There is nothing quite as effective as live theater for poking into the storage boxes of our memory and pulling out pieces of our lives we’ve almost forgotten. The Pendleton High School performance of “Do Not Go Gentle” does just that, and it does it very, very well.

This play by Susan Zender is based on a Dylan Thomas poem written just two years before his death in 1953. Under the skillful direction of John Remington, the PHS student cast makes Zender’s characters come alive. With all their strengths and faults laid bare as the play unfolds, “they” become “us.” Hailey Hoffman anchors the performance as Lillian, moving between past and present, delivering her countless lines with confidence and presence that make the program note “…her first performance” look like a misprint.

Swirling through now-deceased Lillian’s life are her son, Air Force pilot Col. Windsor Barron (Cody Barnes) and her niece, Joanna (Emily Wallace). Both Barnes and Wallace nail their characters, giving us glimpses of their complex experiences and emotions just beneath the surface.

Claudia Ramirez is convincing as Mildred Flumac, the icy, type-A estate sale organizer whose detachment is in perfect contrast with the passions of the other characters. It is Flumac who keeps bringing in boxes filled with pieces of Lillian’s life for the others to explore.

Andrew Wilson portrays “Nobody,” the street kid who became Lillian’s student, inspiration and guardian. Wilson guides his character skillfully between illiteracy and eloquent expression of his deepest strengths and fears, coaxed and coached by Lillian.

Last, but certainly not least, is Lillian’s granddaughter Kelly, played brilliantly by Molly Murry. She is Col. Barron’s alternately wild and awkward daughter who has managed to inherit her grandmother’s passion and her father’s loyalty. Murry doesn’t just act Kelly, she becomes Kelly. Every line is in-character, every body motion speaks volumes with or without a word. The Kelly that Murry creates is everyone’s teen daughter.

Stage managers Talya Ponte and Vanessa Devine brought both this production and last night’s “Foreigner” off without a hitch, and Jenelle Taylor once again made dozens of lighting changes look effortless and natural.

“Do Not Go Gentle” will return to the PHS theater on Wednesday and Friday at 7:00 p.m. Some of us will be there to savor it for the second time. The rest will take their first turn finding pieces of lives they’ve almost forgotten. This outstanding PHS performance will make them glad they did.