MICHIGAN CITY — The old theatrical adage “break a leg” is often used to wish actors and actresses good luck before a performance- unless it’s taken literally, leaving in question as to whether the show can go on.
A week prior to opening night of the Marquette Catholic High School Performing Arts Department’s play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a freak after-school accident left actor Chris Lawhorn with a broken leg. Not just any bone, but his femur.
The femur is the longest, heaviest and strongest bone in your body and when fractured, it is considered a serious injury that requires immediate medical care.
“It was pretty intense,” said Lawhorn as he described the pain. He recalled chasing a friend and went to make a quick turn and felt a pop in his leg. “I fell and once on the ground felt a bulge in my leg.”
Despite the pain and the severity of the injury, he admitted his mind was elsewhere as he waited for the ambulance.
“Oh my gosh, this just happens and I have a show to do,” said Lawhorn. “I was honestly really scared that I wouldn't be able to do the show anymore or that the show wouldn't continue because of surgery.”
Lawhorn was later transferred to Chicago for surgery, where a rod was placed in his leg to stabilize the bone, leaving doubt that he would be able to play his role as Oberon. Lawhorn wasn’t the only one left wondering.
In her 26 years of directing plays at Marquette, Amy Crane has dealt with hurdles, ranging from sprains to one performer who lost their voice during a musical, but nothing this serious.
“You tell kids to break a leg, but you don't expect them to take it literally,” Crane said. “This is my first, and hopefully my last, injury like that.”
She added, “We couldn't do anything until we heard how bad it was or how he was doing after surgery. We didn’t know if the show would go on or if we should postpone it.”
Good news came from the surgeon and the blessing of Chris’s parents, that the show could go on with Lawhorn. The doctor reassured Crane that she would have Lawhorn up and walking within 24 hours after surgery, but he would need to be wheeled around the set if he was to be in the play.
Lawhorn’s father, Chris, admitted there was some hesitation about letting his son perform with the play only a week away.
“We were really skeptical…with the healing process, the bone, the rod, the incisions. We talked to the doctors, the therapist, and they said he could probably do it, with accommodations,” he said. “I’m really proud of him.”
Determined to get back on stage, Lawhorn was up soon after surgery.
“Two days after surgery I started physical therapy,” he recalled. I got a bit of range of motion back and I was able to walk on crutches. I slowly developed the skill of walking with one crutch.”
While Lawhorn was busy in rehab, Crane and her set crew, led by her husband, Andy, brainstormed ways to reconfigure the set to accommodate a wheelchair.
“I asked the doctor, does it have to be a traditional wheelchair?” Crane inquired.
The creative crew built a non-traditional-looking wheelchair that blended perfectly into the set with materials that included a wooden kitchen chair, a platform, wheels, cardboard, and paint.
“In six hours, we built a mobile tree trunk to look like a forest setting,” said Andy.
A clump of decorative mushrooms was added to the platform for Lawhorn to rest his injured leg on during the performance.
“When Mrs. Crane emailed me and told me about my throne on wheels, I was so happy. I was like, yeah, I get to be back in the show,” he remarked with a beaming smile.
Lawhorn admitted he probably overdid it during the four-night performance, which included parents’ night.
The first three nights, he spent most of the time gracefully using a crutch. By the final performance, he made use of the crafted wheelchair.
While off stage, Crane made sure he had his leg up with ice packs to control swelling.
After the curtain fell on the final performance, Lawhorn sat down with a slight grimace, followed by, “I'm tired… a little bit of stiffness” when asked how he was feeling.
“Now I’ll be able to kind of slow down, take it easy, and get some healing,” said Lawhorn, already looking forward to the spring musical.
He credited his classmates for being there for him following the injury, in the hospital, and during the play.
“I was around supportive people and people who truly cared and loved me,” he said.
Crane praised the cast for an outstanding performance, even with the injury.
She explained there’s an uncertainty about how students will react when it comes to Shakespeare plays.
“Shakespeare isn’t easy, but the stars aligned and I felt it. They were so excited to hear that it was Midsummer. If you get kids that excited about Shakespeare, that's the right show and I definitely knew this was the one to do with this group,” Crane said. “This group is amazing.”
Caption: Marquette Catholic High School performing arts students Chris Lawhorn (Oberon) and Ella Crane (Titania) exchange lines during a scene of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on Nov. 13. (Deacon Bob Wellinski photo)
