HHS stage ready for no-music ‘Musical’

‘The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,’

the school’s fall production,
is set for Friday and Saturday nights.
By: Donna Lukiw
   After classes Tuesday afternoon, 10 students clustered on the Hillsborough High School stage, frantically checking their appearance.
   "Are these the right shoes?"
   "Does my hair look all right?"
   "What about the lights?
   Nearly half an hour later, the students were finally dressed and ready for their dress rehearsal to iron out the final details for "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940," the school’s fall production set for Friday and Saturday night. Tickets are $5 with student ID and $8 at the door.
   As the costumes and lighting are perfected, "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940" will be performed by 10 Hillsborough High School students as an ensemble cast at 8 p.m. in the Hillsborough High School auditorium.
   "The title is somewhat of a misnomer, as it isn’t actually a musical, but the characters in the show are involved in a musical, and there are short musical pieces in the show," junior Richie Venezia said.
   "There’s a lot of slapstick innuendo and it’s very much a comedy of errors," sophomore Alex Neidt said. "The diverse casting really adds to it."
   The play takes place at an estate in Chappaqua, N.Y., in December 1940 when the characters are ready to audition for a musical but are confronted with a murder and realize, after a while, that the murderer is in the room with them.
   Set in the library of the mansion owned by Elsa Von Grossenknueten — played by senior Ashley Layton. It’s in this room the maid, Helsa Wenzel, played by junior Lauren Brown, is murdered … or is she?
   In the opening scene, Helsa is killed by a masked figure and Elsa is talking to a police officer, played by senior Will Fleming, about some sort of undercover scheme.
   "It’s just a spoof of a murder mystery of the ’40s," senior Dave Scala said.
   Alex plays Bernice Roth, Dave is Roger Hopewell, junior Takeshi Horiguchi is Patrick O’Reilly, freshman Valentine Kuntz is Eddie McCuen, a comic, Richie is Ken DeLaMaize, junior Kelsey Burke play Nikki Crandall and senior Joanna Karausz plays Marjorie Baverstock.
   Hillsborough High School teacher Briana Dickson is directing the play and senior Lindsay Ricketts is the student director.