Theatre Prepares for Fall Musical

The East theatre program will perform a musical instead of their typical play this fall. “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” will premiere on Halloween weekend, Oct. 30 through Nov. 1.

This change was implemented by theatre program directors Brian Cappello and Tom DeFeo.

“We have so much musical talent,” Cappello said. “A lot of other schools do two, so we thought we’d try it.”

Last year’s musical, “Shrek The Musical”, was nominated for four Blue Star Awards, an annual awards show for local high school productions and won three. The fall musical’s student director, senior Asia Mundy, believes that the Blue Star awards were also a motivation behind the decision.

“When you have a musical, you have more opportunities to win scholarships and awards and stuff like that,” Mundy said. “Having two musicals is also a way to gain publicity [for the East theatre program].”

The decision was announced at last year’s theatre banquet in May. According to Mundy, the thespians were surprised, but immediately on board.

“I love that we’re doing a musical,” senior Austin Dalgleish said. “It really fits the department we have right now, so I’m glad they made that decision.”

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” follows six students competing in a spelling bee, whom the audience gets to know through flashbacks giving insight into their lives and families. The show specifically tracks the growth of two main spellers, Barfee and Olive, played by junior Tyler Armer and senior Abby Cramer.

“We chose this [show] because its not a traditional musical, it’s an acting musical,” Cappello said. “It has a lot of character parts that take a lot of acting ability.”

The fall musical will be a smaller production compared to the usual winter musical. There are only 10 actors, as opposed to “Shrek the Musical’s” much larger cast. Sets and costumes of the fall musical will be more low-key, and the show does not have a lot of large dance numbers. Instead, Mundy says the show is more about character development than over-the-top song and dance.

Preparation for the show has begun, but, according to Mundy, there is still a lot to be done.

“[The show] is going great,” Cappello said. “These guys are really into it; they’re picking stuff up immediately.”