Playing for Keeps: Game On! at Hole in the Wall Theatre

This summer, Hole in the Wall Theatre in New Britain has produced an original musical, Game On! written by Lynn, Mike, and Isabella Seery. It is directed by Julianna Corrales. This original script tells a new story about inclusivity, queer identity, and youthful resilience coupled with a colorful, board game-inspired original score. 

The musical, first written in 2017, is set in a small town. The intersecting storylines explore themes ranging from identity and acceptance to friendship and rejection. The show does not shy away from the harsh realities facing LGBTQ+ youth today. According to data from the Trevor Project (2024), supportive communities can be life-saving for LGBTQ+ youth.  

The protagonist is Quinn Rivers (Lena Whiteside), a young woman trying to understand her sexual identity and the feelings that come with it. Game On! depicts the social and emotional toll of rejection, as well as the anticipation of it, as Quinn discovers her own homosexuality, fearing (and facing) the fallout of revealing her identity publicly. Whiteside’s vocal performance in the song “Life,” brings sincerity to her character and makes an emotional connection with the audience.  We see, hear, and feel her struggle.

The board game motif permeates every element of the show, from Bill Arnold’s colorful set—featuring a Candyland-inspired path that snakes across the stage with a multi-media screen for projections—to Rae Janeil’s playful choreography. Songs are inspired by classic games like Clue, Trouble, and Trivial Pursuit. The Seery’s use the game titles as metaphors to aid in storytelling. While the songs make important points, the second act feels somewhat too long with eight musical numbers, as opposed to only six in the first act. Perhaps a medley of a few songs might create more balance between the acts? 

Among the musical highlights is “Trivial Pursuit,” a duet between Rachel Stafford (Kylie Bernier) and Kendall Walker (Samantha Coty), both peers of Quinn in the show, whose harmonies are impressively tight. In addition, Violet Falkowski (Chris Stafford) delivers standout vocals in “Boggle.” However, my favorite number is “Trouble,” with a catchy refrain I just can’t stop singing—“Trouble, trouble…pop the bubble!”

Lynn Seery co-wrote the piece with her husband, Mike and their daughter, Isabella. She also serves as the  musical director for the production. Mike Seery was the project’s sound engineer, preparing the recorded tracks used during the performance. He also played guitar and drums on those tracks. Isabella Seery, is backstage as assistant stage manager. 

Director Julianna Corrales was selected for this project over a year ago and made it her mission to create a production that mattered. Her commitment is evident, not only in the casting—half the ensemble identifies as LGBTQ+—but in the way the material is presented. The colorful backdrop and playful nature of the show on the surface, never detracts from the seriousness of purpose in delving into the real-life issues that Game On! tackles. In her Director’s Note, Corrales writes, “I was not going to settle for putting on a great show. I was going to make it mean something.” 

With many of the cast identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community and over half of the cast under 20 years old, the production’s most powerful message may not come from the script itself, but from the fact production exists.  A community theatre providing space, resources, and visibility for young, queer voices to tell a story that is theirs to tell, and that they felt safe enough to show up to tell it is impressive. In this sense, Game On! is more than a musical—it is a blueprint for what local community theatre can and should be. The inclusion of a pre-show drag performance, “Satur-Slay,” featuring local performers who volunteered their time, highlights the theatre’s commitment to creating an inclusive space for celebrating self-expression and the queer community’s commitment to showing up for young people as a tangible resource.

Hole in the Wall Theatre deserves high praise for staging and centering love, identity, and belonging at a time when LGBTQ+ stories are increasingly being censored. Game On! dares to play with the pieces anyway—because the most important rule of the game is that everyone deserves a turn.

Game On! runs through August 17th at Hole in the Wall Theatre in New Britain, CT. Tickets are available at https://hitw.org.