Arts
PAGE 6
Spring 2016
“Crazy For You” was “Up Among the Stars”
Nikki Rosenbloom
Staff Writer
“Crazy For You,” a
high-energy musical,
showcased from Feb. 1821 at the Webb Theatre.
It was performed by 9th
and 10th graders in Musical Theatre and included
fabulous dance numbers,
classic Gershwin music,
and the accompaniment
of Instrumental Music’s
Concert Orchestra.
The leader of MT, Jeff
Paul, directed the show.
He said, “Conceptually,
we were trying to recreate a Hollywood movie
feel of the 1930s, where
there was a lot of backstage broadway plots,
and then some musical
theatre and also movie
musicals; the characters
end up in some exotic
location that they didn’t
fit, so there was a fish out
of water thing.”
The plot follows Bobby
Child, played by freshman Kian Morehead
(ACT), whose dream is to
dance in New York City.
His mother, portrayed by
sophomore Natalie Pendergraft (MT), uninterested
in his ambitions, demands
From left to right: freshmen and sophomore Musical Theatre students: McKenna
Wells, Kian Morehead (ACT), Natalie Pendergraft, Seena Poormehr, Andres De
Dios
Photo Courtesy: Cheryl Walsh (Alt-Senior)
that he gives up on his
dream and go to Deadrock, Nevada to shut
down an empty theater.
Once he arrives, he
meets Polly Baker, played
by freshman Shanna
Brajevic (MT), the most
beautiful girl in the town
and falls head over heels
in love with her. After he
sees how much she cares
about the worn down
theater, Bobby convinces Polly he can put on a
show and raise enough
money to save the place.
But Polly, thinking he’s the
person who has come to
shut down their theater,
angrily rejects his advances.
From the slow dance
duets to the humorous
remarks of various characters, the show was
eye-catching, but that
could be due to the
vivacious lighting, which
involved numerous bright
colors to promote the
actors. The singing and
acting were impressive;
every note was right on
key and the messages
the actors expressed
were clear. The dancing was splendid, even
though MT isn’t known
for dancing. Their hard
work and dedication was
clear.
Paul said, “I have to
give a whole lot of credit
to the choreographer,
Casey Garritano, who’s
on staff here, because
so much of this musical
relied on dance, and the
original broadway production was known for
its innovative choreography.”
Kian Morehead got to
really know his character.
He said, “I feel like I resemble ‘Bobby’ because
I love to perform just as
much as the character in
the show does; it’s what
makes me happy and I
can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.”
The cast rehearsed
for a long three months,
and it was no doubt filled
with crazy experiences.
According to sophomore
Katelyn McKinley (MT),
“On the last day of dress
rehearsal it rained… on
stage! So we danced
and sang in the rain as
P&D came out wiping up
water every two minutes.”
“Crazy For You” was an
entertaining show full of
remarkable broadway
dance numbers and expressional songs sung by
soloists and the ensemble.
Girls Run the Show Grease is the Word
Anthony Castagna
Staff Writer
The female performers at the Commercial
Music show, “The Music
of Stevie Wonder and
Elton John”, showcased
their outstanding musical
capabilities in their superb renditions of these
classic songs. Although
there were great performances all night, every
time a female singer took
the stage she brought the
house down.
Singers like senior Klarissa Pacheco sang
“Uptight” to open the
night, brought the energy needed to start the
show. Throughout the
concert other female
performers kept the vibe
going. Highlights of the
night were seniors Audrey
Jones, who performed “I
Just Called to Say I love
you,” Tori Menninger
on “Superstition,” Monica Mathieu, who sang
“Crocodile Rock,” Victoria McDerrmott, on “Saturday Night’s Alright For
Fighting,” and sophomore
Sophia Dion, who performed solo on “Take Me
To The Pilot” and duoed
with senior Johnathan
Avolevan on “Tiny Dancer.”
It wasn’t just female
singers bringing it that
night; the female musicians were also on point.
Seniors Victoria Vasta
and Rachel Lemp dueling on keyboards, Nicole
Bandoquillo on drums,
and Chloe Clark killing on
guitar were exceptional. All of these musicians
held up the standards of
the program to the highest caliber, and demonstrated truly professional
musicianship.
This was the first show
for Rachel St. Marseille
as head of Commercial
Music, and just her fourth
day working in the conservatory. “These students
will rock your world,” said
St. Marseille at the start of
the show, and how right
she was.
All of this is not to say
that the male performers
were bad. Senior singers such as Johnathan
Avolevan and Dalen
O’Dell were both exceptional, and gave their
hearts and souls into their
songs.
This show is one that
will truly go down in the
school’s history as an
amazing and rocking
performance.
Sara Silberman
Staff Writer
On Jan. 31, FOX