History and Music Meet in Spring Play
I
t was a rousing, patriotic
Oliver!, too. Thank you,
experience at this
Grace!) The men really
year’s spring play. The
came together as a team
seminarians of Sacred
to handle the direction,
Heart performed 1776,
scenery construction, light
a Broadway musical
board operation, publicity,
based on the events and
videography, and ushering.
the colorful characters
They even played some of
surrounding the signing
the orchestra instruments.
of the Declaration of
Director Brian Meldrum
Independence.
and assistant director
South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress,
The dates of the
Matthew Hood gave the
Edward Rutledge (Patrick Setto), argues for his state’s
performances were
performance a “fun, new
position on declaring independence from England.
Friday, March 21, with
interpretation.” They
two performances
devised an elaborate
on Saturday, March 22, to accommodate the
lighting plot for the Independence Hall setting
ever-increasing attendance at these annual
and constructed five podiums as unique stage
productions (this is the fifth in a row after a
props to adapt the musical to the limitations of
twenty-year break).
the stage dimensions.
1776 was held in Sacred Heart’s vintage
“Countless hours and many hands” went into
500-seat auditorium, with attendance for
the production of 1776, says Meldrum. Speaking
the weekend at around 1,300—practically a
for the entire cast and crew, he believes “from all
full house for each performance. No tickets
of this, we have received countless blessings and
were required but the seminarians accepted
many, many graces.”
freewill donations. They will apply the funds to
replacing outdated stage equipment, including
Do you have a heart for the theater? Would you
purchasing new curtains.
like to help the seminarians upgrade their stage
Seminarians—forty in all—played all the
equipment? Give Maria Jerome of Sacred Heart’s
parts of 1776 except one, that of Abigail Adams,
development office a call, 313-883-8559 or
performed by Grace Knoche (she played one of
[email protected].
the two female parts in last year’s production of
Dinner for Life Draws 300 Supporters
Robert Bacik, Sacred Heart seminarian
W
as it the delectability of the fish
“The pro-life movement is
dinner or the solemnity of the
very dear to us seminarians.
dinner’s purpose? No doubt it
The dinner is just a small
was both reasons that moved
way that we work to raise
over three hundred people to )