By Winona Guo
School produces two musicals in seven weeks
Less than two months into the school year, the PHS performing arts programs have already put on one musical production and will perform another on Oct. 24.
Combined, these productions involve four different groups at PHS. By reflecting months of hard work by both students and teachers, the productions are yet another portrayal of the extensive arts program at PHS.An annual tradition for the PHS Choir is its fall show, often an operetta. Past productions including Songs of Sondheim, Gondoliers, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore. This year, on October 10 and 11, PHS Choir performed an abridged adaptation of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, an operetta based on Voltaire’s novella. The story follows a pair of star-crossed lovers whose journey of reveals the meaning of human life and happiness.
"Bernstein brought a ton of life and fun to an already fun and satirical novel," said Allison Spann, ’16, who plays lead roles in both Candide and Carousel. "He put in so many exciting rhythms that were really ahead of his time, especially for musical theater, so it’s this really wonderful mix of this classical style along with something that feels modern, bright, and edgy."
Choir director Vincent Metallo and associate director Sarah Pelletier chose Candide as this year’s operetta because of its challenging score, the unique experience it offers when compared to previous years’ productions, and its dual role as a source of repertoire and funds for the choir’s tour to Latvia and Estonia this February.
"The students haven’t really done any Bernstein, and it’s very American," Pelletier said. "
inherent nature is a huge range, and it was a lot to ask for high school voices. Nothing in past productions has been that challenging."
After the cast was chosen during an audition process in June, Metallo and Pelletier asked leading actors to use the entire summer for training and practice of the material. The full cast’s preparation immediately began with the start of the school year.
"The great thing is that the students were able to pick everything up really quickly," Pelletier said. "It’s an intense process,
finding their characters takes time, and that starts to happen the more you live with a piece.
show them what the possibilities are and really encourage them to go that far …
seeing them fall in love with the music."
PHS Choir performed Candide twice, filling up PHS’s Performing Arts Center (PAC) on both nights. "The auditorium was packed because so much of the community came out to see them," said Vivian Huang ’17. "The sense of unity between the lead roles and the choir really made it a worthwhile performance."
On October 24, at 7:30 p.m. in the PAC, the PHS UNICEF Club will host Carousel, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s award-winning musical. Taking place in small-town Maine in 1873, the show chronicles the tragic romance between an unlikely pair.
"Carousel is a collaboration between
Musical Theatre
, the Orchestra, and the UNICEF Club," said UNICEF Club co-leader Jennie Chen. "This has definitely been a great way to . . . feel like we are working with a larger community."According to Chen, the majority of the production was arranged by Robert Loughran, orchestra director and UNICEF Club adviser. While the orchestra has held a UNICEF benefit concert every two years since 2007, this is the first year Loughran has chosen to produce a musical, after being inspired by a concert version of Gaetano Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love over the summer.
"Combining these elements
is really exciting to get a certain energy that is unique and really special," said Loughran. "It’s great because
… very proactive and open-minded to the possibilities of sharing our art with the community in a different way."
Although the orchestra typically performs in the pit, for Carousel it will play on stage. "Being part of background music and also directly in front of the audience is a really special experience," said George Zhu ’17. "Hopefully
will be able to better visualize the beautiful score."
Unlike Candide, all cast members only received the score after the casting was released in mid-September. "You don’t get as much of a feel for the character," said Spann. "It’s just been a whirlwind in learning the staging, the music, and
to adapt to having the orchestra on stage with the actors, dancers, and singers."
While the Musical Theatre class and the Orchestra will perform the musical, the earnings will support UNICEF. "We really want to raise awareness within our community of UNICEF and raise funds to benefit the program," Chen said. "We’re planning to hold more fundraisers, but this will definitely be the largest."
The club’s role in the production will be to advertise and help out the production process both before and during the event.
According to Pelletier, both musicals are just an example of the opportunities in PHS’s exemplary performing arts program. "
is the level and standard to which we hold the students,
all of us really challenge the students, and get them excited about the music but also to a high level of performance," she said. "We are here to do really amazing repertoire."
Winona Guo is a sophomore at PHS.
