Whitefish High School drama will perform “David and Lisa” by James Reach on Nov. 10-12 at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center.

Set in a therapeutic boarding school in New England, the play explores the unlikely friendship between two teenagers coping with mental illness. One small step at a time, the title characters develop trust and an unexpected tenderness for one another. The play was adapted by Reach from a story, “Lisa and David,” by psychiatrist Theodore Isaac Rubin.

Seventeen-year-old David Clemens (Zach Ade) is a highly intelligent new student at the Berkley School, in whom even the slightest human contact strikes mortal terror. Through barbed defense mechanisms, he distances himself from his family, an overbearing mother (Lilly Butts) and aloof father (Simon McGlenn). Yet when he meets Lisa Brandt (Makkie Haller), her charm and energy dissolve his insecurities.

Junior Zach Ade plays David.

“He’s a complicated guy, very fearful of other people, but he’s intrigued by this interesting girl, and he’s obligated to care,” Ade said.

Lisa alternates dramatically between a persona defined by childish urges, who speaks only in singsong rhymes, and her dark and moody alter ego, who wordlessly expresses deep wounds within.

Senior Makkie Haller plays Lisa.

“It’s interesting that the play centers on someone like that,” Haller said. “She’s a type we don’t see very often in media.”

Dr. Alan Swinford (Logan Mercer) oversees a helpful and caring staff at the school (Walter Pearson, Talha Idiz, Ella Greenberg, Myah Strauser, Sydney Archibald, and Eden Scrafford), who help coax their students (Simon McGlenn, Delaney Lewis, Jade Greenberg, Brody LaRoque, Naya Brigette, and Ethan Mercer) toward compassion and healing.

“An obvious message [of the play] is mental illness awareness, that people who are sick are still real people and can build a strong relationship together,” Ade said.

“It shows the humanity in people who are different, struggling with things we all are, to figure out who they are,” Haller added.

“David and Lisa” is directed by head WHS drama coach Kelliann Blackburn, assistant coach Zach Duval and student director Walter Pearson.

The play runs Nov. 10-12 with shows at 7:30 p.m. Concessions will be provided by the WHS culinary arts competition teams for a suggested donation of $1 apiece. Tickets are available at the door and are $5 for students and $8 for adults.