In less than two months, the HHS drama ensemble will stage its next production, Spoon River Anthology, featuring a cast of 25 students who will perform monologues describing life in a fictional small town in Illinois. Spoon River Anthology will be performed March 10, 11, and 12, but for now, this photo essay captures the magic of the drama ensemble’s fall performance of 42nd Street.
By: Sam Darkow, Anthony Fomin & Brent Leibowitz
On the weekend of Nov. 19, the HHS drama ensemble performed the musical 42nd Street. The cast needed to have tap dancers, and Director Valerie von Rosenvinge did not think it would ever be possible to put on because of the limited number of students. However, over the summer more than a dozen students learned to tap in preparation for the show’s 13 dance numbers, eight of which include tap.
The crew and cast must work together like a well-oiled machine. Starting pre-production week, which began on the week of Nov. 9, the crew, which started working on the play in the last week of October, and cast finally start to work in conjunction, the crew learning and working on set changes while the cast continually ran the entire show. On the week of the show, cast and crew are required to run through the show with complete costumes, sets, and every other technical element. The show opened on Nov. 19 at the middle school auditorium and concluded on Nov. 22, with the cast’s fourth and final performance. The hype surrounding the show, kindled by announcement posters adorning every part of the school, did not subside over the course of the performing weekend.
