Passaic Prep will open its auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 17, and for the next five nights to welcome guests to see the Theater Fall Production: “She Kills Monsters.” 

The play by Qui Nguyen will run from Thursday through Monday in the Passaic Preparatory Academy auditorium.  

“She Kills Monsters” tells the story of Agnes Evans, as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. 

Theatre Pathway director Ms. Anderson said this play was an easy choice for Prep.

” ‘She Kills Monsters’ is one of the top three produced plays in high school right now, and for obvious reasons,” she said. “It’s super difficult to find a play that features not one, but two female protagonists whose stories don’t revolve around the pursuit of a man.”

The leads to the play are Jaylie Barret, Daniela Velazquez and Aliyah Chavez, as well as Amy Markulanda of Prep Academy for Science and Engineering (PASE).

“The play features two sisters, Agnes and Tilly,” said Anderson. “Tilly has recently died but left behind a game of Dungeons & Dragons and we get to watch Agnes explore what is essentially a journal of Tilly’s. It’s a play that means a lot to young, queer students as one of the lead characters is a lesbian. It also features high school students, so it is incredibly appropriate for the age group we’re working with. We felt we had a really solid cast for this particular play, even with a smaller group of kids auditioning.

“My college produced this play and always I felt like it was one I needed to do. It’s a play filled with 90s references, which the students absolutely do not get, and brings me back to my childhood. I felt at this particular time in my life, more in touch with my identity in my entire life, there was no better play to showcase a group of students who haven’t seen a stage in two years.”

When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, she finds herself catapulted into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was her sister’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.

Tickets will go on sale soon for $7. Buy tickets from Ms. Anderson or from a member of the cast.