Spring Musical 42nd Street Shines Brightly
By Katie Kretizer, Theater Director
May 9, 2018
Congratulations to the cast, crew and pit orchestra of the spring musical, 42nd Street on their six fan'tap'stick performances. The cast overcame some huge obstacles and landed on top. The 40-member cast was stacked with 17 seniors. The crew and pit also benefitted from the leadership of seniors: out of the 28 crew head positions, 18 were seniors and all but one of the orchestra members were seniors. Truly, this was a senior powerhouse of musical theater talent. I am so grateful for their leadership throughout their four years and can't wait to see them reach new creative heights.
The most talked about element of 42nd Street was, undoubtedly, the tap dancing. Most people did not realize that at least half of the tappers in the show had not tapped prior to this year. In fact, the main male dance role was played by sophomore Hunter Hansen, who just started taping this year. Hunter, along with several other cast members, took tap lessons in the fall with our choreographer Julianne Mundale in order to prepare for the show. Other cast members took tap as young children but had to dust off their shoes to prepare for this show.
Another highly talked about element of the show was the costuming. Because the show was about a Broadway performance in the 1930s, actors had costumes that were both a part of their character's daily life as well as costumes for the play within the play. In a typical musical, students have two costume changes, but in 42nd Street, several actors had eight costume changes. If you thought the tap dancing was fast-paced, you should have witnessed the speed at which the actors had to move backstage.
Finally, several faculty and staff members were featured in the show. At each performance, two surprise faculty/staff members emerged from the orchestra pit and performed in a cameo role as 1930s gangsters. The cast did not know who would emerge each night and it was hilarious to witness these cameos from their teachers, principal, and deans.
I am always reminded after directing a play, that theater is the sum of its parts. It takes so many parts to make a production happen. I am grateful to every person that helped make this show happen. This, of course, includes our audience. See you next year!
