HHS Drama Club to Stage Seussical the Musical

The Huntington High School drama club is gearing up for its spring show. The curtain will go up for three performances of the “Seussical the Musical” on Friday and Saturday, March 24-25 in the high school auditorium. The production promises fun for the whole family.

Huntington drama club advisor Michael Schwendemann will direct the show. Cast auditions are set for January 17-20 from 2:30-5:30 p.m. Potential cast members are asked to prepare their best 16 bars of a Broadway show tune and a one minute memorized comic monologue.

“Now one of the most performed shows in America, Seussical is a fantastical, magical, musical extravaganza,” according to Theatre in the Park’s website. “Tony winners, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (‘Lucky Stiff,’ ‘My Favorite Year,’ ‘Once on This Island,’ ‘Ragtime’), have lovingly brought to life all of our favorite Dr. Seuss characters, including Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, lazy Mayzie and a little boy with a big imagination – Jojo. The colorful characters transport us from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus to the invisible world of the Whos.”

All Huntington High School students are invited to audition for the show’s cast. Rehearsals will commence shortly after the cast is selected.

“The Cat in the Hat tells the story of Horton, an elephant who discovers a speck of dust that contains the Whos, including Jojo, a Who child sent off to military school for thinking too many ‘thinks,’” according to Theatre in the Park. “Horton faces a double challenge; not only must he protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must guard an abandoned egg, left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant.”

Shows are scheduled for Friday, March 24 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 25 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

“Oh the places you’ll go when you join us in March,” Mr. Schwendemann said. “Be sure to put it on your calendar today!”

A veteran director and actor and a popular high school English teacher, Mr. Schwendemann believes audiences will flip over this spring’s musical, which will feature outstanding acting, singing, dancing and impressive set designs. The pit orchestra is expected to be exceptional, too.

A graduate of John Adams High School in Ozone Park, Queens, Mr. Schwendemann, or “Schwendy” as most students know him, earned a BA at CUNY-Queens College in communication arts and sciences and drama, theatre and dance. He obtained a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Alabama.

Mr. Schwendemann worked as an adjunct faculty member at Long Island University-C.W. Post College in the department of theatre, dance and film from 1996 to 2001. He was in Huntington UFSD during parts of 2001-2003 performing outreach for the National Shakespeare Company, but he never envisioned himself as a Huntington teacher.

“It was luck that landed me at Huntington High School,” Mr. Schwendemann said during an interview in April 2013. “I was actually offered a job at Bay Shore High School, where I was student teaching, but the teacher I was to replace changed his mind about leaving. Nina Wolfe, the chair of the English department felt terrible and secured me an interview at Huntington. The rest, as they say, is history!”

Mr. Schwendemann began working full-time at Huntington High School in January 2003 and quickly became a student favorite. He has taught freshmen English along with the elective classes Holocaust in Literature, Bible as Literature, Multicultural Literature, Public Speaking and Theatre Arts.

“I can’t imagine teaching any place else,” Mr. Schwendemann said. “From day one I was accepted into the high school community. I love my colleagues and most of all the kids. Some days they make it hard to love them, but that passes quickly. The support I have received from all parts of the administration is unparalleled.”

Mr. Schwendemann has graced the stages of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, where he worked with Michael Emerson and Norbert Leo Butz, the Roundabout Theatre Company, The Folger Shakespeare Library Theatre with Allison Fraser, The Fringe Festival, Genesis Repertory Theatre and The New York City Opera as well as the Suffolk Theatre in Riverhead. He shot two episodes of “The Godfather of Harlem” TV series and one episode of “Evil Lives Here,” another TV series..

As the faculty advisor to Huntington’s Class of 2006 and Class of 2010, Mr. Schwendemann maintains fond memories of those particular groups of graduates.

The drama club continues to energize the veteran educator. “The club has given me more happy memories than I can count,” Mr. Schwendemann said.