Rehearsals Underway for H-ton Spring Musical
It promises to be one of the Huntington High School drama club’s best productions yet. Rehearsals for Into the Woods, the spring musical set for Friday and Saturday, April 4-5 kicked off on February 10 with a cast and crew that need little motivation.
“Rehearsals have only just begun, but the entire cast was extremely prepared and ready to work coming into our first week of rehearsals,” said senior Katherine Gerdes, who has been cast in the role of The Baker’s Wife in the musical. “Into the Woods is a hilarious and insightful show and I think the cast is really excited about getting the ball rolling!”
Rehearsals are held daily after school from 2:45-5:30 p.m. under the watchful eye of drama club faculty advisor Michael Schwendemann. The longtime director is known for his exacting standards and his dedication to the stage. He has built a loyal following of student-actors, despite his demanding standards.
“As we get closer to the show, they get longer and longer,” Ms. Gerdes said about the rehearsal sessions. “Because of how intense the show is this year, rehearsals will probably have to get longer much sooner!”
The show is billed as an “epic fairytale.” Actors plan to be on top of their game when the curtain rises. Many of Huntington High School’s top musicians are expected to be in the pit orchestra for the show. They are busy learning the music the production requires.
“At this stage we have completely blocked the opening number, which was quite an accomplishment because of its complexity and length,” said senior Chelsea Holmes in reference to establishing the actors’ movements and positioning on stage. “We have learned an extensive amount of music and staged several numbers as well. Most of the cast was very familiar with the musical before entering rehearsal, which has made the process of learning material easier although this show has very challenging music and the timing is crucial.”
It will be many weeks before the show’s many loose ends are all neatly tied. “The show doesn’t really have a shape until it is completely blocked and all the cast members are ‘off book,’ meaning their lines, blocking and songs are completely memorized,” said Ms. Holmes, who has been cast in the role of The Witch, which was played by Bernadette Peters in the original Broadway production. “It doesn’t really come together until we run the show through with costumes and lighting, which doesn’t happen until a week before opening.”
The curtain will go up in the high school auditorium on Friday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 5 at 2 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m.
I am playing the role of the witch which was played by Bernadette Peters in the original broadway cast production.