Buckley. 

Buckley, an English and drama teacher at Farmington High School, has also directed "12 Angry Jurers" and "Footloose" at the high school. She will direct "The Sound of Music" in the spring in collaboration with the music department, which she'll hold auditions for next week. 

"I chose 'Get Smart' because I love choosing titles that people and the community recognize because I feel like more people will come out for them and people will get more excited about it," Buckley said. 

While she said many of her students were not familiar with the television series, they went home and watched the show and the movie to prepare.

But they tried to make it their own. Since the play is written to be set in present day, she and the cast brought in contemporary references.

For instance, you'll hear "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke. They also wore modern clothes and altered some of the lines to make them more modern, such as changing the word choice of "files" to "websites."

"We wanted to make it as now as possible and we thought 'Blurred Lines' was kind of funny after the whole VMA incident to bring that one in as being the ridiculous song that everyone can't stand except for those four blonds (in the show)," Buckley said.

Buckley said that she chose to keep the set simple to focus "on the comedy and the student acting."

"Really by keeping it simple and using a lot of great lighting and sound effects, I think that's what really brings it all together," she said, including the "Get Smart" theme song.

"Get Smart" opened at Farmington High School Thursday.

The show is a collaboration between the theater, AV and construction departments. 

The show runs Nov. 14 to 16 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for sale at the door for $8 general admission and $5 student price. 

CAST

Maxwell Smart: Alex Sieklicki