The Good Hope Country Day School drama club cast received a standing ovation as they performed the musical The Music Man for their faculty night on Thursday at the Good Hope Country Day School’s Theater. This follows their completely sold-out opening night last week.
If you are unfamiliar with the musical without giving too much away, “The Music Man” is about a con man named Harold Hill, played by Nico Forno D’Adamo, who poses as a band organizer who sells instruments and uniforms. After a town of naïve Midwestern townsfolk embraces him, a sharp librarian and piano teacher named Marian Paroo, played by Anna Simon picks up on his scheme. The rest of the film is a witty and entertaining run around to figure out this mystery man and at the same time a celebration of people and music.
Co-directors Michael Armendariz and Kiomie Pedrini and their team are responsible for putting on this production, which captivated the audience from the very first scene. Using original music from the musical, the cast impressively delivered acting, vocal performances, and choreography.
A total of 36 students from the fifth through the 12th grade are members of the cast and crew.
“In the 10 plus years that I have been producing theater at GHCDS I am always humbled by the exponential growth I get to witness in each individual student as they become courageous and take risks,” said Pedrini.
“There is a great sense of accomplishment that comes with producing a project from start to finish. From the first audition exercise to the breaking down of the set, it is a complete journey from start to finish,” she said.
Some of the behind-the-scenes team includes musical director Philippa Smith-Tyler, technical director Joseph Barnwell, choreographers Armendariz and Maya Prasad, stage manager Isabel Coursey, and costumes by Cathy Mares and Carolyn Forno.
It is no easy task putting on a production and everyone in the show had to audition. “We do a read from something from the script, a vocal audition and even a movement audition. I play several clips of different types of music to see what they can do. It’s a good two-to-three-day process for them,” said Armendariz.
Beyond the stage, Armendariz said that for students participating in acting, it helps to prepare them for the world. He said, “Whether you at some point you will have to present yourself at a job interview or defend a thesis or present an idea at work to people. Being up in front of people and public speaking is all beneficial to the students not only in acting but in life itself.”
To prepare for their performance Armendariz said that students had six weeks of rehearsals that included spring and easter break. “This was a complicated show because of the time era.”
The productions that the young actors and actresses put on are pricey as they have to purchase the rights to every musical that they perform. Then there’s also the set design, costumes, and other costs. The costs can range from 20 to 30 thousand for the musical rights alone. Therefore, for every performance, there is a reasonable cover charge of $15.00 to help with the costs.
For the first time, the students plan to perform for three weeks instead of for two weeks. The Good Hope Country Day School will continue its musical production this weekend, starting from Friday to Sunday from 8:00 p.m. sharp, and next week, May 3 and 4, at 8:00 p.m. sharp at the Good Hope Country Day School Theater. All of the proceeds go toward continuing to entertain the community and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
“Our productions are not only meant to inspire our students but inspire the community at large. Our greatest pleasure is inspiring students that do not attend GHCDS but get inspired to explore performance or even visit us because they saw our show,” said Pedrini.
