by Mary Ellen Zangara, Special Writer
Students at Alexander Batcho Intermediate School will be putting the big, bad wolf of fairy tales on trial next week, with audiences rendering the verdict in “The Big Bad Musical.”
The play uses childhood story characters to create the storyline: The characters, having had their fill of the wolf’s various misdeeds, have filed a class action lawsuit.
That storyline enabled director Stephen Sallach, a teacher at Manville High School, to find roles for more students.
”It felt like one of those years where everyone could come here and find one of their favorite characters,” he said. “This one actually has all of them in it.”
The performances are set for 7 p.m. Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 in the ABIS Gym. Tickets are $2 for students and senior citizens, $3 for adults and are available at the door.
He said he wanted to do a play with a fairy tale theme, but “Big, Bad Musical” offers several other advantages.
”Another reason why I picked this is because it has three possible endings with the audience participation,” Mr. Sallach said. “The audience claps and they choose the ending whether innocent, guilty or whatever.
”The kids don’t know until they perform it, so each night is a different ending,” he said.
Auditions began in September, and the cast has been working hard for the past three months.
”We had a really good rehearsal and they know their lines so we are ahead of the game,” Mr. Sallach, who is working with Ashley Wollesen for his second play at ABIS, said. “They are doing good and if they keep improving each night, it is going to be one heck of a show.”
A few students returned to the stage again this year — including Jess Jones and Allie Puza, who both have participated in performances for the past three years, and Jamie and Jon Fischer, making their second appearances.
The cast includes Jess Jones, Allie Puza, Karli Ramirez, Jamie Fischer, Emily Walker, Brittany Hoodja, Olivia Smutek, Arina Isachenko, Danni Castro, Brandon Roche, Brooke Andrews, Ashley Basile, Leah Alpaugh, Eleni Kontos and Jen Page.
The stage crew is Cory Britt, Ennio Cartoccia, Shelby Titus, Steven Tokarzewski, Jani Sawyer and Sara Perhach.
”I expect it is going to be a really good play,” said Mr. Sallach. “It is going to be a lot of fun, definitely a lot of fun.”

