CENTER STAGE

By SAMANTHA PRYDE

Every spring, the Masque and Mime Society puts on a spectacular show which, inevitably, the audience falls head over heels in love with.  But, do you know what it takes to put on these theatrical masterpieces?  In only two short months, the dedicated cast and crew works diligently to perfect the show in a way that makes the audience feel as if they are watching a Broadway performance. 

This year’s musical is Thoroughly Modern Millie, and it tells the tale of a young girl who moves from Kansas to New York in the 1920’s in the hopes of becoming a modern woman.  She meets many new friends along the way, and battles with finding love.  Should she follow her heart, or follow what magazines say and marry for money?  With the smallest cast that the club has seen in decades, the 38 members had to work twice as hard this year to bring this story to life while also bringing magic to the stage.

SAMANTHA PRYDE FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY

The cast has been rehearsing for around 10.5 hours a week since the beginning of January.  Senior, and three year member, Darcy Doelger, landed the role of Muzzy Van Hossmere, a famous nightclub singer.  She has two solo songs and around 100 lines, so preparing for her role was tedious.  “I felt a lot more pressure and wanted to do better,” Darcy breathlessly expressed.  In previous years, Darcy played smaller, but comedic roles that were easy to perform due to her outgoing personality.  That is not the case this year.  Darcy explains, “This year I feel I need to be more serious and work on being Muzzy.  I’ve grown to love my character and I’ve learned a lot of lessons from what she says to Millie.”

For someone who has only been in one high school production, freshman, Blaise Hewlett, was shocked to see the amount of hard work that needs to be put into the show from the very start.  “This year it is much more intense than the middle school ever was.  The energy is shifted and I’m motivated by the upperclassmen to be a stronger and better performer.”

This week, the week before the show, is aptly known by all as hell week.   It is infamous for its every day rehearsals until the late hours of the night for both cast and crew.  Junior, and Assistant Stage Manager, Bethany Colon, couldn’t be more proud of her crew and all that they have accomplished over the course of these past two weeks.  “In order for the set to be finalized, we stay after school everyday until 11 pm to finish the final details.  We paint the floor, make all the set pieces easy to move, and practice running though the show over and over again, with and without the cast.” 

Darcy Doelger spoke for the members of the show as a whole. “It’s been a lot of hard work this year, but I feel that I have finally reached where I wanted to be.”  The show is rehearsed and fixed over and over again for months, so come out and see all of the hard work that these talented students have put in!  The show will be performed March 1-3 at 7:00pm in the high school auditorium.  Contact Mrs. Davis in the Guidance Department for ticket details.  It’s a show you certainly will not want to miss!