The Sound of Music at HHS
The curtain will rise for The Sound of Music at Huntington High School on Friday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 13 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Rehearsals have been ongoing and the Huntington drama club and stage crew is planning a production that is expected to please theater-goers of all ages.
The show stars Katherine Gerdes, Chelsea Holmes, Stephanie Shea, Anna Schiffmacher, Laura Ironman, Josh Morris, Zach Burden and Anna Wertheim and a full cast of interesting characters that all contribute a certain something special to the musical. There will be top-notch musicians in the orchestra pit, too.
The Sound of Music features music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The 1959 musical was made into a movie in 1965 starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.
"We're working hard, but there are stressful moments, which come with every show," said Ms. Ironman, who plays the part of Sister Sophia. "As a senior, every rehearsal is more and more bittersweet knowing this is the last time I get to experience something as amazing as this. We truly are a family, and it's more than just the Von Trapps. The amount of 'nun puns' the fellow nuns and I have created are countless. It's utter nunsense! It's one of those shows that isn't as popular at first with the cast because it's slightly old-fashioned, but we put our own twist on it and make it our own, which is why this cast is so unique."
Huntington High School English teacher Michael Schwendemann is the drama club's faculty advisor. He has done plenty of acting himself and is known as a perfectionist.
Cast is Tight-Knit
"The rehearsal process for this show is actually going pretty smoothly; much smoother than it typically does," said senior Jaime Moskowitz, the show's student director. "We have a large cast, but for the most part, people are doing what they have to do in order to make the show the best it can possibly be. The show itself is a classic that mostly everyone has heard of, and I think a lot of people will enjoy seeing it transformed on to a high school stage. I can't wait for the show to open on April 12, but of course it will be bittersweet because we've worked so hard to get to that point, but it will all be over so soon."
"Rehearsals have been going wonderfully," said Ms. Gerdes, who plays the part of Maria Rainer. "We're very excited to be doing such a popular show and can't wait for everyone to come see it. We've been working hard every day having rehearsals for hours after school. We all have our lines memorized and are super-excited to get back into rehearsing after the break. After all, we only have less than two weeks until show-time! This is one of the most tight-knit casts we've ever had in a show and I just can't wait to be performing with everyone! It's one you won't want to miss!"
Expecting an Amazing Crowd
Mr. Morris will play the part of Georg von Trap in the final high school drama club production for the Huntington senior. "I've participated in the last three musical productions and this time around is definitely different; but different isn't necessarily a bad thing," he said. "There is always a social aspect to the drama club, but I think that it is especially prominent this year; friends grabbing coffee before rehearsal, stopping for dinner after, etc. Besides, adding a few more people to spend time with on the weekends, the ability to interact off the stage greatly increases our cohesiveness on the stage. Believe it or not, cliques form even in the drama club, but no one is left out or excluded and we make our somewhat differentiated groups work together as a unit, as a cast."
The cast will be learning the show's choreography this week. "We took off to a pretty impressive start at the beginning of rehearsals, having the entire play blocked and staged within the first two weeks," Mr. Morris said. "However, this was strategically planned out by Mr. Schwendemann, as he plans to include an amazing set that we will need more time than usual to work with before putting the play on for the public in April. It's great to see the individual twist that each cast member puts onto classic roles that everyone is familiar with. We're already expecting an amazing crowd and I can already guarantee they will not be disappointed!"
Tickets will be available at the door for $10. Senior citizens, staff members and students with an ID card can purchase tickets for $5. Call (631) 673-2106 for more information.